om spirit
Finding perfect balance and health through ayurveda, yoga’s sister science.
By Dr Vijay Murthy
Food Intolerances
E
xtreme symptoms caused by
ingesting allergy-causing food
such as an allergic reaction to
peanuts or fish can be easy to
diagnose through tests. However,
it is far more difficult to recognise food
intolerances, which are not true allergies
and therefore neither produce severe,
obvious symptoms nor are identifiable
through standard allergy testing. It is, in
fact, these food intolerances lurking in the
background, and not picked up by standardAyurvedic clinic:
tests, that may be the culprit behind a
variety of symptoms.
In ayurveda, it is common knowledge that
one man’s food is another man’s poison.
From an ayurvedic perspective there are no
definite lists of ‘good food’ or ‘bad food’.
A food becomes good or bad depending
on the effect it has on one’s body after
it is digested and assimilated. Each food
may have varied effects on the individual
and may even cause different reactions
at different times depending on one’smetabolic strength. Therefore, it is unwise
to believe that certain foods are bad for
everyone and to assume that certain foods
are good and harmless for all.Food diaries
The first step to find out if any symptoms are
related to food intolerances is to become
your own health detective by examining the
effect of the food you eat on your health.
Keeping a food dairy means you can
assess how often you consume certain