You’re laying in your bed, feeling dreadful and just want to know some things you can do right now to make you feel better. Not long-term health recommendations, but right-here-right-now help. Look no further. Here I have covered the best Ayurvedic healing foods that you can have right this minute to help you recover faster and feel better. So whether it is a stomach upset, cold or a flu, see how Ayurveda can help.
‘When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.’ Ayurvedic proverb
Stomach upsets
Whether it is diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting, the key thing is NOT TO EAT until you feel hungry. This gives the digestion a chance to deal with the cause of the upset without having to process any more food.
Fluids are important though so do continue to drink. Make your drinks warm (never cold when ill) and drink them slowly, regularly and separately from food. Have non-caffeinated herbal teas, especially ginger.
When hunger returns, there is a specific graduated food protocol that Ayurveda recommends after disruption to the digestive fire (samsarjana krama). The main qualities of these Ayurvedic healing foods are that they are cooked, warm and initially soupy. Then gradually the food can become more solid until normal digestion has returned.
Here are some of the dishes in this regimen, listed in order of easiest to digest (when you’re at your worst) to harder to digest (for when you are feeling closer to normal). You can either have these in order or jump in to what feels appealing and best suited to how upset your stomach is. For example, if you are having severe diarrhoea and vomiting, a little bit of rice soup (peya) or rice porridge (vilepi) will be the best place to start. If you are just have the occasional bout of nausea, you cold go straight in at the mung bean soup or meat soup stage.
- Rice soup/porridge (starting with soup – peya – 1 part rice to 14 parts water then moving to a thicker porridge – vilepi – 1 part rice to 4 parts water). This is just starch, no protein.[1]
- Mung bean soup (starting with without spices which is gentler, then moving on to adding spices). This introduces plant-based protein which is easier to digest. Another recipe which you could use here is kichari[2] which sits between the rice soup and mung bean soup. It is a soft cooked porridge of rice and split yellow mung which introduces protein in an even more gentle way and feels very light yet nourishing.
- Meat soup (starting with without spices which is gentler, then moving on to adding spices). There is a very simple recipe at the bottom of the page. Rice can be mixed with this too. This introduces animal protein which is harder to digest but cooked in this soupy way, will help nourish after illness. An even lighter version of this which is great for healing from stomach upset is bone broth.
If the lack of hunger goes on for a long time (more than a day or two) and you feel weak, eat despite the lack of hunger but start with the rice soup.
Some specific additional foods, herbs and spices which are helpful in all forms of digestive upset are:
- Pomegranate (the juice is particularly useful – make sure it is pure juice, not a juice-drink with additives)
- Coriander/cilantro
- Ginger (in food and as teas)
- Cumin
- Nutmeg
- Cinnamon
- Chamomile tea
Additional tips for diarrhoea
An important concept in Ayurveda is that the diarrhoea should be allowed to continue (within limits) and shouldn’t be stopped by constipative herbs and medicines[3].
Buttermilk is a great addition to the foods mentioned above, taken in half-glass amounts after food. Here is a recipe for buttermilk. If taking when treating diarrhoea, make sure you dilute it at least 1 : 4 yoghurt : water.
In addition to the general herbs and spices above, you can also add in rose, oregano and nigella to your food and teas.
If you have nausea and vomiting, you can add these
Ginger tea and lemon can really help with the experience of nausea. Additional herbs to those mentioned generally above, are:
- Peppermint tea
- Tulsi (holy basil) tea
- Cardamom
- Fennel (you can chew on the seeds, have as tea or add to food)
- Thyme
- Basil
- Cloves
Feed a cold: but be choosy with what
The adage goes “Feed a cold and starve the flu”, which fits in pretty well with the Ayurvedic view. However, you do need to be a little choosy about what and how you feed the cold.
It is important to only eat when you are hungry when you are suffering with a cold, as you want your digestion to be helping fight the cold and provide you with tip-top immune powers.
The warm, soupy, light and gently nourishing Ayurvedic healing foods mentioned above (rice soup, mung bean soup, meat soup) will be excellent to help recover. There is something to be said for the chicken soup folklore. Garlic is also incredibly powerful for helping with colds (if your pitta isn’t too high).
Drink lots of fluids, making sure they are warm. Sip them consistently and regularly throughout the day. Herbal teas such as mint, tulsi (holy basil), eucalyptus, echinacea, ginger, elderberry and cinnamon are excellent for reducing symptoms and encouraging recovery.
For a great home remedy, add in 1 teaspoon of raw honey mixed with a pinch each of ground ginger, turmeric and black pepper. Have this three times a day. You can also add these spices to your food along with:
- Coriander
- Cardamom
- Lemon grass
- Thyme
- Parsley
- Oregano
- Cloves
- Sage
In addition, be sure to use a neti pot or do steam inhalations daily while you have symptoms. You can just use plain boiling water for the steam inhalations or add tea bags such as chamomile or tulsi. After your neti pot (see detailed instructions here) or steam, make sure to put a drop or two of sesame oil (or olive oil or ghee) into your nose to help keep the mucous membranes well lubricated.
And starve the flu
For flu and illnesses including a fever, Ayurveda is very clear that fasting is key. It is important not to force yourself to eat if you aren’t hungry but to keep well hydrated with warm fluids including herbal teas. Your body will let you know when you are ready to eat again when you start to feel the first gentle pangs of hunger as the digestive fire flickers back to stronger life. When you feel this, follow the same Ayurvedic healing foods samsarjana krama guidelines as for stomach upsets:
- Rice soup/porridge (starting with soup – peya – 1 part rice to 14 parts water then moving to a thicker porridge – vilepi – 1 part rice to 4 parts water). This is just starch, no protein.[1]
- Mung bean soup (starting with without spices which is gentler, then moving on to adding spices). This introduces plant-based protein which is easier to digest. Another recipe which you could use here is kichari[2] which sits between the rice soup and mung bean soup. It is a soft cooked porridge of rice and split yellow mung which introduces protein in an even more gentle way and feels very light yet nourishing.
- Meat soup (starting with without spices which is gentler, then moving on to adding spices). There is a very simple recipe at the bottom of the page. Rice can be mixed with this too. This introduces animal protein which is harder to digest but cooked in this soupy way, will help nourish after illness. An even lighter version of this which is great for healing from stomach upset is bone broth.
Adding ginger and garlic to these foods will be of great help. Also add:
- Coriander
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Oregano
- Basil
- Cinnamon
Ginger tea is vital. Others fantastic ones are tulsi (holy basil), mint, elderberry, eucalyptus and echinacea.
Recipes for Ayurvedic healing foods
Manda (cooking water from rice)
- Cook 1 part rice with 14 parts of water (e.g. 30g of rice with 420ml of water).
- Strain the rice, keeping just the water. This is manda[4].
Peya (rice soup)
- Cook 1 part rice with 14 parts of water (e.g. 30g of rice with 420ml of water).
- Peya[5] is this soup, but not all the rice needs to be eaten as part of it, the liquid is more important, with some grains of rice.
Vilepi (rice porridge)
- Cook 1 part rice with 4 parts of water (e.g. 50g of rice with 200ml of water).
- Once soft and the water absorbed, the vilepi[6] is ready.
Mung bean soup
This soup is made from green mung beans. Plain, unspiced mung bean soup without oil is made simply like this.
- Cook 1 part green mung beans with 5 parts of water (e.g. 100g of mung beans with 500ml of water).
- Cook until the beans are totally soft and are disintegrating. If the soup becomes too thick, add more water.
Here is a recipe a delicious spiced mung bean soup packed with flavour and health benefits.
Kichari (rice-mung stew / risotto)
Here is a fabulous recipe for kichari.
Meat soup
Cook 100g of organic goat or chicken in 300ml of water. Cook slowly over several hours to create very soft, tender meat in a light broth.
Buttermilk
Buttermilk is a drink made from diluted yoghurt. Here is a recipe.
[1] If you can’t even stomach the rice, then you can have manda, which is just the cooking water from cooking the rice. See recipe for more details.
[2] Kichari is not part of the samsarjana krama but has been found to be useful when use in this rehabilitation process.
[3] Charaka Samhita Chikitsa Sthana 19
[4] Sushruta Sutra Sthana 46/344-45, Sharangdhara Samhita Madhyama Khanda 3/170-171
[5] Sushruta Sutra Sthana 46/341, Sharangdhara Samhita Madhyama Khanda 3/167-169 (also called yusha)
[6] Sushruta Sutra Sthana 46/342-3, Sharangdhara Samhita Madhyama Khanda 3/166-167
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