NATURAL NUTRITION AND LONGEVITY IN AYURVEDA
Nutrition and lifestyle
Longevity is closely linked to diet and lifestyle. A natural vegetarian diet and the use of natural live food of plant origin, plus milk and eggs where appropriate, are essential to maintaining health by keeping the body tissues (dhatu) healthy, the skin elastic, the hormones working well, the blood (rakta) in balance, and the toxins (ama) that may occur constantly and promptly eliminated.
All of these aspects lead to good health, beautification and maintenance of body health, as well as reducing the rate of biological age increase by more than 50% from that which is usual in the vast majority of people.
Increased longevity occurs through increased years of health at the expense of years of illness and suffering.
Plant-based live food, with its dual preventive and healing qualities, is equally necessary for both healthy and sick people. Natural foods are a true remedy, free of side effects, which strengthens the immune system and fortifies the body. A clean body, cleansed of toxins through natural vegetarian nutrition, does not allow pathogens to develop and thus becomes less worn out at the rate already known.
In Ayurveda, longevity is about prolonging a healthy and active life and preventing any prolonged period of suffering. Longevity is a complex concept that involves maintaining health by avoiding disease, maintaining high levels of physical and cognitive function and constantly engaging in beneficial creative activities.
Favouring factors
Among the factors that contribute to increased longevity, we mention physical balance reflected by a healthy diet, based on natural vegetarian food, a beneficial lifestyle, reflected by constant and harmonious physical exercise, personal hygiene, rest, relaxation, mental balance, mental and consciousness in general, the manifestation of a behavior characterized by common sense, the awakening of a constant creative capacity, self-confidence, courage and the aspiration for knowledge. In addition to these factors, there are genetic factors and environmental factors that are conducive.
As a rule, people's lives are shortened when there are deviations from the vital balance. Sometimes these begin even before conception, as the mother's body is often full of toxins (ama). After birth, babies are given all kinds of formula milk powder and then some denatured food formulas. Parents also resort to excessive medication for simple ailments.
Living healthy is an elixir of life and any act that is against life causes health problems and shortens life. Basically, anything that affects health, holistically, shortens human life. The extent to which we are aware of and pay attention to adequately meeting vital needs is the measure of our health and longevity. Among the factors that damage longevity, unhealthy nutrition is one of the most important, along with stress and excessive consumption of medicines.
Causes of ageing
Physician Aubrey de Grey, president of the Methuselah Foundation, has identified seven major causes of ageing: cell loss causing damage to the respective organs, accumulation of abnormal cells due to high levels of toxicity, mutations disrupting the overall balance occurring at the cellular level, mutations at the mitochondrial level leading to unfavourable changes at the DNA level, wear and tear at the intercellular level due to accumulation of toxins, excess undigestible molecules, wear and tear at the extracellular level resulting from the accumulation of extracellular toxins, extracellular proteins causing loss of tissue elasticity.
As you can see, all these causes are closely linked to some major deficiencies in the diet. Unhealthy eating is the great deviation from the laws of nature. Unhealthy nutrition in which people eat too much fat or ingest too many synthetic chemicals, consume genetically modified foods, fast food, very salty foods, refined sugar, gradually leads to wear and tear on the body and the appearance of so-called diseases of old age that seriously affect the quality of life.
This is why a healthy, natural, vegetarian, vegan or raw diet can be a particularly valuable tool in maintaining a healthy body and ensuring a long and healthy life that can be maintained for a long time.