Ayurveda Detox- Part 1

Ayurveda (literal translation 'Knowledge of Life' or 'Science of Life') is an ancient Indian science, based on the Vedas, that helps to maintain the body, mind and spirit in equilibrium. As I was in Delhi over the Diwali period, an Ayurveda Detox sounded like just the thing I needed with the season changing.

The actual Panchkarma cleansing process is done at ashrams/ ayurvedic spa resorts under supervision. But for the yuppies and people on the run (which explains why they are burned-out in the first place) there is a short-cut of sorts requiring about nine days. And for people pretending to live on two continents at the same time, there is an even quicker short-cut of (possibly) detoxing in five days. Health Warning: the last one is the IG version of an Ayurveda-inspired-detox. Practise at own risk!

So here's a short account of how it went for me.

Ideally this is to be done over a holiday period as energy levels can get low. Remember, you might be better off asking me for actual notes from the 'Book'  or better still check the link below. The Book is in fact a teach-yourself-Ayurveda book I picked up from my local library that summarises and explains the whole process in simple English. Highly recommend reading it, or other established practitioners, so one doesn't jeopardize physical and mental health.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teach-Yourself-Ayurveda-Sarah-Lie/dp/0340928808

The process I followed for the 5-day detox

Day 1: I got up and swigged a bit of ‘ghee’ in warm water. Spent all day eating mung daal (lentil) soup, made to the exact specification of The Book. Mung daal is a natural detox agent that absorbs the bad stuff thats been stuck in your body for ages. Based on my 'mind-body' constitution type (The Book has a helpful questionnaire to figure this out) I also drank the ‘fasting drink’ throughout the day. This drink contains a combination of 10 heating and cooling spices that start cleansing out your system slowly. Later in the evening I had some pumpkin soup.  The Book allows you to swap one mung daal meal for light soup but only certain veggies are allowed. There is no need to starve oneself at any point- drink the soup/ fasting water whenever the stomach rumbles.

Day2: Ideally the diet for 'Day 1' is to be followed for a total of three days. But in this crash course version of my detox, I zoomed onto the next stage on Day 2 itself. Theoretically, this stage involves total fasting for 1, 1.5 or 2 days as per the individual body-mind constitution. I did this stage for one day (a 24 hr period). On this day I only had the 'Fasting drink' several times a day. I could feel it swishing around the tummy and sucking all those toxins out.

Day 3: I broke the fast with a little ‘Manda’. Most Indians will recognise this as a variant of khichdi (mung daal + basmati rice cooked together). However the main difference is the grain: water proportion of 1:8 that makes it really watery. It also needs to be made with selected spices. So all day I had little bits of manda (now with some ghee, as per The Book) to keep me going.

Day 4:  This is the day for 'Peya' which is again a variant of the well-known khichdi but with grain:water in a 1:6 proportion. It is still quite soup-like.

Day 5: Whoopee final day.  I had 'Vilepi' which is khichdi with a 1:4 proportion of grain and water.
This short-cut mode forced me to cut-down on the recommended khichdi days. Ideally these should be spread between 4 to 5 days.

Day 6: Aah finally. So this was the day when I could start introducing my body to small amounts of ‘normal' easy-to-digest food. By normal I don’t mean pizzas, although thats what I kept dreaming about the whole week!

As I've successfully been the guinea pig for this Ayurveda Speed Detox, I reckon at least some people may find these observations interesting:

• The diet is not too complicated for South Asians (well, Ayurveda did evolve in ancient India!) or those who like Indian spices. For the 'eating days', ie when you are not doing the total fast with the 'Fasting water', the Book allows and even encourages you to cook in ghee using garlic, onion, turmeric, coriander power, cumin powder, ginger juice/ powder, asafaoetida (hing) and black pepper. As a result , the food is repetitive but not tasteless.
• You can swap a portion of mung daal for certain veggies (pumpkin, courgette/ torai, leafy vegetables) for the ‘soup days’ as well as the later stages of khichdi. Helps one from getting 'mung-ed' out.
• But even the most avid lentil and khichdi-lover will want to give up on food completely when on Day 4 at 9 AM breakfast time you find yourself having……what else but a version of mung-daal khichdi!
• The diet has suddenly inculcated in me a deep respect for the holy cow and many other animals. I mean they have been living on the same grass and plants for centuries. How, How, How ?! No wonder they eat plastic these days. Some more khichdi and that could be me.
• The Book says the pre-fasting and fasting days must be spent in a tranquil environment, undertaking some meditation, lighting scented candles, using specific oils for massage and suchlike. This is to release the mind, body and spirit of toxins.
• Clearly, they had no clue what a typical Indian household would have look like in the 21st century. You could have any or all of these: early morning alarm clocks through the house (we all like to keep it loud), door bells announcing the newspaper delivery-man (akhbarwallah), milkman, cleaning lady, courier-man and press-wallah (ironing). A typical week also involves visits from at least one of these: plumber, electrician, carpenter, 'Aquaguard' man, Washing machine-repair man.  Everyone keeps two landlines and several mobile phones and they often ring sequentially or even simultaneously.

• I also learned an ‘Ayurveda detox’ diet is not sufficient excuse to escape any social engagements in India. India is a country where a quarter of the population fasts daily (IG's really random estimate, probably on the conservative side). They do this for myriad reasons:
•  for the son to get through IIT, 
• for a daughter-in-law to deliver a son, or deliver a daughter, or even agree to get pregnant (Oh these modern women!),
•  to get promoted at work, 
• for India to win the test cricket match, 
• to pray to Lord Shiva for a husband (Unsurprisingly, I have yet to see someone fasting yet to get a wife)

I reckon that of yet another quarter of the population is on the highly-popular self-imposed fasting regime. These are generally diet restrictions followed on specific days of the week, guided by culture or religion. Unlike a total fast, this is just abstinence from certain foods which could be: no onion or garlic, only yellow fruits and veggies, no meat or eggs today, no lime or sour food, no wheat or rice etc. In this environment, my little mung daal- fasting water- khichdi experiment generated mild interest among my generation and a few yawns from the professional 'fasters' in my family's social circle.

Then again, sometimes fate is just too cruel as can be confirmed by these events that occurred in my detox week:

• A cousin delivered a box of home-made muffins the night before detox start
• The most popular TV shows that the family watches every day are
•  MasterChef India
• MasterChef Australia (dont ask why- but its a big hit in DEL)

• On Day 3, some family members decided to binge on a pack of potato crisps, poha (yummy Indian flat rice snack) with evening tea, as I sipped my Fasting Drink and tried to imagine how G.o.o.d.  I’ll feel when this is over.
• The sister decided to taste all the long-forgotten chocolates kept in the fridge
• A cousin threw a house party and made awesome biryani. Dessert is fruit and cream (my favourite).
•  I decide to have a heated argument (as opposed to recommended peaceful meditation) with family members on the dangers of introducing young children to processed food (err… not sure why I chose the fasting day for this. Was probably dying for some processed food)

Finally, I believe the Short-cut Detox is a natural way to lose weight (which was certainly not my key objective!) as just the thought of another bowl of soupy khichdi is enough to make you lose appetite for a day. But if you manage to come through it, you may be lucky to find some immediate and longer term benefits, just like I did (ahem).

Detox Results: Immediate

• Even before Day 5, I felt the heightening of the 5 senses (ojas)- especially taste! My first taste of lemon (in a soupy curry) was stinging! The coriander chutney was almost too spicy. And the sugar- oooh it tasted almost too sweet to bear. Note that there is no refined sugar in the detox diet. I suppose the rice, veggies and herbs probably provide the basic amount required. Hence I did have a slight lowering of physical energy during the detox (and the crazy craving for those muffins).
•  Appearance of some extra grey cells. I can only assume some half-dead ones came alive after the muck was removed. I got up on Day 4 wanting to solve algebra equations! Unfortunately this feeling lasted only about 2 days and now I'm ready again to use my computer even for Simple Addition.

Detox Results: Short-Term

• I was gutted that the detox-diet did not cure me of sinusitis on Day 6. Elder family member advice: "This is not Magic. Have Patience".
•  I also continued to have a sore throat (and croaked in the days following it).

Detox Results: Medium- term


I like to think its worked (Optimism, optimism, optimism. And maybe a placebo effect!)

When I arrived back at work, everyone felt the ‘positive aura’ I was spreading. I also found myself glancing benevolently at the huddled up souls on the broken District Line, and saw a slow peace fall upon everyone. The birds in Wimbledon have started singing sweetly, the wasps no longer sting, the winds blow a bit more gently……

Ok, not all of that has happened (!!) but yes it was definitely worth doing and it has certainly made me very aware of the relationship between food, body and mind as you will see in Part-2.

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