The human body is a miraculous machine. The way it goes through the daily processes to keep us ALIVE; to keep us running, are awe-inducing. Over the years, we have been encouraged to eat healthy and nutritious Food to achieve health goals and maintain this machine to run smoothly.
It is interesting that some foods do have subtle effects on our mind and our mood. Most of us are not aware of the foods that are nourishing while they help maintain a quiet & steady mind.
Ayurveda, the sister science of Yoga, offers us with the food choices and eating habits that elevate human consciousness. Also known as the ancient science of life, Ayurvedic treatment, dates back to over 5000 years and has outlined the alternatives and eating practices to benefit all body types. One such type of foods that help in achieving mental & vital balance are Sattvik Foods.
What are Sattvik Foods?
The word sattva means "pure," the foods that enhance our vitality and develop ‘ojas’ that increases our resistance to diseases. Ayurveda recommends a Sattvic diet because it is believed that this the most conducive diet for living a naturally balanced life.
Modern preparation of food uses refining processes, additives, and chemicals that increase shelf life. These foods over time harm our digestion and health (foods for indigestion).
Sattvik Foods do not contain preservatives, additives,artificial sweetners or additional flavours. They are grown naturally in an organic environment on good, rich, and fertile soil with no use of synthetic pesticides or petroleum-based fertilizers.
Such foods are harvested at the correct time of year and are full of life force and enzymes that keep them as close as possible to their fresh natural state.
Benefits of Sattvic Food
These foods should be consumed in moderate proportions in a relaxed environment.
Sattvik Foods keep our mind light and clear because they are pure and provide high energy. These foods tend not to disturb the stomach (best food for stomach ache) at all but help in proper digestion.
Such foods include whole grains, land and sea vegetables, fresh fruits, nuts & seeds, pure fruit juices, honey, herbal teas, ghee and raw milk. The source of energy of these foods is drawn from nature and the earth.
The Bhagvat Gita says-

“Foods dear to those in the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one’s existence and give strength, health, happiness, and satisfaction.”

Health Benefits of Satvik Food Items

1. Avoids Constipation
Sattvik diet is a plant-based diet rich in fibres which helps in avoiding constipation (yoga for constipation). The basic principle of the sattvik diet consists of easily digestible food. These foods do not agitate our stomach at all. It includes sprouted whole grains, fresh fruits, that have a balance of all the six tastes and are consumed in moderate proportions.

2. Calms Your Mind
Sattvik diet nourishes the body and helps in maintaining the body well. Since these foods have pure essence, there is a balanced flow of energy which leads to fit body with a calm and composed mind.
Sattvik foods not only help individuals live a peaceful, quiet, and meditative life but also produce calmness and nobility among men. It comprises the diet of many sages, yogis, and spiritual teachers.

3. Make You Feel Energetic and Light
Sattvik foods are gastric friendly, mildly cooling and refreshing; they do not cause gastric problems, bloating, distension of abdomen (causes of stomach disorders) and reflex. This diet consists of soothing food. With these, we feel light and full of energy. Sattvik meals are designed to help balance the maha gunas, also called as mental energy.

“Sattva is the essential energy of the mind; it is a pure and content state”,
-The Bhagvat Gita

Everything on Earth has a Guna or a primary quality. Anything we hear, sense of smell has been classified into the categories of Sattvik, Tamasic, or Rajasic. While tamas slows down our mind and rajas speeds it up. Too much of these can make us tired and unmotivated.

4. Increases Lifespan
The BhagavataGita describes the sattvik diet as – promoting lifespan, wellbeing, virtue, and satisfaction. Such types of foods are abundant in prana- the life force that gives life to all living beings in both plant and animal kingdoms. They are easily digested and make you less prone to diseases.
It is found that vegetarian diets prevent cardiovascular diseases, cancer(yoga for cancer patient), and other life-threatening diseases. By reducing the risk of chronic diseases, Sattvik Foods provide longer life for which a balance between the body and mind is quite essential. Ayurveda states to eat according to one’s dosha or body type to maintain this balance.

ON BECOMING SATTVIK

Once a person becomes a Sattvik, he/she is able to focus on self- improvement and intellectual or spiritual pursuits. The mind begins to function at its maximum potential and a kind, positive nature is nurtured which increases the Sattvik guna. Also, religious inclination and engagement in selfless service or charitable activities help us become sattvik in nature.
Remember, when mind has become sattvik, and peaceful like a clear pool of pure water, you may bypass the gunas altogether.

In the words of Charak Samhita, one of the classics of Ayurveda,
“The persons having the Sattvik essence are endowed with devotion, memory is grateful, learned, pure, courageous, skilful, resolute, free from anxiety (yoga poses for anxiety), having well- directed and serious intellect and activities, and are engaged in virtuous acts” (CS III-8:110)

Enjoy the Sattvik Foods with Amayaan and dwell in the purity of a calm mind with a healthy body.