Spices tone up digestive system

Eating and digestion are the two life-sustaining events. A healthy digestive system is well-regarded in Ayurveda as a cornerstone of well-being and that every disease is believed to arise from inefficient digestion. The fiery metabolic energy of digestion, known as Agni, allows us to assimilate food while ridding the body of wastes and toxins (Ama). It transforms dense physical matter into the subtler forms of energy the body needs to be vital, generate internal warmth, and produce a clear mind.

An easy way to support digestive Agni is through the daily use of culinary herbs and spices, used to increase Agni before and during meals. A simple Ayurvedic practice is to consume a small piece of fresh ginger with a few drops of lemon juice prior to eating a meal. This slowly and gradually awakens the flames of Agni, preparing it to digest the main course. In addition to ginger, other aromatic spices that assist digestion include black, long, and cayenne pepper; cardamom; and licorice. They are believed to make foods more digestible by "predigesting" the food during cooking—heat combines and awakens their aromatic qualities, making the nutrients easier to digest once eaten. These spices also stimulate the secretion of saliva and digestive enzymes in the stomach and intestines, and the less work Agni needs to do while digesting food, the less fatigue one will experience after eating.

Cooking herbs and spices also serve to prevent gas and Ama. Undigested food is broken down by fermentation rather than digestion, and fermentation is what produces gas. The intestines can then absorb these gases, which causes the colon to become toxic and spastic. Fennel is an herb commonly consumed in Indian restaurants as a carminative after meals to prevent gas, discomfort, and fatigue. At home, chew on a teaspoon of fennel seeds, then spit out the pulp after swallowing the juice. Its drying, warming, and stimulating actions awaken Agni and tone the digestive system.