Ayurvedic nutrition knows the effect of daily food and how it can make us happy and smart. Ayurvedic brain food primarily includes spices and herbs - so-called Medhya Rasayanas - which should not be missing from any meal. We all experience stress and are exposed to mental stress factors that are difficult or impossible to escape: Overstimulation of the sensory organs, hectic at work, family problems with the children or partner or simply an unhappy dissatisfaction with oneself... From an Ayurvedic point of view, it is not having problems per se that is fatal, but not coping with permanent problems.
Even Mary Poppins knew that a little sugar sweetens the bitterest medicine. In Ayurveda, honey or milk are recommended as optimal carriers for bitter herbs such as triphala, guduchi or ashwaganda. They not only make these churnas taste more pleasant, but also have a more intense effect.
However, Ayurvedic dietetics teaches that it is even better to simply process the herbs into delicious sweets or snacks to enrich the daily diet. Indian schoolchildren, for example, are treated to laddus (sweets) containing shatavari and brahmi in addition to the usual ingredients such as chickpea flour, ghee and cane sugar to help them concentrate better at school. Fruit juices are enriched with fresh herbs (similar to smoothies) and amla and pippali are cooked into chutneys to strengthen the body's defenses.
I myself am a big fan of my morning Ashwaganda coffee. I look forward to it as soon as I get up: A delicious latte (with AyurCAFÉ) with 1/2 teaspoon of Ashwanda and some whole cane sugar stirred in. It tastes good and gives me strength for the whole day. With its hot, sweet and moisturizing properties, ashwaganda promotes digestive fire and concentration. Its ojas-boosting effect not only strengthens the nerves and the immune system, but also helps with depressive moods. A classic use of this rasayana is to support the mind in the process from tamas to rajas.
As an alternative to morning coffee, ashwaganda can be stirred into cocoa. This is also recommended as an evening nightcap. My children love it...
I find the translation of Ashwaganda alone very plausible: Ashwa = the ability to move like a horse (fast, powerful), Gandha - smell = grounding, foundation, stability Somnifera = sleep-inducing As an alternative to the Indian laddus, I have now tried packing the strengthening rasayanas into healthy cookies. Together with ground almonds, spelt flour, honey marzipan, cinnamon and cardamom, you can't taste the herbs (such as ashwaganda or shatavari) at all. On the contrary - with the knowledge of the healthy effects of the additional ingredients, the cookies become real power snacks that nourish body, mind and soul in a wonderful way.
