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The science of life

Submitted by Karthik on 28 August, 2012 - 23:43

The 'science of life' aka Ayurveda is now getting chic in India as well. According to this article on Livemint, some serious spin has been imparted to it "at Threesixty°, the buzzing world-cuisine restaurant at The Oberoi, New Delhi". Prior to being served, you are apparently 'sized-up' based on your build and personality which places you in one of the following categories:

When you are a Vata type, your body will behave like air—cool, light, with gaseous tendencies. “Vata body types are generally lean, energetic and feel cold easily. The food they consume should be warming (such as spices like clove and cinnamon, for instance) and they can eat fatty substances like dairy.

"But they must avoid gas-forming substances like lentils, if you must consume lentils, consume those of the split variety," says Singh. The Oberoi’s lentil soup, one of the items that caters to all body types, is therefore made with split lentils.

Pitta body types, driven by fire, are bright, energetic, short-tempered people, generally with a toned build and speedy metabolism, says Singh. "Pitta refers to the acid in the body, an excess of acid leads to problems in their system, and the idea should be to reduce the energy and food in them. Give them cooling drinks, cooling herbs like oregano, coriander. Avoid all forms of acidic food, the only exception to this being lemon juice, which they can have," he says.

Meanwhile, Kapha body types, just like the earth, are big, round, solid and steady people, says Atreya. They are great thinkers, but lazy, and this lack of activity can cause a lot of ailments, such as heart disease. "Take off the dairy, the full-fat cream milk, the red meat from their diet. Give them strong, acidic and bitter things which cut off the fat. Include plenty of bitter gourd, acidic fresh salads with citrus dressings in their diet," says Atreya.

Hooey is the first word that pops into my head. That said, it's a fun read and contains the all important 'factbox' which mothers and wives everywhere will surely be cataloguing some place easily retrievable.

P.S. I don't understand why Hindustan Times' Livemint follows American punctuation standards, their partnership with WSJ notwithstanding ...