A conceptual review of Viruddha Ahara in relation to the mode of action according to Ayurveda and Modern Science.

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In Ayurveda, incompatible or antagonistic food is referred to as Viruddha Ahara. This Viruddha Ahara (incompatible food) concept is quite different and unique from the modern view of a diet. Viruddha Anna, or incompatible diet, includes food combinations, food processing, food storage methods, proportion of different food intake, time incompatibility, consumption at the wrong time, wrong dose, and so on. Every food has its own taste (rasa), a heating or cooling energy (virya), and a post-digestive effect (vipaka), according to Ayurveda. Some have an unexplained effect (prabhava). However, such incompatible combinations can cause indigestion, fermentation, putrefaction, and gas formation, toxic product formation, adverse effects on the digestive, endocrine, and nervous systems, immune system, and growth hormone. If consumption is prolonged, it can lead to various ailments. Ayurveda clearly states that certain diets and their combinations that interrupt tissue metabolism, inhibit tissue formation, and have the opposite property to the tissue are referred to as Viruddha Anna or incompatible diet. The root cause of all disease, according to nutrition science, is the consumption of acid ash producing foods (sugar, fats, and colas), acid residuals in the body, and improper digestion. Similarly, Ayurveda claims that improper food combinations cause a variety of diseases.