The effect of grains on the body

Many modern western nutritionists make the case that grains do not play a large role in a healthy Diet and should be used sparingly. There are the raw-foodists that say to eat mainly raw food and then there are the meat-eaters that say a cave-man type diet is best. I would make the case that the main factor in determining how your body will react to eating grains is the nature of a person and their current state of balance. As a side-note, when I refer to grains, I am not referring to the toxic waste that you might find in a grocery store. I am referring to heritage varieties of grains that have been the basis of human health and survival for all of civilized history.

According to many nutritionists, eating grains will have an inflammatory effect on the body, and eating meats will have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body. While I don't know the exact Science behind how they measure this inflammatory response, I can concede that maybe in the short-term this is true (2-4 hours after eating), but from the ayurvedic viewpoint, the long-term effect of grains is to remove the sources of inflammation from the body while meats will increase them.

Generally the predominate taste of most grains is sweet. The sweet taste is the main taste that will lead to the production of kapha, the anabolic building energy of the body. The sweet taste also pacifies pitta, therefore decreasing all inflamatory agents and responses in the body. Being of a vata-pitta nature myself, I have first hand experience with the pitta pacifying nature of most grains. During the times that I have restricted grain consumption due to following the advice of others, my health has been greatly compromised. Yes, there are many other sweet tastes we can use to pacify pitta, such as fruits and some vegetables and for people that are VERY pitta predominate with not much vata, they can eat more raw foods, but once vata becomes involved, too many raw foods can cause problems.

Of course, individuals that already have large amounts of kapha probably don't need to consume grains in any large amount. The reason I am writing this is to say that grains do play an important role in the health of certain individuals (particularly for those with large amounts of pitta, although also to a lessor extent for those of vata natures).