Traditional and ayurvedic foods of Indian origin

Abstract

The Ayurveda contains a wealth of knowledge on health sciences. Accordingly traditional foods and their dietary guidelines are prescribed in Ayurveda. There is so much similarity in ayurvedic dietetics and traditional foods that many of the traditional health foods in India can be called ayurvedic foods. This review article introduces the concepts of ayurvedic health foods in India and describes several traditional heath foods across various regions of India. Recommended dietary guidelines according to age and health condition of the consumer, and seasonal considerations are presented for each of the traditional health foods of India. In the era of globalization of the population and international food trading, health conscious citizens around the globe will benefit from the wealth of knowledge on traditional Indian and ayurvedic health foods of Indian origin.

Keywords

• health foods
• Functional foods
• Weaning foods
• Nutraceuticals
• Ayurvedic foods
• Indian foods