Agni for the Advent season

For many of us, Advent marks the beginning of one of the most beautiful times of the year: not only are the days getting darker and shorter, it's also getting cozier: we snuggle up in warm blankets in the evening, light candles and the smell of cookies, stollen and the traditional Christmas goose is coming soon...

Fortunately, we have an extraordinarily strong digestive fire (Agni) in December. And as every stove builder and fireplace owner knows from their own experience: when it gets colder outside, the fire in the stove burns better.

We often have a pronounced appetite in winter and we eat more and more often than usual. There are sweets and cookies everywhere, which we enjoy with relish. And in the evening, we get together with friends, family or colleagues to eat and celebrate. Surprisingly, we tolerate all this better than you might think.

The ancient Ayurvedic doctor Susrutha explains why this is the case:

"Just as in an oven made of clay, although it is cold, the fire burns even hotter than in the open air, so Agni also increases in the cold season, protected by our body shell."

In the rest of the text, Susrutha recommends not eating too little or too lightly in December. Our strong digestive fire now needs good food so as not to lose strength. We should eat fortifying foods that nourish our physical and mental well-being and need not worry about calories and weight gain. On the contrary, eating sweet, oily and nourishing foods in winter is extremely beneficial to our health.

The favorite winter foods of traditional Ayurvedic medicine include various sweets made from honey, sugar cane and nuts, dairy products of all kinds, meat soups and all sweet, sour and salty foods. A glass of wine in the evening is also permitted and strengthens the heart, immune system and reproductive tissues.

So you can feast according to Susrutha's instructions!

The prerequisite for these sumptuous recommendations is, of course, that we have a strong digestive fire that burns within us and blesses us with a good appetite and a zest for life. However, if we suffer from typical winter complaints, stress, digestive problems or other health issues, we should not ignore the three basic rules of Ayurvedic nutritional therapy, even in the Ayurvedic early winter (Hemanta Ritu):

• Eat only when you are really hungry
• Avoid indigestible food of poor quality
• Prepare your food with love and enjoy it with mindfulness

Article by Kerstin Rosenberg