No one knows who started this rumour that Ayurveda prohibits alcohol and when did it become a popular myth. Ayurveda doesn’t say NO to anything that gives happiness, whether its sex or alcohol. There’s a drink for everyone and the way to have it.
The most popular saying in Ayurveda is – there’s no rule that applies to all and there’s something specific for everyone. So alcohol enthusiasts should not think that anything which gets them high is good for them. All body types have some kinds of liquors that will suit them and others that will not. So this article is only for the ones who are fond of alcohol once in a while. This article neither encourages alcohol consumption nor supports its usage on a daily basis or its indiscriminate consumption.
The first principle of Ayurveda for enjoying a drink is to have it in the company of joyful friends. So it definitely makes sense to celebrate with a drink but chuck it if there’s a breakup or firing. Alcohol will exacerbate the predominant state of mind so if you are happy, it will make you feel happier and if you are sad, it will make you feel sadder.
The second principle is to enjoy a drink in the evening and to end the ritual before your usual sleep time. Good food is the necessary partner of the drinking ritual. Depending on the weather, your individual body type, type of liquor ,the accompanying food should be decided.
If there’s an open area in the house, a balcony, garden or terrace, that’s your ideal location to party with your glass and friends. If you are partying out, prefer an open place, and if that’s not an option at all, well then have one drink lesser than your ambitions.
Here are some pointers to enjoy a drink in a manner that it doesn’t aggravate your imbalances and leaves you high with no side effects.
- For Individuals with larger frame and heavyset body, eat a lot of raw salads, fruits, boiled sprouts before you pick up your first glass. They usually have the highest capacity for alcohol tolerance.
- For individuals with medium frame bodies who generally feel a lot of inner body heat, include cheese, paneer, boiled chana, sprouted green gram in salad form or curry with carbs of bread, rice, chapati whichever format you like before you begin to drink. It is advised to have dinner before drinks for such individuals. This shall prevent too much heating effects of the alcohol.
- For persons of light, thin frame who have the tendency to get tipsy with just a couple of drinks, eating a full dinner with carbs and fats is advised. This shall enable them to enjoy their drinks slowly without getting too drunk too quickly.
- For large frame individuals whiskey, bourbon, rum and red wine or dry wines are more suitable.
- For medium frame people who have low tolerance to heat, sun or are quick to anger, chilled beer, white wine would be preferable to dry wine
- For thin frame people, fruit beer / beers made of cereals like barley etc should be preferred. Or sweet wines can be taken with enough cushioning of dense food like boiled chana, hummus, sprouts, millet preparations etc.
- For thin/ medium frame individuals cocktails made with sweet fruit juices and lots of steamed salads and water would be a better combination.
To counter the after effects of alcohol, few remedies are as follows to prevent hangovers, headache, acidity and other associated symptoms.
- Fresh ginger one inch slice/ fennel seeds one tsp, boil in one cup water for 2-3 mins, add lemon juice after switching off the flame as per your taste. Do not add any sweeteners. You can have this before sleeping and repeat this in the morning again
- Take one tsp coriander powder / One tsp licorice powder, boil in one cup water for 2-3 mins , have it post drinks and repeat in the morning. This concoction will help in preventing acidity , headaches etc
- You can soak these ingredients before you begin to drink and then have it as the last shot – 2 dates/ 5-8 raisins/ tamarind pulp/amla (dried/fresh/powder) one tsp/ 2-3 slices, blend them together in one mug water (100ml). This can be had at night and repeated in the morning for best results.
- If you are an extremely emotional person then restrict yourself to one or two drinks. If you are categorised as the calm in the storm, they you can have more than two drinks but only you know where you should stop.