Ayurvedic food combination tips let you know the food items that are compatible or incompatible in combinations. You can’t take food items of conflicting nature. The food items you take at a meal should be easily digested in a go.

Drinking ice-cooled water during and immediately after taking a meal can hamper the digestive process. Digestive enzymes become inactive. This conditions leads to incomplete digestion of food and absorption of right nutrients in wrong combinations by the body. This leads to accumulation of bodily wastes called ama in lining tissues of blood vessels, heart, respiratory system and digestive tract.

Replace cold water with light warm water. Sip warm water at moderate levels while taking meals. Don’t drink too much of water during meals. It can dilute digestive juice and cause poor digestion. Take plenty of moderately warm water one hour before meals. You can take plenty of water one hour after meals.

Carbohydrate rich food is not combined with acidic food items. For example if you take bread and lemon juice together, it will cause the digestive system erratically digest both the items. Don’t eat grain, cereal or pulses item with acidic items like citrus fruits, grapes, pineapple etc.

Protein rich food items go well with low-carb food items like rice and vegetable. Vegetables also go well with all types of starchy, carbohydrate rich food items.

Fruits should ideally be taken as a separate meal, independent of other regular meals.

Milk and meat is bad combination. Never take milk and meat in a single meal. Separate intake of milk and meat by at least four hours. Milk and meat is good for body in several ways. When taken together, it becomes toxic. Many modern food styles fly on the face of this Ayurvedic food combination rule.

Milk is also to be taken warm. Cold milk can cause indigestion. Taking milk too hot also is not desirable.

Ending the meals with sweet dessert is not allowed in Ayurveda. One needs to end a full-belly meal with some hot and light item like buttermilk. Buttermilk is curd diluted with water and added with a pinch of salt, chilly powder, some curry leaves and a bit of ginger. Many times ginger and curry leaves are avoided from the combination, only due to difficulty in availability.

Other factor to keep in mind with Ayurvedic food combination includes the endurance of the digestive system. A strong digestive fire (pitta) almost over-rides some of the effects associated with unscientific food combination. Not all are blessed with such a strong digestive fire.

And the most important food rule by Ayurveda

Don’t burden your digestive system by eating too full. Over-eating is already a strict no-no, Ayurveda suggests you take half-stomach solid food, fill a quarter with water and leave the rest free. This is best for proper digestion.