Ayurveda, with its core focus on preventing illness and restoring wellness, operates on a profound understanding of gunas or qualities inherent in foods and herbs. This ancient system delves into the intricacies of each plant's qualities, emphasizing how these attributes undergo transformations during processing and cooking. Among the dietary essentials, rice takes center stage in Ayurvedic nutrition, its gunas varying based on factors such as cultivation, harvest, processing, storage, and cooking.
AGGRAVATED KAPHA DOSHA
The improper processing and cooking of rice emerge as significant contributors to health issues, particularly in aggravating kapha dosha. This aggravation is linked to various lifestyle disorders, including uncontrolled weight gain, elevated blood sugar, and cholesterol levels. Ayurveda provides explicit recommendations for rice preparation, aiming to reduce excess starch, enhance digestibility, and lower the glycemic index. Following these guidelines aligns with Ayurvedic principles, making rice conducive to weight management and regular consumption.
Rice, a dietary staple globally, holds a distinctive place in Ayurveda as a whole grain, deemed more digestible than milled grains. Despite prevalent misconceptions associating rice with concerns about weight, blood sugar, and cholesterol, Ayurveda underscores the significance of selecting the right type of rice and adhering to appropriate preparation methods. This approach transforms rice into a nutritious choice suitable for individuals of all backgrounds.
In ancient Ayurvedic texts, detailed instructions regarding rice selection and preparation were commonplace for centuries. However, the advent of modern conveniences such as pressure cookers has led to a departure from these time-honored practices. It's intriguing to note that this modernization coincides with a surge in global issues like obesity, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia.
LESSONS FROM PRAMEHA
Ayurveda introduces a disorder akin to diabetes, termed Prameha. According to Ayurvedic texts, Prameha results from kapha aggravation triggered by the consumption of freshly harvested and inadequately aged rice. Freshly harvested rice exhibits qualities of moisture and density, precisely the attributes that provoke kapha dosha. The Ayurvedic remedy for Prameha emphasizes the consumption of aged rice, particularly highlighting two types: Shashtika, a red rice that matures within 60 days, and Raktashali, another red rice with greater rarity. These red rice varieties stand out for their nutritional richness, quick digestion, and the absence of kapha dosha aggravation.
Ayurvedic texts delineate the qualities of Shashtika, emphasizing its sweet taste (madhura rasa), astringent taste (kashya anurasa), light digestibility (laghu), softness (mrudu), unctuousness (snigdha), and absorbent nature (grahi). Furthermore, the recommendation includes the consumption of aged rice stored for a minimum of one year, reducing water content and mitigating kapha dosha's impact. Freshly harvested rice, especially when pressure-cooked, elevates water content, leading to increased moisture, exacerbating kapha dosha and contributing to disorders like high body fat, elevated blood sugar, and heightened cholesterol levels.
CONCEPT OF SATMYA
The Ayurvedic concept of Satmya underscores the optimal health benefits derived from consuming both ancestral and locally grown foods. Ancestral foods align with the DNA's evolutionary design, promoting health by adhering to the dietary patterns our bodies evolved with. Simultaneously, locally grown foods offer naturally ripened, prana-rich, and seasonally appropriate options, fostering improved digestion with beneficial organisms. Despite red rice not being universally cultivated, adhering to specific criteria—unpolished, organic cultivation within 60 days, and aging for at least one year—makes it a viable, healthy choice.
POLISHED RICE
Contrasting with unpolished varieties, polished rice undergoes a milling process that removes the husk, bran, aleurone layer, and embryo, leaving behind the starchy endosperm—a key source of kapha aggravation. Polished rice, characterized by low fiber, reduced polyphenols, and diminished micronutrients like magnesium, poses challenges to glucose metabolism. Its heavy digestibility, high glycemic index (GI), and glycemic load (GL) contribute to elevated blood glucose levels.
AGED RICE
Freshly harvested rice's propensity to split due to high water content is addressed through the aging process, leading to a hardened grain. Aged rice, cooking lighter and absorbing less water, results in less stickiness between grains. This preparation method aligns with Ayurvedic principles, producing rice that is easily digestible and characterized by separated grains.
COOKING PROCESS
Ayurvedic guidelines prescribe washing unpolished rice at least three times or soaking it for 20 minutes to eliminate excess starch. Cooking involves a ratio of ten parts water to one part rice, with the water brought to a rolling boil before adding the rice. As the rice cooks and 90% of the water is absorbed, the remaining 10%, known as Pej (gruel), is separated from the rice. This nutrient-rich liquid, abundant in vitamins and micronutrients, is saved. Throughout the cooking process, the rice remains uncovered, and once the Pej is removed, covering the rice with a lid allows trapped steam to complete the cooking process. Termed Srut Odana, rice prepared in this manner is light to digest.
ROASTING RICE
Roasting rice before cooking enhances its digestibility, appeases kapha dosha, and imparts a pleasant aroma. Recent studies suggest that roasted rice exhibits lower lipid content and increased soluble fiber after 15 minutes of roasting. This method, characterized by a shorter cooking time and enhanced hydration and gelatinization, stands in contrast to the Ayurvedic approach. Notably, prolonged rice cooking, as facilitated by pressure cookers, elevates kapha-increasing qualities, raising the glycemic index and subsequently blood sugar levels. Ayurvedic wisdom suggests adherence to traditional cooking methods for sustained health benefits.
In conclusion, Ayurveda's time-tested principles offer valuable insights into rice consumption, emphasizing the significance of selection and preparation methods for overall well-being.
Commentaires