Can we eat curd at night?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

I have been told that curd should not be consumed at night. Could

anybody please tell me the reason why it is not good to eat curd at night?

 

Thanks

Aparna.

[Guest guest]

Hi Aparna;

 

Apparently the molecules of yogurt, kefir, sour cream, cottage cheese,

ricotta cheese, and even more, fermented cheeses, are larger and

heavier to digest (than boiled milk even) and tend to create more ama

(incomplete products of digestion) at night than midday when the

digestive fires are naturally stronger. In midday, we have gone from

kapha time of day to pitta time, when " fires " are literally as well as

chemically supported to do their work better. At night, supper is

generally at end of vata time or into kapha, and neither vata nor

kapha digestion is as strong as pitta. Hence advice to eat lighter at

night, and not too late.

 

A dear friend of mine, having recently traveled from Nepal and then

across this country through several places and homes, was my good

fortune to be her hostess for a few weeks. As she is a vaidya, I was

surprised to see her eat yoghurt at night, and asked her about it.

She explained she purposely was taking it to help her ground quickly

her vata and be able to sleep! I must have not had any milk in the

house that night. In any case, she did vaman in the am, but needed so

much a good night's sleep, she used this usually adverse effect as

medicine. Anything can be medicine or poison, it is said!

 

Warm Regards;

Ysha

Postpartum Ayurdoual

 

> I have been told that curd should not be consumed at night. Could

> anybody please tell me the reason why it is not good to eat curd at

night?

[Guest guest]

Hello Ysha:

 

I wonder then why it is recommended that we take a glass full of warm/hot milk

at night. Assuming the normal bedtime is 10 pm, if you take milk at around

9-9:30 pm, it's still Kapha time. Yes, milk is obviously much more digestible

than yogurt, but then it's still not as digestible as other food items like mung

bean, rice, fruits, etc. -- I mean, the recommendation to eat dinner light

implies eating less as well as eating those items that are easier to digest. I

may be wrong in my assumption that milk is so difficult to digest to avoid it at

night -- I have problems digesting milk and that is the reason why I tend to

think of milk that way. But if I am correct about my assumption, why don't we

recommend that everyone should take a glass of milk right around say 11 am and

have lunch at 1 pm?

 

A related question I have is: What about buttermilk? Can we take it at dinner?

 

Regards,

Matt

_____________

Apparently the molecules of yogurt, kefir, sour cream, cottage cheese,

ricotta cheese, and even more, fermented cheeses, are larger and

heavier to digest (than boiled milk even) and tend to create more ama

(incomplete products of digestion) at night than midday when the

digestive fires are naturally stronger...........