The three kinds of food

I’d always been curious about how is sattvika, rajsika and tamsik food defined. How would I ever decide whether something is sattvik? And this curiosity was fueled by the food items allowed during a fast or pooja. Onions and garlic were always a no-no and I wanted to know why. My mother told me that maybe they left a bad smell in the mouth that’s why; but I wasn’t satisfied. This was one of the questions which motivated me to read the scriptures in the very beginning – I wanted to find the answer in them. So you can well imagine the smile on my face when I came to this chapter in Gita :).

The kind of food you like is also influenced by your nature.

A sattvik man likes food that has the following characteristics:

• Increases longevity.
• Cleanses and sharpens mind.
• Improves physical as well as mental strength.
• Brings satisfaction and happiness to the heart.
• Increases the feeling of love.

Some of the food items that have the above qualities:

• Those that have pith like milk, sugar, etc.
• Oils extracted from sattvik sources and butter, ghee.
• Those that stay in the stomach for long. There are no specific recommendations but my mother always used to say that whole-wheat roti stays in your stomach. So I’m guessing whole wheat would be one such example. And one could extrapolate this to other whole grains too.
• Those that bring a pure thoughts in the mind and not dirty or impure.