Digestion

[Guest guest]

One of the causes for cardiac problems mentioned by Maharishi Charak in his

Sanhita is eating a second meal without fully digesting an earlier meal. This

requires understanding of two aspects. What is the biological process that

renders the second meal harmful and what is the criteria for ascertaining that

the earlier meal has been fully digested.

 

Vinod Haritwal

[Guest guest]

dear Vinod

 

good questions.

 

> What is the biological process that renders the second meal harmful

 

1. undue volume in the upper GIT compresses the heart and causes a

restriction in its function; some people routinely overeat, almost to

the point of choking ("cafe coronary"), and thus routinely cause this

problem

2. eating a second meal w/o it being digested leads to the formation of

ama; ama of course causes many problems, and negatively impacts upon

vascular health

 

of course the Ayurvedic conception of the heart doesn't exactly

correspond with biological mechanisms; remember, that the heart first

receives the slurry of nutrients after digestion, to circulate rasa

through the body; the heart is also the seat of ojas, and the mind: a

weak agni impairs ojas and negatively affects consciousness

 

> what is the criteria for ascertaining that the earlier meal has been

> fully digested

 

the meal has been digested when:

1. the stomach feels empty

2. there is hunger (i.e. gastric rumblings and gurglings, not

psychohenic hunger that most people confuse with real hunger)

3. there is no taste of the previous meal in the mouth

4. burps have no taste of the previous meal

5. there is a sudden drop in energy levels (this is more a factor of

eating carbohydrates, which causes a rebound hypoglycemia)

Caldecott

phyto

http://www.wrc.net/phyto