I had a great question from one of my Cleansers today about Dairy. She read the materials from the first week and noticed that we gently give up our dependence on dairy products. We do this for many reasons.
MILK
First, let me just say that dairy has a sacred place in Ayurveda. Milk is nourishing and sweet and soothes the nerves, promotes tissue growth, balances your emotions and is soothing to all the elemental forces (doshas). The perfect Yogi food is actually what I call "yogi breakfast" and is basically milk, almonds, ghee, cinnamon and nutmeg. There are Yogis who live on this concoction alone and it promotes the development of magical yogi powers. Please don't try this, you are not doing enough yoga or meditation to receive the benefits of this practice, not to mention you do not have access to the proper milk. RECIPE>>>
The cows of India are nourished and absolutely loved. They feed them well, rub them down with medicated oils and string garlands around their necks. The mothers are allowed to nurse their naturally born babies for 2 months before any milk is taken from them. You can imagine, based on that alone, that the milk based remedies prescribed by an Ayurvedic physician differ dramatically than the "copies" of any remedies we could make in America. We simply do not have access to those kinds of cows.
Did you know that in ancient days, cows would be sacrificed to the Gods...but never ever the female cows? They are called "Devi" which means "Goddess".
The organic industry is doing a good job compared to the non-organic industry, but it simply isn't enough to make dairy products easily digestible to mass humanity. In fact, 75% of the world's population is lactose intolerant to some degree. To make milk more easy to digest, Ayurveda suggests that you boil is slowly for 5 minutes or so. This actually changes the molecular structure of the milk and mitigates the effects of the force of the Earth (Kapha). As a reminder, Kapha is cold and sweet. Drinking cold, sweet milk makes your digestion sluggish and slows your metabolism. A wonderful trick is to add some cinnamon, turmeric or ginger to your milk. These herbs work to stimulate digestion and further negate the "Earthy" (Kapha) qualities of the milk.
For the purposes of eliminated Kapha and Ama-ick (toxins) from your system, switch from cow's milk to Almond, Soy, Rice or whatever else suits you.
CHEESE
Cheese is not well addressed in Ayurveda. Think about it, they don't really eat a whole lot of cheese there. For certain, the hard cheeses are to be avoided. If you simply go to the grocery and read labels, you will see that the harder cheeses contain more calories and fat per serving. This is saturated fat that is proven to cause heart disease and cancer. Just don't go there. Give it up. The softer cheeses are okay in life, but not for cleansing. Use them as a decoration on your food to make your food more interesting and to "ground" it. For example, a salad at room temperature with a bit of feta, some nuts and olive oil is very easy for even the Wind (Vata) to digest. (Vatas have very delicate digestion and should not eat raw foods.)
I'm going to blunt here, so please prepare. When I ask most people how much cheese they are eating, they will tell me just a little bit here and there. It's simply not true. Most people go to the fridge, pull out the brick and have consumed 1/3 of it before they even realize it. It's sweet and salty and very satisfying to our American palette. We just can't stop. Give it up and replace that snacking tendency with a good snack like hummus and blanched veggies.
BUTTER
Now back to the origin of this blog...my yogi was confused because I had listed on the shopping list "unsalted organic butter". She couldn't figure out why she would be buying this if we are giving up dairy and we are supposed to be eating healthy. Doesn't everyone know that butter is full of fat??? Well, we are not eating butter. We are going to make Ghee.
Ghee is basically clarified butter. It too has a sacred place in Ayurveda. It is said that 100 year old Ghee can cure any disease. I haven't tested this nor do I wish to. What I do know about ghee is that it is very yummy. If you are used to using butter, you will find that ghee is so rich, you can cut your consumption by 1/3. Ghee is heating in your digestive system. If you find yourself not eliminating regularly, you can melt a little ghee into some warm almond milk, drink it down and eliminate in the morning. Ghee is good for all the doshas. Also, you need a little fat in your diet to digest properly. We will be getting our fats from natural plant oils and just a wee bit of ghee.
Click through to the recipe for ghee. Heating butter makes the moisture evaporate, the sugar and protein separate into the white curds that float or sink to the bottom. The leftover is pure sweet nutty and yummy ghee. Do scroll to the bottom and you will be able to watch a video that shows you how to make it. RECIPE AND VIDEO>>>
Enjoy your non dairy lifestyle! It's only 28 days....(and hopefully more)
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