Food incompatibility and digestive stress

About.com page on chemistry reads:

“Some chemicals shouldn’t be mixed together. In fact, these chemicals shouldn’t even be stored near each other on the chance that an accident could occur and the chemicals could react. Be sure to keep incompatibilities in mind when reusing containers to store other chemicals.”
For example:
• Acids with cyanide salts or cyanide solution. Generates highly toxic hydrogen cyanide gas.
• Solid oxidizers (e.g., permanganates, iodates, nitrates) with combustible materials (e.g., paper, alchohols, other common solvents). May result in fire.
Great deal of care! Appreciated!

But wait, are we same society, full of science gymnasts, who carelessly ignore food incompatibilities?

Why so dumb reactions while selecting food for most complex chemical reactions of the universe i.e. human metabolism?

Viruddha Anna or incompatible diet is very important issue discussed by ancient Ayurveda workers. It is said to be the cause of many systemic disorders as per Ayurveda literature. Persons who consume Viruddha Ahara are prone to many disorders. It is very important to correlate the mechanism as to how Viruddha Ahara is a cause of many metabolic disorders. It is also essential to know how certain food combinations interact with each other and create a disease. Viruddha Ahara is defined by Charaka.

The literal meaning of word Viruddha is opposite. It sounds that the food combination of certain type of food may have –
• Opposite properties
• Opposite activities on the tissues
• May exert some unwanted effect on the body when processed in a particular form
• May exert undesirable effects, when combined in certain proportion
• May have unwanted effect if consumed at wrong time.

Ayurveda literature has described various types of Viruddha Ahara, which can be summarized as follows:
1. Desha (place) Viruddha
2. Kala Viruddha
3. Agni Viruddha
4. Matra (quantity) Viruddha

5. Satmya (wholesome) Viruddha
6. Dosha Viruddha
7. Sanskar (mode of preparation) Viruddha
8. Veerya (potency) Viruddha
9. Koshtha Viruddha
10. Avastha (state of health) Viruddha
11. Kram (sequence) Viruddha
12. Parihar Viruddha
13. Upachar (treatment) Viruddha
14. Paak (cooking) Viruddha
15. Samyoga (combination) Viruddha
16. Hriday Viruddha
17. Sampad (richness of quality) Viruddha
18. Vidhi (rules for eating) Viruddha

Examples of incompatibility/antagonistic (Viruddha-Aahara)
1. Veerya Viruddha (potency incompatibility) – fish + milk.
2. Sanskar Viruddha (processing incompatibility) – heated honey.
3. Matra Viruddha (dose incompatibility) – honey + cow’s ghee mixed in equal proportion.
4. Krama Viruddha – hot water after taking honey.
5. Kala Viruddha – (time incompatibility) pungent substance in summer and cold substances in winter.
6. Krama Viruddha (order incompatibility) – consuming curd at night. Taking Madhura Rasa food or Dravya at the end of meals and Tiktaand Katu Rasa Dravyas (food substances) at the starting of meals.
7. Samyoga Viruddha (combination incompatibility) – fruit salad or milk + banana.
8. Parihar Viruddha (contraindication incompatibility) – consuming cold water immediately after having hot tea or coffee.

Take care of incompatibility and respect needs of your sharir and aatma. They all (every cell of body) love you very much and happy to be part mutual existence. Don’t derail their life by adding unnecessary stress of digesting toxins of food incompatibility.