Tips to ensure that Vegetarian diet provides wholesome nourishment and super strength

Majority of the Non vegetarians carry this impression that vegetarianism cannot provide as much strength and endurance as non-vegetarianism does. Many also think that vegetarian food has less variety than non veg. However, this is an absolute misconception. While we shall discuss about the details in the subsequent paras, to give you some examples upfront, India had a history of martial/warrior races which had been pure vegetarians like Sikhs, Jaats, Gurjars and Yadavs who are physically and mentally extremely strong and robust which is why they always excelled/have been excelling in Armed forces. Though it is a different thing that due to globalization especially the effect of meat eating intruders, even Indians who were earlier highly spiritual too started consuming meat (that most of non-vegetarians move to vegetarian food during Navratris festival in India is a testimony to the fact that non vegetarianism was never in the basic fabric of Indian philosophy). Even this is said that meat eating in India proliferated amongst many martial races with the presumption that meat eating provides more and quicker strength which was required to fight against the intruders. However, this is not the fact as already stated above and basically what is needed is to understand the science of nutrition.

This blog will provide insights on how to thrive on a violence free food which apart from giving you taste and variety, will also give you strength not only on physical and mental level but also on spiritual level. Spiritual level, because the fact is that all living beings in the Universe are intricately connected to each other which has been proven in today’s times through the theory of quantum entanglement thereby providing a scientific validity to the theory of Karma that sooner or later, we all get the fruits of our Karma. And therefore whenever we create pain in other’s life, we are bound to get it back which is why we must learn to adopt violence free ways of leading life as soon as possible to lessen the load of our negative karmas. Apart from this there are several scientific evidences to prove that vegetarian food is healthier even for this planet and not the just the individual e.g. raising livestock for meat generates more than 15% of the greenhouse gases.

Let’s begin…

The Basics

We all know the that proteins are the building blocks of our body. They can be compared with bricks, stones, cement and iron used in a building that create a structure. They are also part of all enzymes, hormones, cell membranes, DNA, RNA etc. Similarly, fats too are essential for the body in several ways e.g. they provide cushion to our body parts. Along with proteins, they insulate nervous system from short circuiting with each other thereby helping the body to store memory. They are also part of several enzymes and hormones etc. They work as alternative fuel for the body when it runs out of carbohydrates. On the other hand, carbohydrates are our primary fuel and excess of them get stored as fat in the body. Hence all three work as building blocks of the body with protein being the primary block. Together these three create sweetness in our body (not sugar). Hence they are part of Sweet taste in Ayurveda which is one of the six tastes (others being sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent).

*** Six tastes of Ayurveda are equally important for vegetarians as well as non-vegetarians and therefore must be understood in detail by all for their health and well-being however that is a long discussion which is not in the scope of this blog.

When body runs short of these sweet tastes, it creates hollowness like gaps in the walls, floor and roof of the building. This hollowness is called as Vata in Ayurvedic terms which in small quantity is essential to create channels through which nutrition and other communication moves in the body. A bit of hollowness/Vata also provides us intelligence by creating inter-neural circuits. The problem comes when hollowness/vata becomes too high thereby weakening us. Also apart from proteins, fats and carbohydrates, the body needs various Vitamins and minerals like magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus etc. to maintain a healthy body and mind. Even though they are needed in very small quantities they are also as essential as proteins, fats and carbohydrates which is why they are also part of sweet taste and therefore it is must to know about their role and other aspects too.

Now, since Proteins are the primary contributors as building blocks of the body, the blog will emphasize more on Proteins. To begin with, Pulses and grains should be combined and rotated on regular basis to get all types of proteins in the body. Coming paras will explain the reasons.

More about Proteins

Now, let’s discuss in detail. There are 20 amino acids found on earth which are the building blocks of different proteins. Out of these human body is able to create 10 amino acids through its internal mechanisms from the foods that we eat, however there are 10 amino acids that our body cannot produce and therefore these are called as essential amino acids. In fact, the body uses parts of essential amino acids only to create non-essential amino acids. Hence they become so important to create various proteins in our body including muscles and hemoglobin. Now, as a thumb rule our body needs around one gm of Protein per kg of weight. That means a person with 60 kg weight needs 60 gms of protein per day which is not difficult at all for a vegetarian. This is because while non veg sources provide around 25 gms of proteins per 100 gms of the source, we get similar or even more from pulses.

However, there is one small catch which is that all pulses and beans except soybean do not provide all the ten essential amino acids from one source itself. Some pulses provide five, some provide seven and so on. This is where comes the role of grains especially heavy grains like wheat and millets which has other sets of essential amino acids. That is why together pulses/beans and grains provide all the essential amino acids to us thereby making it a complete food in itself from protein viewpoint.

Some more very important points

While non veg sources provide all essential amino acids in one food item itself, there are vegetarian sources too that provide them all in one item itself and these are milk, cheese, soy, peanuts, quinoa however as mentioned above, a vegetarian should not worry about this issue as long as he/she is using a combination of grains and pulses. Also to note that unlike fats and carbohydrates, proteins cannot be stored in our body as amino acids. They stay in our blood for around 24-48 hrs. during which they are either used for metabolic purposes or are created as muscles. Anything in excess is used for creating energy or fat. This is why ideally we should be using the combo of grains and pulses in each major meal or at most the same day or next day if not in one meal itself (though having all essential nutrients in one go helps one to feel fuller and avoid overeating which goes true for all nutrients and not just proteins). And we must keep rotating pulses/grains on daily basis.
Rice is relatively a light grain with only 3 percent protein as compared to wheat and most of the millets which have protein as high as 10-16 gms. That is why ideally one should be consuming heavy grains with pulses to keep Vata (hollowness) in control especially in major meals which is why Dal Roti Indian bread (chapatti) and pulse have been essential part of every major meal in North India. Another option is to combine different pulses and heavy grains and consume them with a bit of rice where rice is consumed for carbohydrates and not proteins as done in South Indian main dishes. One of the most favorite snacks that Indians used to consume earlier was “chana murmura” along with cornflakes. Here combination of chana (gram) with cornflakes used to provide all essential amino acids and murmura which is puffed rice provides carbohydrates. Corn flakes also provide major source of fat in this combination thereby making it a strength giving meal.
Since excess of protein can also be harmful and generate acidity (as it byproduct is uric acid), one should learn to strike a balance. This is where rice comes in picture being cold and low on protein. That is why curd rice is a good food to handle/undo acidity.
Vegetarians must consume enough of milk and its products like cheese and yogurt not only to get enough all the essential amino acids but also to get vitamin B12 as the same is extremely essential for several bodily functions since only milk and its products are the vegetarian source of B12. Milk, cheese also provide essential fats and carbohydrates and are therefore considered almost a complete food in itself (Veganism is a fad which in the long run will create serious health issues for Vegans. Instead the aim should be treat cows like family members so that they happily provide their part milk after her calf’s tummy is full. This was the Vedic philosophy. Even eggs can be consumed as long as the hens are given a natural environment to grow and provide unfertilized eggs unlike today where most of the hens are stacked in inhuman conditions thereby inviting wrong karmas.
Soybean is a difficult to digest protein even though its protein content is very high (30-40 gms). Hence ideally it should be consumed when it has been broken down by external fire else it will create toxins due to incomplete digestion (same goes with the other vegetarians sources of proteins). This is why soy nuggets which are prepared after boiling and grating soy are excellent source of proteins (52gms) along with its other benefits like being high on iron etc.
Non essential amino acids are created from glucose (basic molecule of sugar) and amino group taken from other amino acids consumed. In simple words, amino acids can be created through chemical processes which is why sprouting of pulses is known to increase protein contents making them healthier as sprouting involves creation of glucose from sunlight and air through photosynthesis.
Apart from proteins, all humans irrespective of being Vegetarians or Non vegetarians need right types of fats, carbohydrates, minerals and Vitamins which they can easily get by consuming seasonal vegetables, seeds, nuts, fruits and grains. Please understand that these are as essential as proteins and therefore it is important to know their role, the symptoms of their deficiency (chances of which are high in today’s world due to factors like wrong/fast paced lifestyle and environmental pollution etc.) and their sources. Readers are therefore requested and strongly suggested to go through the attached sheets that capture all these aspects in a crisp format. Click here to open the attached sheet… role of minerals and vitamins in body
All in all, a wholesome diet should have grains (essentially unrefined), pulses or beans, seasonal vegetables, nuts and seeds and curd or cheese.
*** Last but not the least, a very important point for vegetarians to remember is that ideally they should consume only gluten free foods as gluten is sticky and it creates slush thereby narrowing our blood vessels. Thus in the long run it increases Vata (less blood due to narrowing of vessels) and Pitta (heat as blood gushes faster through narrowed vessels) thereby generating excess heat in the body. We must all remember that we humans evolved from omnivores only who used to used meat which was gluten free. Hence our bodies are not meant to handle gluten. Those who are able to afford gluten are those whose blood vessels are wide (with less vata). Hence gluten is ok for them as it increases their Vata in the long run thereby imparting them intelligence and wider horizon because Vata creates more inter-neural circuits.

The spiritual angle

The Puranas mention of a fight between Banasur and Balaram who was the avatar of Lord Vishnu and brother of Krishna. Like every God carries different instruments/weapons which represent their purpose/role in the scheme of the Universe (both outside and within), Balaram is shown to carry a plough (a Hul in Hindi). This plough represents that stage where humans began agriculture and moved up the ladder of evolution from a carnivore to a herbivore. It is not a coincidence that Balaram was the brother of Lord Krishna because Lord Krishna represents “Chandravanshi”, where conscience is governed by Moon (moon means Chandra) thereby imparting sixteen virtues including compassion/sympathy/empathy for all the beings in the Universe which is why Lord Krishna spoke of “Vasudeva Kutumbakam” – “The entire world is one family including animals” and going by that we should never ever think of killing each other/bring pain to each other.

As such apart from spiritual and karmic reasons as mentioned above, there are several scientific evidences to prove that vegetarian food is healthier even for this planet and not the just the individual e.g. raising livestock for meat generates more than 15% of the greenhouse gases. From Ayurveda viewpoint, non-vegetarian sources provide extremely dense nutrition to our body thereby keeping hollowness totally at bay whose dark side is that absence of hollowness does not let the body create more inter-neural connections thereby keeping our horizons limited and robbing us of far sighted approach which is essential for evolution of the humans from animalistic to the higher i.e. spiritual nature. Basically spirit is nothing but ether/space. Excessively dense nutrition robs us of ether/space thereby weakening our spiritual nature i.e. the ability to see far. In spiritual terms, it keeps us abound to lower chakras thereby keeping us engaged in race and fight for hoarding food, sex, territory and other resources which is the typical quality of a carnivore.

At astrological level food produced through violence creates “pitra dosha” which brings sufferings on different fronts of life like financial, health, relationship etc. in the family tree and continues for generations unless the members learn to live with non violent ways of life. To read about pitra dosha please click the link below.

https://therootcause.blog/2022/08/08/2762/

Dear Reader, This blog is an excerpt from the Volume ONE and TWO of the book, THE ROOT CAUSE- Ayurveda, Astrology and Beyond for a blissful life”. For detailed understanding of Ayurveda and other Vedic sciences like Yogasana, Pranayama, Astrology, Ashtang Yoga and the deep seated meanings of Puranas including the spiritual world, you may please use the under-mentioned links to pick your copy. I would also request the readers that reading Volume one is essential to understand the higher concepts of Volume two. So those who have very old version of first book should ideally pick up the latest version i.e. Volume one before proceeding for volume two.

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