A local genie in an imported bottle: Ayurvedic commodities and healthy eating in North India

Abstract

ABSTRACTMany health-conscious Indians consume products sold under the label of Ayurveda – a South Asian tradition which promotes health and longevity through medicine, proper lifestyle, and diet. Recently, in addition to the herbal pharmaceutical market, Ayurveda has transformed into a growing industry of food products that include everything from honey, spices to biscuits, ketchup, and instant noodles – products that are neither particularly “Ayurvedic” nor nutritionally healthy. In this paper, I examine the ideologies of Ayurvedic consumption in India to theorize how food gets to be recognized as “healthy” by linking personal and national health, appealing to taste, and incorporating globally recognizable forms. I put forward the notion of gastro-bilingualism to explain that the popularity of Ayurvedic food products arises from their capacity to meet the Indian consumers’ concerns over health and cultural identity, while allowing them to indulge in pleasurable globalized consumption. Finally, I discuss Ayurveda’s similarities and differences from other healthy food trends, specifically in terms of the cultural politics of what counts as local.