My period had been gone for over a year now, which I didn’t pay too much attention to at first, but intuitively I knew something was wrong, despite numerous doctors just telling me to get back on the pill. I knew I had some digestive and hormonal issues, but osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, and struggles with fertility? The words had never even crossed my mind, especially as a holistic health coach whose life is dedicated to wellness. “So what do I eat?” I asked her, and her response included foods I had given up years ago when I was overweight: dairy, rice, bread, jaggery (cane sugar). I figured that if I were to ever follow an ayurvedic diet, I’d gain 50 pounds along the way and my digestion would become even worse. I walked out of that office, deciding ayurveda was not for me. I didn’t want a quick fix or a Band-Aid solution. I wanted to get down to the root cause of the problem. Why wasn’t my body functioning properly despite my healthy diet and young age, at only 21 years old? Finally, as a last resort, I came back to ayurveda, the ancient Indian health system. I loved the ayurvedic diet’s intuitive and customizable nature, but I longed to make it friendlier for my alkaline, plant-based, and low-glycemic lifestyle. Since my agni, digestive fire, had become so low from eating an entirely raw, cold, and dry diet, I needed to switch it up with hot teas, warming foods, and stimulating spices if I wanted to stop feeling bloating and constipated. During my time on the diet, I was continuously developing ways to adapt its recipes for the modern healthy kitchen. I used my vata imaginative energy and got creative, crafting recipes that followed ayurvedic guidelines with a refreshing plant-based approach. Instead of wheat-based bread, I’d use vitamin-rich almond flour. In place of rice, I’d use protein-packed quinoa. Instead of ghee, I’d use nourishing plant-based sesame oil. As a substitute for cane sugar, I’d flavor with sugar-free pure monk fruit sweetener. In lieu of dairy milk, I’d pour hormone-balancing flax milk. Instead of heavy cream, I’d use skin-loving coconut. Rather than cheese, I’d use nutritional yeast or make my own nut-based versions. Instead of heavily cooking my food, I’d lightly sauté it to preserve its nutritional benefits. When I started nourishing myself with warming and nutrient-dense foods, my digestion could finally do its job again. On top of that, I could finally digest food without taking four hydrochloric acids and a digestive enzyme plus still needing to lie down on the couch after. I couldn’t even remember the last time I could just eat a meal and move on. That was the true definition of food freedom for me—not having to worry about every crumb I put into my mouth or evaluating how many calories or macronutrients it had. Just eating for taste and energy and living my life. The holistic view of ayurveda is more vital now than ever before. So many people, like me, have grown tired of jumping from diet to diet, looking for the answer to health when it already exists inside of us. All it takes is tuning in and listening.
