Definitions

 AYURVEDIC BODY TYPES - Careful use of foods will help balance the individual’s unique combination of the 3 types.

Ayurveda gives another way to evaluate your type so you can adjust your food plan accordingly. This is an important consideration as we are uniquely different in the way we process foods. People with cold hands & feet need more cooked foods to warm them up. People with hot hands & feet can eat more raw foods to cool them down. 

 Ayurveda is the ancient traditional system of medicine in India. Ayurveda has classified all human body types into 3 general types or Doshas - Vata, Pitta, Kapha. These 3 constitutional body types are determined by a mixture of the 5 elements of ether, air, fire, water, and earth.  We may be in any of 9 sub-types composed of differing amounts of each basic type. 

 Most people are mixtures of all 3 basic types, so it is best to get a proper diagnosis from a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner, if you have serious health issues.  People may see-saw between their 2 most dominant types, so you may be able to relate to 2 of the types. Seasonal temperature extremes and wrong-foods-for-your-type, may affect your doshas, tipping you into feeling unwell.

 Vata is governed by air and ether. They are similar to Ectomorphs in body shape. They tend to have dry skin and a changeable digestive capacity that is sometimes good, but other times not good. They become anxious easily and complain of cold hands and feet. They tend to be thin and have trouble putting on weight. Vata is dry, light, fast, changeable and moves quickly. Psychologically they are enthusiastic with a quick creative mind.

 Pitta is governed by fire and water. They are similar to Mesomorphs in body shape. They usually have a good digestive capacity, but may tend towards heartburn. They are medium build. Pitta is moister and slower than Vata, more stable and smoother than Vata, and generally have warm hands and feet. Psychologically they are fiery, irritable, sharp to aggressive and determined.

 Kapha is governed by water and earth. They are similar to Endomorphs in body shape. They tend to have cool damp skin, with a slow but very efficient digestive capacity. They tend to be heavier in stature and have trouble losing weight. Kapha is moister and slower than Pitta. Being the heaviest in weight of all types, they are the most stable, with a soft smoothness. Psychologically they are calm, peaceful and lethargic.

 BEST FOODS

Vata people are changeable in their food needs, sometimes enjoying raw foods, other times needing to eat cooked foods, if their digestion is not working properly. They sometimes forget to eat if their active minds have propelled them into a project. Vata people benefit from eating regular meals that are warm, moist and containing a little oil or butter. They should avoid frozen foods and icy drinks. To balance their dosha they can choose the following tastes - sweet [honey, milk, fruits], sour [citrus, yoghurt, strawberries] and salty [salt, meats, miso]. Vata people need to create a calm, safe, peaceful environment to eliminate the anxiousness they are prone to.

Pitta people have a strong digestion, can happily eat lots of raw food and generally never miss a meal. As they tend to overheat, they need to keep cool, avoid alcohol, excess oils and fried foods. When overheated they may experience an inability to digest fats, so it is important for them to choose cooling foods such as green vegetable salads. They can emphasise fresh fruit and vegetables, choosing the sweet [honey, milk, fruits], bitter  [endive, kale, tumeric]  and astringent [lentils, beans, broccoli] tastes to balance their dosha.

 Kapha people may not enjoy a lot of raw food and prefer cooked foods that are warm, light and dry. They should keep fat and oil intake to a minimum, going for lots of fresh vegetables, herbs and spices. Avoid iced food & drinks, sweets, too much bread & dairy foods. Choose pungent [chillis, ginger, garlic], bitter [endive, kale, tumeric] and astringent [lentils, beans, broccoli] tastes to balance Kapha. Kapha people can drink less than other types and 5 to 6 cups of liquid per day may be enough, depending on the season.

There are many excellent books on Ayurveda and Ayurvedic practitioners who can guide you to better health.

 DISCLAIMER Please consult your Health Care Professional before eliminating any medications or attempting any radical dietary changes. This information is educational and is not intended to treat serious illness or replace doctors medications. 

 
BIOGENICS

 Biogenics originated with the teachings of the Essene Sect, in the time of Jesus and was rediscovered by Edmond Szekely, who practised the principle at his Rancho La Puerta in California. They discovered that eating the wrong foods led to unwanted weight gain, and biochemical imbalances, that caused digestive disturbances, and disease.

 People on Biogenic nutrition found their bodies began quite naturally to shift towards 

1. Normal weight             2. Healthy function

 We have 15,000 different enzymatic functions in the body. Enzymes are organic catalysts which are  ESSENTIAL  for the digestive and metabolic processes.  Enzymes in food are destroyed by heat, hence the value of raw foods.  60% to 80 % of raw food enzymes survive intact to reach the small intestine, where they encourage the development of intestinal flora, which in turn can synthesise many important substances for the body.

 Enzymes along with vitamins, organic minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, fatty acids and natural sugars are found in a bio-available form in the watery cells of fresh raw foods.  The more raw food you eat, the less water you need to drink. Freshly pressed fruit and vegetable juices are superior with their enzymatic content to factory bottled and pasteurised varieties.

 
THE  FOUR CATEGORIES 

 BIOGENIC   - ALL SPROUTED SEEDS, GRAINS, BEANS, AND NUTS.
These offer the strongest support for the regeneration of cells and tissues, as they are full of life force.

 BIOACTIVE - ALL FRESH  RAW FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND HERBS
These encourage superior metabolism at a cellular  level and increase biological resistance to illness  and degeneration.  Fruits are good  detoxifiers, while vegetables are more nourishing. Bioactive foods provide enzyme replenishment  and give fibre for colon health. Bioactive foods are also good sources of life force and oxygen from raw food molecules. Bio-active foods are raw foods eaten whole with the skins on to get benefit from the fibrous skins which act as a broom to sweep the GI tract clean.

 BIOSTATIC  - COOKED WHOLE GRAINS, BEANS, LEGUMES, ETC
These foods give nourishment & warmth, also providing some building blocks for enzymes.
Biostatic foods are natural unprocessed cooked wholegrains, well cooked beans & legumes [soaked sprouted then cooked], low-fat dairy foods, free range organically fed eggs, organic chicken-meat, wild game meat, organic red meats from animals eating grass. Boil-up gelatin-rich broths from roasted bones. Fish and seafood.

 Avoid these biocidic foods

BIOCIDIC  - COMMERCIAL JUNK FOOD, FIZZY DRINKS, WHITE SUGAR & LOLLIES
* white sugar, white  flour foods, sugary dairy products,  cookies, cakes, alcohol, tobacco, oily salty snack foods.   
* commercial coloured flavoured processed  tinned or packaged foods,  junkfoods.
* excesses of iodized salt, takeaways over-salted and cooked in week-old rancid oils.
* factory chicken meat from hens fed genetically modified corn, meats from animals fed on genetically modified crops.  
* battery eggs from hens fed gmo soya laced with glyphosate – roundup.

 The BIOGENIC way of eating has been prescribed by many Naturopaths and Healers, because it encourages the regeneration of cells and hormones in the body.  It helps to restore tired enzyme systems, whose depletion causes excess fat deposits, the development of food allergies and compulsive eating habits.

Dhyana’s comment on Biogenics
Biogenics is good for those who overindulge in Bio-cidic foods, which acidify the blood leading to disease. Bioactive and Biogenic foods have active enzymes and easily digested raw plant nutrients, that provide the alkalinity which neutralises over-acidity.

 The caveat on Biogenics appears when we consider  Metabolic Body Types. Some people need a lot of protein – these are the Protein Types. So their balance of Biostatic foods will be different to a Sattvic Yoga devotee who is a Carbohydrate Body Type, and eats only plant foods, even avoiding garlic and onions so as not to disturb the subtle connection between the two hemispheres of the brain. 

Long term in a Macrobiotic sense, Biogenics could be too yin for a person who is already yin, especially when climatic conditions are cold. Macrobiotics solid basis of warming cooked whole grains with beans, seaweed & vegetables gives Bio-static nutrition that balances Body & Mind, via the Yin Yang influences.

 Sprouting in the Biogenic sense can be difficult to maintain, because if you give too much water, moulds can grow on seeds, if these are latent in the outside skin. You come along and eat these raw, then you could be host to that mould. I advise to remove loose skins on sprouts when possible and to cook all sprouts that do not look 100% fresh. Fresh sprouts that have taken off well, taste good and can be eaten promptly, are the best. Use only organic seeds for sprouting.

BIOLOGICAL TRANSMUTATIONS -  L. Kervran
Louis Kervran 1901 to 1983. French Scientist who noticed that Saharan oilfield workers excreted a daily average of 320 milligrams more calcium than they ingested. L. Kervran was the pioneer in this area and noted that at body temperature, minerals can transmute into a different mineral, by adding or subtracting an element. One common BT is as follows –

Si 28 + C12 = Ca 40. Silica is highest in Plant foods and can be found in wholegrains, seeds, nuts, fruit and vegetables. Silica transmutes into calcium, providing bone strength.

 Wholefoods need to be used to get the BT effect. Fragmented industrialised refined foods generally have lost their roughage and silica.

In the 17th Century the phenomenon of BTs was first observed and many have recorded the transmutation of one mineral into another via biological transmutation. Louis Kervran [Paris University ] won a Nobel Prize nomination for his work on BTs. Google this fascinating subject for more details.

 Here are some of the nuclido-biological reactions that have been observed

Na23 + H1    => Mg24 
Na23 + O16  => K39        
Mg24 + O16  => Ca40 
 Si28 + C12   => Ca40