**Concept 1: Sattvic Diet Overview**
– The sattvic diet emphasizes pure, natural, energy-giving, and wise food choices.
– Mitahara, moderation in eating, is highlighted in ancient yoga literature as an essential practice.
– The Hathayoga Pradipika recommends avoiding certain foods and consuming fresh, sattvic foods in moderation.
– Sattvic foods promote a harmonious balance of mind and body.
– Consists of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
**Concept 2: Sattvic Foods Categories**
– Ayurveda categorizes foods into sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic based on the five basic elements.
– Nuts like almonds, cashews, and pistachios are considered sattvic.
– Seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin seeds are part of a sattvic diet.
– Fresh and organic fruits are preferred over preserved or frozen fruits.
– Dairy products like fresh milk, yogurt, and ghee are recommended in their purest forms.
– Mild vegetables are generally considered sattvic, while pungent ones like garlic and onion are excluded.
– Whole grains like organic rice, whole wheat, and barley are sattvic.
– Legumes like mung beans, lentils, and chickpeas are considered sattvic if well-prepared.
– Sweeteners like raw honey, jaggery, and raw sugar are commonly used in a sattvic diet.
– Sattvic spices include basil and coriander.
**Concept 3: Specific Sattvic Foods**
– Nuts like almonds, cashews, and pistachios are sattvic.
– Seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin seeds are part of a sattvic diet.
– Fresh and organic fruits are preferred in a sattvic diet.
– Dairy products like yogurt and cheese should be made fresh daily.
– Mild vegetables are considered sattvic, excluding pungent ones like garlic and onion.
– Whole grains like organic rice, whole wheat, and barley are sattvic.
– Legumes like mung beans, lentils, and chickpeas are considered sattvic if well-prepared.
– Sweeteners like raw honey, jaggery, and raw sugar are commonly used in a sattvic diet.
– Sattvic spices include basil and coriander.
**Concept 4: Incompatible Foods and Other Categories**
– Rajasic (Stimulant) Foods: Defined as spicy, hot, fried, or acidic, leading to potential negative effects.
– Tamasic (Sedative) Foods: Harmful to mind and body, including items like meat, fish, onion, and garlic.
– Incompatible Foods: Considered a cause of diseases, with examples like salt with milk and fruit with milk products.
– Charaka Samhita provides information on incompatible food combinations, noting that they may not affect strong, active individuals.
**Concept 5: Historical and Philosophical Background**
– ‘Sattvic’ is derived from ‘sattva,’ a Sanskrit word representing purity, essence, vitality, consciousness, truth, and wisdom.
– Sattva is opposed to tamas, which represents darkness, ignorance, and impurity.
– Ancient texts like the Tirukkural emphasize eating agreeable (sattvic) food in moderation.
– Yoga texts stress the importance of being mindful of food quality and quantity.
– The practice of Mitahara evolved to include sattva and tamas concepts in relation to food choices.
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Sattvic diet refers to a type of plant-based diet within Ayurveda where food is divided into what is defined as three yogic qualities (guna) known as sattva. In this system of dietary classification, foods that decrease the energy of the body are considered tamasic, while those that increase the energy of the body are considered rajasic. A sattvic diet is sometimes referred to as a yogic diet in modern literature.
A sattvic diet shares the qualities of sattva, some of which include "pure, essential, natural, vital, energy-containing, clean, conscious, true, honest, wise". A sattvic diet can also exemplify Ahimsa, the principle of not causing harm to other living beings. This is one reason yogis often follow a vegetarian diet.
A sattvic diet is a regimen that places emphasis on seasonal foods, fruits if one has no sugar problems, nuts, seeds, oils, ripe vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and non-meat based proteins. Dairy products are recommended when the cow is fed and milked appropriately.
In ancient and medieval era Yoga literature, the concept discussed is Mitahara, which literally means "moderation in eating". A sattvic diet is one type of treatment recommended in ayurvedic literature.