How is Ayurvedic body type dietary advice different from Western nutritional advice?
The Ayurvedic diet is based on your body type and your individual needs whereas Western nutritional advice is based on assessing and correcting the nutritional deficiencies of your body. In Ayurveda, correcting any deficiencies takes into account your constitutional type, the nutritional content of the food and your ability to absorb its nutrients. It stresses that some foods are not suitable for some body types or certain health problems. Eg. Vata types are aggravated by cold foods and drinks and gas producing foods such as kidney beans. They are balanced by warm foods such as soups, warm drinks, spicy foods and ginger. Eg. A person suffering from a skin allergy or eczema would be advised to abstain from citrus, sour, spicy and salty food. Eg. When a person is suffering from diarrhea, the Western nutritional approach may advise the patient to eat more meat to recover from the iron deficiency, whereas in Ayurveda we understand that in such a weak state, the bodys system would not cope
