After a fulsome meal, I am sure a lot of us yearn for a piece of sweet, just to finish off that meal, and if you think that’s harmless, think again. From our childhood, this has been a practice and we find nothing harmful in it, but Ayurveda thinks otherwise. According to Ayurveda, the idea of ending the meal with something sweet may wreak havoc on your tummy. In fact, one should start their meal with something sweet and end with astringent or spicy, notes Ayurveda. Puzzled?
Ayurvedic theory that we should start with something sweet is based on the logic that something sweet takes the longest to digest. Next in line should be sour and last should be something spicy. Eating the sweet item first enables the flow of digestive secretions. By pushing the sweets to the last, you would slow down your digestion. Having a bite or two of sweet or a chunk or jaggery right at the start of your meal is also said to activate the taste buds. Having them right at the end can put off the digestive fire. It may cause fermentation and indigestion due to the acidic secretions. This could also trigger gas formation and bloating.
To counter these effects, Ayurveda suggests that one must start with something sweet at the outset, followed by something sour and salty in the middle, and finally something spicy or astringent. Having spicy food in the end helps douse the Kapha dosh(earth), while something sugary at the start takes care of the Vayu(wind) imbalance.
That’s what Ayurveda’s take on the order of your meal. So, would you like to bite into your rasgulla before or after your meal?
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