Fasting Benefits

Navratri's Navrang A Journey of Colours, Detox, and Well-being.
By Archana Patil

Navratri’s Navrang: A Journey of Colours, Detox, and Well-being

The festival of Navratri is a vibrant and joyous celebration that holds a special place in the hearts of millions of people in India and worldwide. This nine-night festival, dedicated to the worship of the goddess Durga, is a religious observance and a cultural extravaganza that brings people together, celebrating life, music, dance, and, of course, a riot of colours. Navratri is a journey of Navrang, or nine colours, representing the diverse facets of life, detoxification of the mind and body, and pursuit of holistic well-being.

Navratri is the festival of Navdurgas that helps humans awaken from within. Navratri brings so many changes in weather as well as in daily routine. This mainly helps us to detox the human body. Every cultural activity/festival has a scientific significance that positively impacts our mind, body, and soul.

For example:
Makar Sankranti | Chaitra Navratri | Shardiya Navratri

Shardiya Navratri:

This Navratri festival is celebrated in Sharad Ritu, and the duration of the festival is nine days. Many people do fasts for 9 days and eat particular foods only. Even wear certain colour clothes according to the day.

Navratri festival is celebrated in Sharad Ritu, and the duration of the Festival is nine days.

According to Ayurveda in Sharad Rutu Pitta is provoked as Agni (digestive fire) is mand (low) and may lead to various disorders of the digestive system like Acidity, Indigestion, Nausea, Skin allergies, etc. The body needs detoxification to eliminate the toxins accumulated in the body. However, the fast should not be excessive as it may cause deterioration of body tissues( Dhatu Kshaya).

Fasting is one of the ways to detoxify the body. Fast is of 9-day duration and could be of different types such as

Nutritional Science aspects, Fasting is one of the ways to detox, rejuvenate, and energize the body.

Dry Fast (No Food – No Water)
Fasting on Water
Fasting on Fruits
Fasting on Liquids (Herbal Drinks)
Fasting from Grains
Fasting on Sugar and Salt
Intermittent Fasting
Circadian rhythm fasting [a time-restricted feeding (TRF) in which a person eats all of their food across a span of hours in the earlier part of the day].

According to Nutritional Science aspects, Fasting is one of the ways to detox, rejuvenate, and energize the body. Navratri food recipes are nutritious, Gluten-free, high in fiber, and low in fats. This kind of fasting provides good hydration, and high vitamins, and minerals. Such fasting imparts self-discipline as we develop healthy habits and reduce mindless eating. 

This Navratri fasting is not only useful in detoxification of the body but also useful in various disorders like PCOS, Hypothyroidism, high cholesterol, Obesity, etc.

Navrang colours and their sequence are different every year. Below is the list of this year’s colours and their sequence is as follows:

Day 1 (Colour – Orange):
Pumpkin, Orange, Papaya, Carrot, Apricot.

Day 2 (Colour – White):
White colour foodstuffs are Milk, Curd, Buttermilk, Makhana, Cashew, and Varai (Kodo Millet).

Day 3 (Colour – Red):
Red colour foods are Apple, Strawberry, Watermelon, Pomegranate, Plum, Mulberry, and Raspberries.

Day 4 (Colour – Royal Blue):
Blueberry, Cowpea Flower infused Water.

Day 5 (Colour – Yellow):
Banana, Sweet Lime, Lemon, Sweet Potato, Potato.

Day 6 (Colour – Green):
Bhindi, Lauki, Cucumber, Mint, Green Grapes, Star fruit, Amla.

Day 7 (Colour – Grey):
Singhara Flour, Sunflower Seeds, Chia Seeds, and Dragon fruit.

Day 8 (Colour – Purple):
Jamun, Blackberry, Cranberry

Day 9 (Colour – Peacock Green):
Pista, Guava, Green Grapes.

People celebrate Navratri by doing Pooja, Fasting, Rangoli, and floral decoration at their places, Chanting Vedic Mantras of Goddesses, and wearing particular colour clothes on particular days. This shows unity and brings us closer to nature as we are a part of this nature.

Happy Navratri

Diversity is the main characteristic of Nature, and humans should adopt this characteristic in their daily routine by eating various colours of food in their diet. Nature has an ample collection of colours, which are due to different types of pigments. These natural entities have antioxidant activity which is helpful in the aging process and chronic disorders.

Navrang of Navratri (Nine Colours) enhances the physical beauty of the person as well as could make the mind and soul healthy through eating Navrang colour foods available in nature.

We recommend such innovative, Nutritious, Local but Low-cal fast recipes for Navratri through our reports using the device Nadi Tarangini.

Do visit our website www.naditarangini.com and follow us on our social media handles to know more about which recipes to consume to stay healthy as per your Prakruti & Vikruti changes.

Authors –
Mrs. Archana Patil (Wellness Coach – Nutrition)
Vaidya Shilpa Jamdarkhana (Wellness Coach – Ayurveda)
By Dr. Gayatri Mulye

Metabolic Health and Upwas: Exploring the Ayurvedic Connection

Shravan or Sawan is the indication of monsoon season. With rains and greenery all around it gets serene and magical and close to nature. The monsoon comes along with many festivals and it’s a time of real celebration. Many times, these festivals are associated with Upwas (following fasts). We can observe that across different communities across India, upwas is suggested on different occasions which is inherently related to health.

Ayurveda explains the benefits of Langhan to which upwas is a subset. Upwas is one of the main key factors associated with metabolic health. In 2016, Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research on autophagy (a result achieved by fasting), a process where body cells regenerate themselves by removing dysfunctional components. Recently, there’s been a lot of buzz about the health benefits of upwas and calorie restriction. Intermittent fasting was the top Google diet search trend in 2019.

Upwas is nothing but a holiday to our digestive system to give it some rest. But understanding why and adopting scientifically is the need of the hour. Langhan practices are ‘energetic withdrawals’ and offer lightness to the body.

Need of Upwas:

Seasonal changes, lifestyle changes, and wrong food habits are crucial factors affecting the balance of Agni (Digestive Fire). In Monsoon, it is already at a minimal level. Weakened Agni is responsible for the assimilation of metabolic toxins and metabolic disorders including fat storage, weight gain, prediabetes, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and even cognitive decline. Hence upwas with minimal intake is recommended in monsoon. Ayurveda states that following fasts enhances Agni by reducing accumulated toxins. This is nothing but autophagy.

Festivals, upwas and health importance:

In India, Monsoon falls from June to September (Hindu months starting from Ashadh to Ashwin). Chaturmas is the period of these four months, during which many communities strictly follow some diet restrictions for balancing health. Broadly we can say that there are two methods of upwas:

  1. Half-day fasts which are to be concluded with light meals at night. E.g. Shravani somavar, Chaturthi, Nagpanchami, Janmashtami, etc.
  2. Full-day fasts which are strict for the whole day with upwas specific meals and are to be concluded with a light sweet breakfast on the next morning. E.g. Ekadashi, a few days of Navratri.

If one observes this, it can be understood that fasts are periodic and illustrated in such a way as to maintain health. This is a unique diet design associated with rituals and traditions with the application of Ayurveda principles.

What should be your ideal Menu Plan during upwas in monsoon:

Note:

  1. Do not remain on an empty stomach for more than 6 hrs because it is responsible for an increase in Pitta and Vata.
  2. People complaining of acidity, heaviness, and headache should avoid or consume less heavy food like sabudana/sago, fried food, milkshakes, fruit salads, excess tea, coffee, curd, excess use of groundnut, tamarind, etc.
  3. If you have controlled and mild diabetes, then upwas can be done with proper precautions. Intake after every four hours is recommended for such people. Do not use food items like sabudana, potato, sweet potato, and fried food items. Milk is recommended because it reduces the chances of sudden sugar drop. Restrict sugar intake properly.
  4. People with health conditions should consult the expert before following upwas.
  5. If you are already on a diet for weight control, then upwas is very useful. Here you can modify your upwas day with the principles of intermittent fasting. You can eat a more liquid diet, fruits and milk for the whole day followed by a light meal at night.

So, for this Shravan month with functions fasting keep your health in check. For more such interesting Ayurveda updates stay tuned with us at Nadi Tarangini.

Authors:
Dr. Gayatri Kulkarni – Mulye, (MD Ayurved)
Shruti Kulkarni (Nutritionist)
Vaidya Tejaswini Bhale-Borse (Ayurveda Physician)

Festive wishes: Makar Sankranti- Starting on a “Sweet note”

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