Characteristics of Food - Gunas
Yoga classifies food into three different categories.
1. Sattvic – means pure essence
Eating sattvic foods will enable your body and mind to be well balanced. They include foods that are nutritious, wholesome and unrefined. Fresh fruits and vegetables are sattvic foods. Eating these types of foods will provide abundant energy and a clear mind.
2. Rajasic – means energy
Eating Rajasic foods are spicy or strong. Rajasic foods are stimulants, and include onions and garlic. Excessive rajasic foods in the diet will negatively affect the mind and the body.
3. Tamasic – means inertia or decay
Tasmasic foods are heavy or rich. They would include substances such as alcohol and meats, as well as junk food. Regulary eating tasmasic foods will produce a tired body and a sluggish mind.
Exampls of food classifcations.
1. Sattvic - Light & easy to digest. Fresh Organic Fruits: Most fruits, including apples, apricots, bananas, berries, dates, grapes, melons, lemons, mangoes, oranges, peaches and plums, are considered especially sattvic. Although the benefits of dairy has been somewhat contriversial,
Fresh Organic Dairy: Dairy Milk, butter, clarified butter (ghee), fresh home-made cheese (paneer), whey and fresh yogurt (especially lassi) are all recommended.
Nuts, Seeds and Oils: Fresh nuts and seeds that haven’t been overly roasted and salted are good additions to the sattvic diet in small portions. Almonds, coconut, pine nuts, walnuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and flax seeds. Oils should be of highest quality and cold-pressed. Good choices are olive oil, sesame oil and flax oil.
Organic Vegetables: beets, carrots, celery, cucumbers, green leafy veggies, sweet potatoes and squash. Pungent veggies like hot peppers, garlic and onion are excluded, as are gas-forming veggies such as mushrooms and potatoes. They are considered rajasic and tamasic respectively.
Whole Grains: Whole grains provide excellent nourishment when well cooked. Consider organic rice, whole wheat, spelt, oatmeal and barley. Sometimes the grains are lightly roasted before cooking to remove some of their heavy quality. Yeasted breads are not recommended unless toasted. Wheat and other grains can be sprouted before cooking as well. Favorite preparations are kicharee (basmati rice cooked with split mung beans, ghee and mild spices), kheer (rice cooked with milk and sweetened), chapathis (non-leavened whole wheat flat bread), porridge (sometimes made very watery and cooked with herbs)
Legumes: Split mung beans, yellow split peas, organic tofu, bean sprouts and perhaps lentils and aduki beans are considered sattvic if well prepared. In general, the smaller the bean, the easier to digest. S Legumes combined with whole grains offer a complete protein combination.
Sweeteners: Yogis use raw honey (especially in combination with dairy) and raw sugar (not refined).
Spices: Sattvic spices are the mild spices including basil, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, fresh ginger and turmeric. Rajasic spices like black pepper, red pepper and garlic are normally excluded, but are sometimes used in small amounts to keep the channels open (rajas is used to counter tamas).
2. Rajasic - these are spicy, sour, pungent and stimulating foods.
• Onion
• Garlic
• Cayenne peppers
• Turmeric
• Curry powder
• Meat
• Fish
• Eggs
• Beverages containing caffeine such as tea, coffee, and colas.
3. Tamasic - These are spoiled, tasteless or impure foods. Foods that are factory farmed or highly processed would be considered tamasic.
• Beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages
• Meat
• Junk food
• Fast food
• Canned and packaged food
• Picked foods
• Salted foods
• Aged and fermented foods