Information Overload

There’s so much information out there about food, nutrition and the perfect diet. It’s easy to become overwhelmed and confused. One thing that everyone can agree on is that a plant based diet is the most beneficial diet for humans to thrive on. It’s ancient wisdom and common sense.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a weak digestive system. By trying to heal myself and achieve better health, I became somewhat of an expert on adopting a nutrient dense plant-based diet.

I want to share tips that I have learned along my journey and want to share how you can make better and informed decisions when it comes to what you feed your body.

I was a vegetarian for about 6 years. At the time, I didn’t know much about nutrition.  I decided to become a vegetarian to uplevel my health. When I first started, I ate a diet full of sugar and processed vegetarian foods.

That diet had nothing to do with being healthy. As I started to learn more about nutrition, I began to incorporate a variety of vegetables and plant foods into my diet. I began to understand what a plant-based diet really was. I’m no longer exclusively vegetarian, I have come to the conclusion that my body needs some good quality animal-based foods. But that doesn’t mean I no longer eat a plant based diet, on the contrary, I eat more plants now than I have ever before.

What Is A Plant-Based Diet?

To me, the definition of a plant-based diet is just that- a diet based on plants. This does not mean exclusively plants, however. While some people could thrive on a diet solely composed of plants, other people like me, need the help of animal based foods. It is undeniable that a diet largely composed of plant-based whole foods is the most beneficial for our bodies to thrive and receive the all the nutrients that it needs to function best. Whether or not you eat animal-based foods, fill most of your plate with unprocessed or minimally processed good quality plant foods. This rule is essential to achieve optimal health. To give you an example, my dinner plate is usually filled with 75 – 80% plant foods. The remaining portion is some kind of animal based food, like good quality wild-caught fatty fish or organic pasture raised chicken. Many days a week, my plate is filled with a 100% plant-based foods.

Not So Fast!

You might think that the process of eating plants is pretty simple and straightforward — fill up your dinner plate with a bunch of kale and sprouts and poof your health and body will shine and improve magically. Nope. Here are a few tips on how to get the most out of your diet.

Eating Locally And With The Seasons

These days, we have almost unlimited access to all kinds of foods, from exotic fruits to vegetables, herbs and even meats and animal based products coming from all over the globe.

Thanks to modern transportation and chemical preservation of foods, we have been able to enjoy blueberries in december, cucumbers in january, and tomatoes in February. What many people may not be aware of, is that most produce gets transported great distances. It’s picked from the tree or vine UNRIPE to prevent them from spoiling during transit. The longer a fruit or vegetable sits after being picked, the more nutrients it loses. Not only does your body suffer from the long distance it travels from farm to table, but so does mother earth.

Natural Foods Are Seasonal Foods

Having unlimited availability of foods makes us unaware of the seasonality of the food we are eating. What is naturally grown in nature during the current season gets lost and this separates us from our original ways of living in tune with nature.

We get disconnected from our ‘source’ and our instincts. When we respect nature’s rhythms and live in sync with them, we become healthier by allowing nature to support our needs with her inherent and infinite wisdom. We are meant to eat foods that are in season. Fresh foods, organic and real (in all sense of the word), harvested not too long before they are eaten.

Nature knows Best!

Eat with the seasons for optimal assimilation of nutrients and to support for your bodies’ seasonal needs. The Fall offers tubers, squashes and variety of plants foods that can either  be eaten immediately or stored in the pantry for later use.

Nature understands the scarcity and austerity of winter and spring seasons, providing the perfect foods for the season. The light, young and leafy plant foods of early to mid spring help us lose and scrape away all the weight gained and toxins stored from the seasons prior. The high sugar, high carbohydrate, cooling and watery produce from the summer are there to keep us cool and hydrated and provide all the energy that such demanding and productive season requires from us.

A Diet that’s Downright Dirty

Many people might not know this, but soil contains vast amounts of microbes that actually change with the seasons, so when we eat the plants we are also ingesting the microbes they acquired from the soil they grew in, helping us diversify our microbiome. If we are eating with the seasons, our own gut microbiome will also seasonally change which will positively impact our health.

Please comment below on how you fill your plate, what works and what doesn’t?
Stay tuned for Thursday’s blog-Part Two of Adopting a Plant-Based Diet, I have more to share with you, especially if you have weak Agni.

I am not certain who came up with this combination and whether it is mentioned anywhere in the ancient Ayurvedic texts. I doubt it. It’s fair to say that Ayurveda has always promoted using spices to fire up digestive juices, improve elimination and prevent and reverse many diseases.

Digestion, Digestion, Digestion

The reason I say prevent and reverse many diseases is because Ayurveda teaches that all disease starts in the digestive system. If our digestion is strong, we can transform incoming food to usable material. If our digestion is weak, this same incoming food stays undigested and turns into Ama which literally means undigested food. This spice combination is wonderfully mild and I have seen many clients benefiting from a lovely cup of this tea over the years. Digestive challenges like gas, bloating and sluggish digestion become a history of the past.  

But let’s start in the beginning:

What is CCF TEA?

CCF tea is a simple combination of cumin, coriander and fennel seeds. You can easily make this at home by blending equal parts of each herb together.

1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds

1/2 tsp whole fennel seeds

1/2 tsp whole coriander seeds

4-5 cups of water

Take 1.5 tsp of the mix, combine with 4-5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes. Strain. It can be enjoyed as an after-meal tea to prevent gas, hyperacidity and fire up slow digestion.

I think this combo tastes lovely and I have not come upon anyone personally not liking it. If you prefer sweet flavors, increase the amount of fennel in your CCF blend.

Not the tea drinking type? Maybe when you are at work and don’t want to mess around with simmering liquids… The CCF herbal combination can also be taken as a dried, powdered herb mix before your meal. In this case, you would mix ½ tsp of spice mix with 2-4 oz. of water. Drink this down before your meal. You will get the best consistency if you use a coffee grinder.

The Wonder and Magic of Spices

Spices as a general category increase Agni (digestive fire) which is a good thing. As we know, a strong Agni is what allows us to transform food into usable energy. If Agni is too low it turns food into Ama, which clogs our system. That’s not good. Often Ama is translated as toxins but ultimately it is undigested food that hangs out in our physical body but can’t be used productively by our cells. And even worse, it clogs our cells.

Each of the CCF TEA Spices Have Unique Properties

Fennel is one of the best herbs for digestion, strengthening Agni, stopping cramping and dispelling flatulence. Have you ever been to an Indian restaurant and noticed that they give you a small spoonful of roasted fennel seeds after you paid? Of course, according to Indian fashion, they mix it with sugar, to make it more appealing for you to eat. The active ingreedient is the fennel.

Cumin has an affinity for drawing energy downward. This is a great thing as it helps you dispel gas and aids elimination. It is particularly good if you have sluggish digestion. It helps with absorption of nutrients. It also is a wonderful antidote against acidic foods like tomatoes and chilies.

Coriander has similar properties to cumin. It increases digestion, absorption and relieves bloating. Like the other two herbs it enkindles Agni without aggravating acidity (Pitta). It can be used safely even when there is inflammation in the digestive system.

All three spices are cooling by nature and thus are okay to be enjoyed by all doshic types, Vata, Pitta and Kapha. In other words, the formula is tri-doshic. There is not a lot of spices that won’t aggravate acidity or Pitta too much, but the three-some is one of them.

Truth be told-CCF tea most benefits Pitta (the fiery type) as this mix is more on the cooling side. Vata needs a little bit more heat and boost and Kaphas need an even stronger hit to get their sluggish stomach fired up. While CCF tea will still be beneficial, the two following spice formulas may be more appropriate.  

Tea blend for Kapha

¼ tsp dry ginger

1/3 tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp dill seed

¼ tsp fenugreek seeds

1 cup water

Boil water and add spices. Cover and let sit for a few minutes. Enjoy!

Adding dry ginger and cloves to this blend gives this tea a clear jolt. Kapha needs that. Fenugreek and dill bring some lightness to the heavy Kapha energy.

Tea blend for Vata

¼ tsp fresh ginger, grated

¼ tsp ground cardamom

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ajwan (celery seeds)

1 cup water

This blend is a bit hotter than the CCF blend but not too hot to dry out the delicate Vata energy. Cinnamon provides moisture as it is a demulcent. The fresh ginger is more mild, less hot than dry ginger. Ajwan relieves intestinal spasms which Vata has a tendency toward. It is specifically indicated for hiccups, belching and rebellious Vata energy moving upward instead of downward. 

Are There Any Dangers?

Like any other substances, we have to be aware of how we use them. In moderation, they are considered safe, and frankly they are so mild it will be hard to mess anything up. You would have to take a big dose. Still, we should be aware of contraindications:

Coriander overall is considered a safe remedy. Cumin should not be used in excess if there is inflammation in the digestive tract. Fennel in herbal textbooks is also considered to be very safe.

However, we should always keep in mind that if we use anything in excess it can get ugly. In one study published by pub med, fennel, a known phytoestrogen, was found to have caused breast development in a 12-month-old girl. The mother had given the baby 2-3 tsp of fennel tea every day for 6 months. The study did not indicate how much fennel was used to create that tea.

A normal adult dosage of powdered fennel for an adult would be ½ tsp, 3x/day. Obviously, the dosage the mom administered to the child was excessive to what was beneficial to the baby causing abnormal tissue growth. If the same dosage would have been given to a nursing mom she would have probably welcomed the increased milk production in her breasts. Fennel acts as a galactagogue and increases the production of breast milk.  

The CCF TEA Conclusion

Although CCF tea may be “only” an anciently inspired formula, it will have a positive impact on digestion and assimilation for all doshas.

If you have a more Vata or Kapha type digestion you may want to switch it up with a bit hotter and more stimulating spices. If you are Pitta stick with the cooling CCF blend.