Spring Clean Your Diet

Convenience reigns when it comes to health. This is indicative in plastic water bottles and snack subscription boxes. But when diet fads fade, where do you go to fill up physically, emotionally and spiritually? Use these ancient practices described in Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom to revamp and spring clean your eating.

1. Declutter your pantry. Nutritional bars, and powders seem jam-packed with superfoods. You’ve collected an array of these “healthy” snacks. But they are clogging your pantry and body. Get rid of packaged foods and make room for fresh, whole foods instead.
2. Lighten up your diet. Spring is a time to eat light. Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom author Acharya Shunya says, “We can’t digest the same food that we could in winter.” As the weather outside shifts, we also need to change what we eat. In her book, she recommends pungent (e.g. garlic, ginger and mustard), astringent (e.g. lentils, unripe bananas, and cranberries), and bitter (e.g. leafy greens and bitter spices such as turmeric and fenugreek spices) foods during spring.
3. Dust your fine China. Part of Ayurveda's wisdom is the psychological impact fine dining has on your digestion. Remove dust from your fine flatware, dishes and even candles saved for special occasions and use it daily.
4. Get rid of plastic water bottles. Drinking water that is boiled and cooled naturally is good for digestion and helps with thirst, constipation and even hiccups. Drinking water that’s been boiled down to half its amount is said to be especially good during spring and can aid in weight loss. Do away with those plastic bottles and drink your water in a glass, stainless steel or clay container instead.
5. Clear your mind. Many of us eat for purely physical reasons. Ayurveda, however, focuses on food as affecting our thoughts and emotions. Shunya writes, “When we consume food with reverence and loving meditative awareness, our bodies become filled with radiant health and divine well-being.” Whether eating alone or with others, bring a calm and focused mind to every meal.
6. Clean up your digestion. Eating when you are not hungry and snacking can generate toxins in the body and prevent full digestion. Similarly, cold drinks such as smoothies and iced coffees have an extinguishing effect on digestion causing constipation. A simple way to lose weight, and clean up your digestion is to stop eating and drinking cold foods.

Spring is the season of renewal. Simple changes like these can give you a restart, which will have a transformative effect on your body, mind and soul.