Our Digestive System

Ayurveda and our Digestive System

There is a common saying that the nest of many diseases are in the organs of the digestive system, and once this system is put right, a person enjoys good health.

Ayurveda states that ‘Agni’, or ‘Fire’, or the ‘transforming will or force’ is located in the digestive process in our body. Not only feeding and nourishing ourselves, we must equally take care and cherish our digestive fire. It is central to our health.

Upper and Lower human gastrointestinal tract: Click for larger view

Many or most of the diseases crop up because of the wrong functioning of our whole digestive process. On one hand, the fire absorbs the nutrients in food and on the other hand, it makes the food acceptable to our system by destroying the pathogens.

By pathogens, I mean the ‘undigested’ food that increases toxins and plays havoc on our total immune system.

Good complexion, circulation and digestion, pleasant body odor and breath, resistance to diseases – all happens when the ‘Agni’ is normal or in balance. Vice versa, Agni gets abnormal when all these good qualities change to worse.

So, to treat the root of most diseases, it is vital to regulate ‘Agni’. Now, this Agni is classified as:

High Agni – because of excessive appetite, Pitta dominants have high Agni in them. Toxins in blood and bleeding are faced by them because of strong circulation. Even the stool is loose with a tendency towards diarrhea. Resistance to diseases is strong but when any disease erupts, then it becomes severe and hard to handle.

For this, Pitta dominants must have bitters like neem, bitter gourd, aloe, barberry, gentian – these help in lowering the fire and not increasing the toxins.

Low Agni – Because of poor appetite, low metabolism and tendency to gain weight is common with Kapha dominants. Diseases are not severe though their circulation is poor. This is the reason why cold and flu become a part in Kapha dominant’s life.

Kapha dominants must always have hot spices (any hot spice will do) to keep them going and increasing their Agni to combat cold and flu, among other diseases.

Variable Agni – because of strong appetite and extreme hunger, or loss of appetite and forgetting to eat are periodical, Vata dominants have variable Agni in them. Circulation and resistance to diseases vary. For this, Vata dominants face long-term nervous system derangement and debility diseases.

Vata dominants must have spices and salt to balance the body. Spices include cardamom, coriander, turmeric and fennel.

Balanced Agni – People with all three doshas in a balanced state have regular appetite with normal food. They have regular bowel movements with no or little gas, or bloating. Their mental clarity is very good.

There are 3 stages of digestion:

The first stage is dominated by Kapha – mouth and stomach.

The second stage is dominated by Pitta – small intestine.

The third stage is dominated by Vata – large intestine and fermentation of stool.

As mentioned earlier, there are 6 tastes – sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter, and astringent.

Now, what is the Ayurvedic (healthiest) way of having any meal (lunch or dinner)? How would you start your meal?

Start with sweet – it is eaten first as it gets digested first. You should never eat sweet after your meals (in the form of desserts or whatever) as it bars the digestive process.
Then comes salty – it is digested second; it turns into sweet taste in the stomach.
Then comes sour – it is digested when food enters the small intestine.
Then comes pungent – it is digested when food enters the large intestine.
Last comes bitter and astringent – these are digested last and are the finishing line for the digestive process, as they help in producing stool.

Therefore, desserts at the beginning of a meal and salads at the end of the meal will help your digestive process!

Are you shocked to know this? Are you surprised? Yes, I can see that you are, but know that it is the fact – try this process of having your meals and you will get the result in a few days.

You must never eat bitter or astringent food at the beginning of a meal. After every meal, have astringent teas like black tea and herbal tea.

Indigestion

Indigestion results in the accumulation of ‘Ama’, or ‘toxins’, or ‘undigested food’, or ‘by-product of indigestion’. As a result, stool does not form properly, breath becomes unpleasant, appetite malfunctions and the tongue gets a coating. Then what happens? This Ama, after fermenting, enters our blood stream and becomes the cause of many unwanted diseases and disorders.

How?

- For Pitta dominants, Ama accumulates (with acid) in the small intestine; then it moves into the liver and finally in the blood stream.

- For Kapha dominants, Ama accumulates (with phlegm) in the stomach; then it moves to the lungs and enters the body.

- For Vata dominants, Ama accumulates (with gas) in the large intestine; then it moves in the blood stream and the nerve tissues.

Spices destroy Ama or its formation – bitter destroys Ama in the tissues; astringent restrains Ama; sweet increases Ama; salty and sour help in Ama fermentation.

How will you know that you have Ama in your body? One easy way is to check your stool – if you have Ama, the stool will have foul odor, sink quickly in water and are poorly formed.

To take care of the disorders of the digestive system, the first thing Ayurveda does is normalize the functions of the large intestine. Therefore, constipation and diarrhea are the main concern.

Constipation is the retention of waste material in the body whereas diarrhea lacks absorption of proper nutrients. When these two are brought in order, many Pitta and Vata disorders get corrected.

Diarrhea is a condition of water or loose stool. When it becomes severe, dehydration takes place. There are many causes why diarrhea happens – unnecessary heavy meals, too much watery food, too oily food, too dry/hard food, too cold/hot food, wrong combination of food, eating irregularities, change in seasons, and emotional disturbances.

Pitta diarrhea is foul smelling and yellow, with burning sensation in the rectum, blood/pus in the stool, thirst and fever.

Kapha diarrhea is whitish, contains phlegm and viscous. It gives the person a feeling of lassitude and heaviness.

Vata diarrhea is painful with cramps, gas, and frequent urge to pass stool (without actually passing much stool). Diarrhea and constipation go hand in hand – a period of constipation followed by a period of diarrhea.

Constipation, usually a Vata disorder, is caused due to consuming food that is difficult to digest, fever, infectious disease, sleeping till late in the morning, or delaying in the urge to pass stool. Also, stress, grief, insomnia, and nervousness cause constipation.

Pitta has mild constipation; Kapha has medium constipation and Vata has hard constipation.

Constipation causes epilepsy, neurosis, arthritis, and paralysis in Vata as it is the root cause of many nervous system disorders.

Therefore, where constipation and diarrhea are concerned, cleansing the colon is vital, failing to do so colon disorders erupt and become fatal.

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