Dr. Jobby George –
We are all aware that food has multiple nutrients to nourish each and every cell in the body. Details of which I’m not going into as we have studied those during our school days. Nevertheless, you must be thinking about how can food affect the mind and faith.
We believe that the mind resides in the brain with connections of thousands of neurons. However, Ayurveda says that the heart is the seat of the mind! Hence, that’s why people with strong hearts have strong minds and vice-versa. The same is with our faith! Faith and strong trust in God keep the heart and mind positive and going.
So how does food affect our thinking?
Sometimes, after having a meal, if you feel acidic or constipated, you lose focus and concentration in your work. Similarly, if you hear of a sad demise of a loved one, will you feel like eating? No, right? Likewise, subconsciously, the mind has a connection with our stomach and appetite.
The simplest form of food that can be easily digested and absorbed (Sativic Ahara) carries more nutrients and life that give the same energy to each and every cell of the body. When the body is energetic, the mind is automatically lively and energetic! On the other hand, if we eat food that is highly complex (Tamasik-Rajasic) because of the wrong combinations or heavy-to-digest or wrong methods; makes us more lethargic, burpy, gassy and constipated. Good nutrition is cut and malabsorption leads to improper metabolism from cell to cell. The mind is automatically affected! If this becomes a habit, in course of time we say toxins build up, then affect the weakest part of the body and are labeled as a disease. Pain, swelling, and infections are noted. The mind, not to mention, goes downhill. Also, when the mind is up, the faith is up. When the mind goes down, so does the Faith!
Where is Satvik Ahara?
Simplest form of food (Sattivik Ahara) comes organically grown, grown within your areas, grown and harvested to the season, cooked without too many spices and additives, freshly cooked, whole grains, the unpackaged and right combination of ingredients. But then, inevitably, in the name of modernization and revolutions, it is difficult to find such a food! Vegetables are hybrid and fertilized, meat and poultry hormonised, cold stored, cooked food refrigerated!
Ray D. Strand (M.D.) in his book (What your doctor doesn’t know about Nutritional Medicine may be Killing You) has mentioned the loss of vital vitamins and minerals due to these procedures. People are easily susceptible to nutritional deficiencies and lifestyle disorders! It’s no more a disease of the poor!
Faith and Mind Connection
Napoleon Hill, in one of his books, has mentioned, “Faith is the head chemist of the mind. When faith is blended with the vibration of thought, the subconscious mind instantly picks up the vibration, translates it into its spiritual equivalent and transmits it to Infinite Intelligence, as in the case of prayer.”
The body is always called the “Temple of God.” So, if we take in the wrong food, that also should be considered as a sin because it defiles the physical body, which in turn defiles the mind and in turn the faith!
Dr. Jobby George is the founder and Sr. Chief Consultant at NavJeev Ayurveda Clinic, Indranagar, Banglore