In Ayurvedic practice, we consider everyone as an individual. There are three main body types, but of course there are endless variations on them. The Air/Space, or Vata, body type is someone with a lighter frame, who finds it difficult to gain fat or muscle mass. These people tend to move quickly and be light on their feet.
In the Ayurvedic view, people have weight-related health issues when digestive imbalances cause them to have a weight that is inappropriate for their natural build. For example, if a woman with a Vata-type bone structure gains enough weight to give her the hourglass figure of a Kapha-type, she will develop joint problems because her frame is not strong enough to carry the weight. At the other extreme, Vata people who do not eat enough fat will be prone to nervous disorders. If a Kapha-type person forces their body through excessive exercise and extreme dieting to look like the stick-thin Vata-type, they will develop hormonal problems. If a Pitta person drives themselves to exhaustion trying to achieve the ever-changing vision of “perfect health” that is being promoted, that person will become burned out, anxious, ungrounded, angry, and unable to sleep. Pitta people out of balance are prone to overeating and inflammation, which leads to obesity-related heart disease. Kapha people, who are genetically meant to be heavier, tend to live longer than other types regardless of whether or not they are "obese".
It is important therefore to respect one’s body. We all have a weight at which our body is happiest. Many of us spend our lives fighting our bodies, striving to meet an unrealistic weight goal. When we do this, we split the mind from the body and our body can no longer function properly. Viewing your body like an enemy creates a stressful situation, which your body responds to as though you were in a life-or-death crisis. The stress response slows the metabolism and stops normal hormonal cycling. If health is truly a concern, then you must learn what shape your body wants to take and love it.
Learning what type your body is can tell you which foods will nourish you best. I am not talking about crazy diets here, extreme eating programs, like giving up carbohydrates or only eating raw foods. Clearly there are people who find benefit from those types of eating habits, but there is no singular eating program that is good for all people. I find that usually people have adopted such limited eating habits as a way to control symptoms of illnesses. Often such symptomatic fixes do not address the underlying problem causing the illness. Ayurvedic eating teaches each person how they can best nourish their bodies. Ayurvedic eating means eating primarily foods that balance your dominant element. Your dominant element is called your dosha. Things that do not balance your dosha are eaten less often, but there is usually no need to give up any foods entirely. Processed and junk foods are of course not part of any healthy eating plan, but once in a while, even those foods will not cause problems if the majority of your diet is balancing. Eating the foods that are best for you will allow your body to settle at the weight that is best for your frame. You then feel healthier and have more energy, even if you don’t look like Kate Moss.
We have to look at you as an individual. What elements are dominant in you? If you know the answer to that question, you can begin to eat foods that are naturally balancing. For example, Pitta types are predisposed to problems with heartburn and inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. These types will begin to have digestive problems if they eat too many sour foods like yogurt, or if they eat lots of raw foods in the winter. The only way to determine your dosha conclusively is to have a practitioner take your pulse. However, most people are imbalanced when they begin Ayurvedic practice, so dietary recommendations are made based upon your imbalanced state and the element that is causing any symptoms (e.g. weight gain, weight loss, indigestion, gas, bloating, cramping, constipation, and diarrhea). If anyone would like a free evaluation form to discover your dosha, please put your email in the comments section.
Tomorrow, I will write about why "dieting" doesn't work and how it is actually harmful.