Free · Ayurvedic diet
Food combining
Ayurveda teaches that two foods which are each fine on their own can sit badly together. It calls these unsuitable pairings viruddha ahara. Here are the everyday ones to know, and the simple rules behind them.
A guide to the classical principles, for everyday eating, not medical advice. For any health concern, please see a qualified practitioner.
The simple rules
- Eat freshly cooked food, warm, and to your appetite rather than to the clock.
- Let one meal digest before the next; grazing keeps the digestive fire unsettled.
- Go easy on cold and iced drinks with meals, which the tradition says dampen digestion.
- Eat fruit on its own, not as part of a larger meal.
Pairings the tradition avoids
Milk + fish or meatThe tradition considers these two heavy proteins hard to digest together.
Milk + sour fruitMilk with sour or citrus fruit is a classic combination Ayurveda asks us to avoid.
Milk + bananaA heavy, dulling pair in the classical view, despite being a common smoothie.
Milk + saltSalt and milk are held to be an unsuitable pairing.
Honey, heated or cookedAyurveda asks that honey is never cooked or added to very hot food; keep it raw and warm at most.
Equal honey and ghee by weightClassically discouraged in exactly equal parts; unequal amounts are fine.
Fruit within a full mealFruit digests quickly and is best eaten on its own, not after a heavy plate.
Hot and cold foods togetherMixing very hot and very cold in one sitting unsettles the digestive fire.
Yoghurt at night, or heatedYoghurt is heavy; the tradition keeps it to the daytime and never cooks it.
Melon with anythingMelon is best eaten alone, away from other foods.
Milk + radish, garlic or leafy greensPungent and bitter greens with milk are a classically avoided mix.
Nightshades + yoghurtTomato or other nightshades with yoghurt is discouraged in the classical kitchen.