As per Ayurved, having food is very pious thing similar to worshiping God. There are few rules in Ayurved which we should follow to maintain a healthy life.
.Dont Eat Frequently. Eat only when you are feeling hungry. After taking a meal give 3 hrs of gap before next meal. Frequent eating weakens our digestive fire.
.Dont drink water 30 mins before consuming your meal. After finishing your meal wait for an hour before drinking water, else digestive fire will become weak and it wont be able to digest your food properly. If you are thirsty then drink a cup of luke warm water after meal or you can have soup/buttermilk at the end. Buttermilk is hot in nature so avoid it in summer season.
.Always eat hot food which is cooked recently or within 3 hrs. Food which is cooked in the morning shouldn't be consume in afternoon and evening as it releases toxins and harmful for your digestive fire.
.Always eat oil-made or ghee-made smooth food and not dry or boiled food. Smooth and hot foods are easy to digest while dry and boiled foods give Vata related problems if we consume regularly. Our body needs oil to make muscles. Dry foods like bhel, puffed rice should be consumed in spring season during March and April mid.
.Always eat food which is light in nature. Heavy foods are difficult to digest by our body. If food is not digested properly it slows down digestive fire, food will rotten in stomach and make toxins. Later it mixes with Rakt Dhatu (blood tissue) and gives problems like Asthama, Animea, Uric Acid, Cough Problem, Gastric Problem and Acidity Problem.
.Dont mix foods together which are different in nature. Dont eat curd while having bitter taste, similarly dont eat anything salty if you are eating any item made of Milk like (Tea, Payas, Sewai, Milkshake, Milk). Foods which are different in nature spoil our RAS Dhatu (Plasma tissue) in body and later we get disease related to RAS Dhatu (Skin Problem also comes under this and it takes a lot of time to cure). Sendha Namak or pink salt is an exception, because Sendha Namak is sweet and cold in nature as per Ayurved.
.Always wash your hands and mouth before eating as it kils germs and bacteria. And wash your legs as it increases digestive fire, which helps in food digestion.
.Most important, eat food on time. But if your earlier meal is not yet digested then dont eat. If your motion is not regular then consult any good doctor. We can get 80 kinds of disease if our motion is not regualar (means if our digestion is not good).
.While eating, give full attention to food (dont give attention to your mobile and TV). Better switch off TV while having food. If we eat food with full attention, it helps in easy digestion. Always keep positive thoughts while having food.
.Always keep all 6 tastes in your daily food menu.
.Most of the people dont eat Bitter & Astringent taste. But do you know if Bitter taste is missing from our food then its easy to get diseases related to B12, Vitamin D ,Uric Acid and Cholesterol.
.Chew your food properly. It should take atleast 20 mins to complete your meal. Dont eat very fast or very slow. If you dont chew your food properly your kidney will have to work more to digest your food. Undigested food later gives obesity (Motapa). So if you want to loose weight chew your food properly.
NOTE :To improve digestive fire eat half spoon of ginger along with Sendha Namak (salt) 20 mins before food.