Psycho-Physical Basis of Food Habits: The Need for Revival of Ancient Indian Health Systems

Nutrition and food habits are critical for maintaining optimal physical and psychological health. Contemporary literature often depicts the correlation between food habits, nutritional components, and lifestyle changes with that of psychological health. Research in terms of the role of food habits with that individual’s thinking, emotional state, memory, personality traits, reasoning, decision making, and sleep patterns are well established (i.e.in terms of psycho-nutritional statuses). While maladaptive eating habits could lead to various physical and psychological ailments, the need to engage in adaptive and appropriate eating habits is crucial for maintaining holistic health. Eastern perspectives, especially practices mentioned in the Indian Knowledge Systems have highlighted the role of eating habits and the knowledge of food nutrition for optimal functioning and longevity purposes. However due to changing times, lifestyle adaptations in terms of food habits have drastically changed. This shift has resulted in two major outcomesfirstly, the effect of food habits on health (e.g., increased rate of cardiovascular cases/hypertension); secondly, the shrinking knowledge of Indian health systems and practice per se especially due to Western and European influences on food habits preferences.
The present paper articulates the need for reviving the Indian health knowledge systems and efforts to devise mechanisms to sensitize about food habits that promote physical and psychological wellbeing from IKS perspective. While the Indian health knowledge system is a vast, the present paper limits itself to the concepts of food habits and health. Further, ancient Indian literature often mentions about practices that prescribes food habits, nutrition type, eating and cooking mechanisms in greater details. These practices have significant relationship between the mind, body, and consciousness (i.e., physical, psychological health) of a given individual. For instance, this notion is explained well through the concepts of trigunas and tridoshas. Given this context, the paper outlines some of the traditional knowledge and practices that existed as part of the IKS. Next, the paper re-establishes the need for sensitization and introduction such traditions as part of everyday living.