Menopause – important life transition not an illness

Thankfully the menopause is getting a lot of airtime now, and so it should.  It has been a source of shame and misunderstanding for too long.  How do we view the menopause in Ayurveda? Menopause essentials Let’s first recap the menopause essentials.  The accepted definition of the menopause is the Read more…

Disease stages

Use your clever early warning system

Our bodies want to stay alive.  We have many amazing ways to self-regulate bodily processes to remain stable and continue to live.  Much of this goes on without our awareness; tiny adjustments occurring on a minute-by-minute basis.  But what happens when things start to go awry? The body goes through Read more…

Yoghurt

Manage your channel blockers

Some things are easy to digest and some things are difficult.  And then there are some which are very difficult (abhishyandi). Knowledge of these makes a huge difference to how well you digest, absorb and assimilate nutrients and thus how healthy you are.  Foods that are heavy to digest are Read more…

Quench the flames of pitta this summer

I love the summer.  Being a vata-predominant, not-well-covered body type, I find myself cold for 90% of the year in the UK.  So come summer, my whole body relaxes and I feel like a basking lizard absorbing all the warmth and sunlight to keep me going for the rest of Read more…

Winter Eating

Enjoy your Christmas roast with impunity this winter

With Christmas around the corner, you’ll be pleased to know that a traditional roast with accompanying root vegetables, a few brussels sprouts and some herbs thrown in, fits in very well with the ideal foods to eat in winter.  Enjoy it with impunity. By eating what nature offers up with Read more…

Pantry essentials

Whether you are looking to eat healthily or are diving head-first into a prescribed Ayurvedic diet to fix a problem, here are some top pantry essentials. I’m going to assume you have your own policy on organic v. non-organic and I’ll leave that to you.  If you don’t do anything Read more…

Tamarind egg curry

Eating vegetarian and reducing tomatoes is sometimes tricky so I love this recipe for a tamarind egg curry.  Ayurveda recommends small doses of tomatoes only as they slow digestion and cause aama.  Lots of curries contain tomatoes so it is always great to find recipes which aren’t tomato based.  If Read more…

Lunch box

Packed lunches: Can they be healthy, easy, cheap, environmentally and child-friendly?

I think they can.  It’s a fine balance but it is possible. I often get asked about healthy packed lunches.  I try to tiptoe a wiggly line between health, ease, environmental-impact and child-acceptability!  I don’t get it perfectly right and I’m no Delia Smith, but for what it’s worth, here Read more…

Wind tree

Watch the wind – it’s a tricky little fellow

Given my usual fascination with digestion, you’d be forgiven for thinking I mean that kind of wind.  But, for once, I don’t.  In this instance, I refer to vata, the ‘wind’ (or air and space) principle in your body and mind.  It is one of the three doshas (vata, pitta Read more…