new to India and raw food

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by aishwarya on May 1, 2009 at 10:25am

well... as for my experience, i would it is a matter of practice and choice. i have never had any tummy upset in my life but once when i was travelling in Bihar and had some water from a road side stall i caught a bug whic put me at unease.

carry probiotics with you. drink only bottled water.
we have an organic market here in Kolkata and in most places if you look for it.
Pune, as i have heard, is full of wonderful resources. my friends stay there. if you buy local and fresh and wash them properly, then there is nothing to worry about.
have plenty of coconut water and have a good water filter where you are staying.

October is a good time to come but you would be missing the mangoes. how long are you staying?
If you need any more help we can connect later. :)

You already have friends in Mumbai from this place. :)

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nelly on May 2, 2009 at 1:46am

Wow. Best of luck on that. I lived in Kerala for 7.5 months and I think the vegetables were fine. I ate some of them raw. I got sick often, but it could have been a lot of things (such as not washing my hands properly).
After getting a stomach but in Guatemala, I would feel a lot safer in India, lol.
But yeah, just stick to bottled water and wash your veggies and fruits really well. Maybe boil the water and let it cool and use that to wash your veggies? I'm not sure, that's what I would do, I think.
Best of luck in your studies. I would LOVE to study Ayurvedic medicine.
Whatever you do, try and get down to Kerala, especially Munnar. It's absolutely gorgeous!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Alvine on May 5, 2009 at 3:49pm

Dear Esther,
I am also intersted in Ayurvedic medicine. I would also like to study it. And I have a question for other people as well, what do you think , can it be connected Ayurveda and raw food life style?
Alvine

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Krishna on May 5, 2009 at 4:18pm

Esther is moving to Pune, an affluent city of the western state of maharashtra of India. Pune is also famous for Ashram of Osho. I just remembered this, as you have interests in Osho philosophy.

In order to learn Ayurvedic medicine, it is so essential to learn little but of Sanskrit as well; as there are many technical terms that can be well-understood by learning Sanskrit. Sanskrit and Ayurveda go hand in hand. Both are 5,000 years old. All Ayurvedic texts developed in Sanskrit, and thenafter translated in regional and international languages.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Abhi - ThisVeryMoment on May 8, 2009 at 10:08pm

Depends on how long you are planning to study Ayurveda & to what depth. I am no expert but we know a Vaidji in Pune who is 80+ years.. Does not look that old at all.

I am told that he had to be under his Guru as an apprentice for 15-20 years before he was allowed to practice Ayurveda independently. That is depth of knowledge.

On the other hand, I've read 2-4 Ayurvedic Books in English to learn for myself to better understand My Food and THROW out the old Western Diet Myths that have been fed to me since grade school.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Abhi - ThisVeryMoment on May 11, 2009 at 6:16pm

Do join the Ayurveda group since you're interested in it :)

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Abhi - ThisVeryMoment on May 8, 2009 at 10:04pm

I lived in the US for 7.5 years so my stomach was sensitive for several months. But I had spent my entire childhood & teen years there so I had some resistance built in.

But twice in the last 2 months I've had Diahorrea & Food Poisoning out of some stupidity & over confidence on my part. I recovered in 2 days.. so nothing serious.

Given that you are coming to learn Ayurveda.. You'll realize as I did from reading that Ayurveda does not recommend 100% Raw Food diet... unless you are at that point of Yogic abilities where your Digestive Fire is beyond normal.

In fact your diet should be / would be based on Balancing the Doshas / Imbalances that are characteristic of your Prakruit (Body Constitution).

PS: Yes, wash, cook, clean, wash more.. be careful and pray.. Even better if you can do Pranayama, Meditation.
And let your system adapt. I have a friend who is a Londoner. For 6 months he had lots of issues but slowly got used to stuff.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Esther on May 9, 2009 at 5:15am

Thank you everyone for all of your help and advice!

I'm currently doing a cleanse so I'm pretty close to eating 100% raw. However, I was thinking that it would make the most sense to incorporate some cooked grains and beans back into my diet afterward so that I can transition into living in Pune with ease. Abhi, what you said about refraining from following a 100% raw food diet until your Digestive Fire is strong enough makes sense to me. I'm really intrigued to learn more about Ayurvedic Medicine and look at the raw food lifestyle from that perspective. Do you know if it is typical for students to study Ayurvedic medicine under a Guru for 15-20 years? I know that there are several five year programs in universities but I wasn't sure if there is a time line for apprenticeship or internships after that.

Alvine, there is a raw food M.D. who has also studied Ayurvedic medicine though I'm not sure in how much depth. His name is Gabriel Cousens and he has a clinic in Arizona in the U.S. I'm fascinated by raw food and the potential health benefits but want to look at it from all sorts of perspectives in order to really understand in what way it is most effective and what are some potential pitfalls. Have you read any books on Ayurvedic medicine? How did you become interested in it?

Aishwarya, I love mangoes! ...I'm not sure how long I am staying. I am planning to do a three month program intended for individuals in the health field. I am planning to get an idea of how I feel and see if I would like to stay longer.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Abhi - ThisVeryMoment on May 9, 2009 at 11:26am

DO JOIN THE AYURVEDA & RAW GROUP I CREATED.

I think there are so many levels at which some Vaid's (Ayur Vaid Docs) can operate. Some are so good that they can tell you whats wrong with you as you walk in to the room. Powerful.

That is a life time's commitment & practice. You can take up a course that gives you suitable depth.

I got interested because a vaid diagnosed my pulse and pointed out all that was wrong with me.
I also realized that I could eat & eat when I lived in India and not gain weight, but with half or lesser diet in the US I blew up. Indian cooking uses Cumin, Turmeric and tons of herbs that have SPECIFIC meanings on long range impact on the body & mind... I wanted to understand my health better than the CRAP I've got from a life time of Western Nutrition from School Textbooks to other research thats only 50-100 years old.

I'd rather rely on a 5000 year old science that knows everything but has become ingrained in peoples everyday lives in diet & food. Home remedies such as ginger, turmeric, neem, tulsi (basil), honey.. etc etc.

If you are good at online searching you can find The Ayurveda Encyclopedia - Natural Secrets to healing.

I'd say download it from somewhere and / or do some reading while you are still in Hungary.

As per Ayurveda based on your Body constituency you may or may not have the "Digestive Fire" to process raw foods, especially all year round. (Changes with seasons)

Also certain foods are great raw but some cannot be processed well raw. I'll provide some simple examples:
- Kidney Beans & Garbanzo Beans - They have to soaked overnight, even before we cook them in a Pressure Cooker for 6 or so whistles in India.
- Certain Dals & Lentils - Have to be cooked to digest or they pass through the system or cause constipation
- Some Grains may be too hard to digest. (I cant remember all now)

Typical good strong digestion is people who have HIGH Pitta tendencies.Again, that is a general statement.

A major way to increase digestive fire is by addition of right kind of spices - Cumin, Coriander, etc. Again, based on the kind of "body constitution' the spice would change. Also, Ayurvedic cooking is different from main stream cooking practices in India or the world. It largely involves steaming vegetables and then lacing / topping it off with the gravy made of spices lightly stirred in cooking oil. Deep frying and over heating of oil is not recommended (Unfortunately a lot of Indian food eaten most places falls into this trap).

People with strong Yogic practices (Meditation, Pranayama, Yoga..) especially those with rising Consciousness and Energy can break lots of rules. Eat raw / forage from the forest... but the thing is they ALSO EAT... LESS. At the pinnacle a Yogi could live of the Breath... and later without Breath :D.

I found pages of this book online. Let me see if I can find the link for you that talks about "Raw" Foods in Ayurveda.

Google Book Search - Looked for "Raw or cooked foods Ayurveda"

http://books.google.com/books?id=HmTs6uraIGgC&pg=PA169&dq=r...

http://books.google.com/books?id=1OkrH1ZYPOwC&pg=PT144&dq=r...

PS: Most importantly do not assume your Body type. Go to true Pulse Diagnosing Ayurvedic Vaid who can guide you.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Hitesh = Raw in Mumbai on May 10, 2009 at 12:52pm

wow you got excellent feedback from other indians. i dont think you need my advice. since i am new to raw aswell. im reading so much and im surprised at the conversations were having here.

▶ Reply to This