The Complete Ayurvedic Cookbook - The Eumundi Medicine Man

The common belief, that all carbohydrates are the same, is not a scientific deduction.
Yes, it is true that every cell in the body and especially the brain require glucose for
energy and to function, but how that sugar is supplied is important. The sugar that
the body requires needs to be packed with fresh and whole fibre, fat, protein, vitamins
and minerals. The absorption rate is of paramount significance. I explain to my
students: “Here is an example: Petrol is the fuel in your car. Fuel is injected exactly
at a monitored rate via a fuel injection system and previously a carburettor. That fuel
cannot be supplied in vast or random amounts – otherwise the car would stall, flood
or backfire. The regulator of blood sugars is nature’s fuel injection system. It is the
whole grain with vitamins, minerals, fat, protein, fibre and long chain
polysaccharides or sugars (complex carbohydrates). Short chain saccharides (simple
carbohydrates) with neither nutrients nor fibre, will simply cause disease – mental or
physical – when they are the mainstay of the diet. It is simply a matter of time. And
unfortunately they are the staple of 99% of the population!”
There an abundance of authoritative books connecting simple sugars (or simple
carbohydrates) to addiction, neuroses, schizophrenia, crime and depression.
Candida, yeast infection, chronic fatigue, peptic ulcer, constipation, urinary tract
infection, allergies, obesity, varicose veins and diverticular disease also have a low
fibre, simple carbohydrate, connection. Sugar produces acid, - just put some in your
mouth every day, and after a month your teeth will rot out. Sugar is also a promoter
of inflammation. We all like our sweets within moderation of course and alcohol is
part of our social culture. However, these again are simple carbohydrates or sugars.
Complex carbohydrates are a safe, balanced food. We
are all prepared to spend money on health, but there
are no magic bullets. No medicine will give us lasting
health without the basic diet of complex
carbohydrates, with common sense restriction on
simple carbohydrates. The good news is that with a
controlled diet of complex carbohydrates, and
avoiding or moderating simple carbohydrates, you
will be able to enjoy that Christmas feast and
celebration drink with no side effects(within common
sense boundaries of course). A little nibble of a fine
chocolate will be balanced by your complex diet. However a double whammy of
processed grains and sugars, day after day is too far over the top. The ancients
relished and enjoyed their sweets but their intake of grains was always complex. That
is balance.
Back to the Ayurvedic cooking, I see some smiling faces: “These chapatti breads are
delicious, light, yet filling – tear off a chunk and scoop it through the spicy vegetables,
which have been cooked in fresh whey sauce. Enjoy! Would anybody like another
chapatti?”
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