3 Gunas of Food
Sattvic Rajasic Tamasic
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Different foods have different qualities, in how they affect the human mind, body and soul.
All foods have an energy, and this energy can be of 3 kinds, based on the effect its consumption has on the human body and spirit. These effects are of 3 types - either it supports and boosts human energy or diminishes it, or it is neutral and does not affect the life energy or prana.
Here we speak of the 3 Gunas in terms of food, but sattvic, rajasic and tamasic qualities also apply to one's thought, words, actions and emotions. Sattvic food promotes a calm, controlled and peaceful state of mind, along with higher order consciousness; rajasic foods promote passion, intense activity and root the consciousness in the physical; tamasic foods promote lethargy, dullness of mind and a general state of ignorance.
These 3 states of mind associated with the 3 gunas also colour the activities carried out in those states. e.g. over eating is considered tamasic, as is eating (or cooking) when one is angry or upset.
While the ideal yogic diet is 100% sattvic, it's quite a task to achieve in the course of a busy city life. A modified goal for an Urban Yogee can then be a three tiered food pyramid with the base being sattvic food, then rajasic, followed by tamasic on top; in the proportions of 60%, 30% and 10% respectively.
Freshly cooked, light, dry, easily digested food that raises or increases the natural pranic energy is sattvic. These foods promote longevity and are naturally anti-aging. Sattvic foods provide nutrition to the body, mind & spirit, and are predominantly rich in vitamins, minerals, good fats and micro nutrients. They help maintain a calm, light and peaceful temperament.
Sattvic food includes raw or freshly cooked seasonal, and preferably organic, fruits and vegetables as well as dried fruits, nuts and seeds of all kinds. Fresh milk, paneer, ghee, yogurt, buttermilk are sattvic dairy products.
Pungent, fiery and sharply flavoured vegetables like onions, garlic, chives, leeks, spicy hot chillis, fresh onions, shallots, even brinjals (eggplant) are un-sattvic.
Freshly cooked, rich and flavour-some food is termed rajasic. Foods that provide healthy starches the body needs for sustained physical activity and foods that supply energy are all rajasic. The demands of modern, urban life requires some proportion of rajasic food to meet energy demands.
Known as the foods of warriors and kings, rajasic foods are all carb and protein heavy, spice-rich, gravy based foods like biryani, kormas and curries. Stimulants like tea & coffee, sharp herbs and strong flavours are all rajasic in nature, as are freshly prepared sweet dishes & mithais.
Freshly prepared and lightly cooked pungent and spicy hot vegetables and herbs - all kinds of onions, chives, leeks, chillis, bell peppers, brinjal, garlic, shallots - all fall under the rajasic foods category and should only be consumed in measured quantities.
Foods that cause lethargy, drowsiness, heaviness, or alter mental states are termed tamasic. They dull the intelligence, reduce the body's natural immunity and promote negative emotions like anger, anxiety and aggressiveness.
Tamasic foods cover the gamut from intoxicants like alcohol and drugs, non vegetarian foods like bird and animal meat & eggs; to processed, frozen & fermented foods, and food that is stale or over-ripe.
Sattvic and rajasic food when packaged, frozen or otherwise stored and then reheated becomes tamasic, as does food consumed more than 3-6 hours after being prepared.
Mention must be made of a tradition of having gluten containing rotis and chappatis (flat breads) for breakfast, leftover from the previous nights meal. It is considered easier to digest and a good start to the day. This exception is only made for hard-to-digest gluten foods.