In the present world of stress and strain, man has become so involved with the pressures and strains of life that ultimately he has become a victim and is falling prey to many diseases. The indeed has become a very vicious and dangerous cycle, the end result being death itself. If we ponder deeply into this matter we will realize that the main causes of this situation are improper diet, lack of proper physical exercise and unnecessary negative thoughts which disturb the mind.

Hence it is essential at the present time to gain proper knowledge about Rajyoga meditation, proper diet and exercise to implement in our every life. This will improve our life style a lot and enable us to lead a happy, stress-free and disease-free life.

About Diet

Regarding healthy diet, an expression “As You eat, so will you think” refers to pure(satvic) diet which is a need for health and helps us to have pure thoughts and a healthy, stable mind.

In today’s world, there is an increasing rate of diseases like high BP, heart problem etc. Hence it is always better that we take necessary precautions to maintain good health rather than falling sick and suffering unnecessarily. For example, consider a wall made of bricks and cement, if something happens to be wrong with the wall, the wall can be repaired only with cement and bricks, not with steel or lead. Hence the diseases which are caused due to improper diet can be treated only with an appropriate healthy diet.

Some important constituents of food are as follows

1. Carbohydrates
2. Proteins
3. Fats
4. Vitamins
5. Minerals
6. Antioxidants

1. Carbohydrates:

60% to 65% of carbohydrates is needed by the human body everyday. Wheat, Bajra, Jawar, Rice, are very good resources of carbohydrates. We should take food in their raw, unpolished state so that we get more nutrition from them. Once the raw food is polished, most of the useful nutrients are destroyed. For instance: Wheat (dalia) contains maximum amount of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates. But when it is polished and converted into maida, 75% of the nutrients are destroyed. Hence avoid polished foods and rather take more of unpolished, raw foods like sprouts etc.

About Dalia: Raw unpolished wheat grains like dalia greatly reduces blood sugar and help in controlling diabetes. Red/ brown rice, boiled rice are also nutritious and good for health. But polished rice is injurious for health, so avoid polished rice. If we mix 10% of jawar flour in wheat flour and consume, blood cholesterol also increases in the blood which is very good for health.

About sugar: Excessive amount of sugar reduces calcium in bones hence is very fatal. One’s body needs 3gms of calcium to remove just 1gm of sugar from the body that is why sugar if taken with any food stuff reduces the calcium in the body. Sugar is also harmful for teeth as well as affect the liver hence increases the production of triglycerides which finally leads to heart attack.

Hence food containing sugar is very injurious for health. Sugar also increases gas, acidity and constipation. Sugar also increases uric acid in the blood hence increases joint pain. So avoid the much consumption of sugar.

2. Proteins:

Proteins play an important role in the formation, repair and maintenance of the cells of the human body. A human body needs 15% of proteins every day. Various pulses like moong pulse, gram pulse are the resources of proteins. But excessive amount of proteins is fatal for the kidneys. Hence only 5 to 8gms proteins are what one actually needs a day. Non vegetarian food increases the uric acid which is dangerous. So avoid non vegetarian foods.

3. Fats:

Two types of fats are there, Saturated and Unsaturated fats. Small amount of fat is needed for the formation of artery walls. But excessive amount of fat increases polluted cholesterol hence leading to block the arteries causing heart disease. We need not take fat separately. We get the fat from the normal food we eat, whatever amount of fat we need. Low fat diet is always healthier. Fried foods like samosas, pakodas,etc increases cholesterol in the blood hence harmful. So avoid much oil.

4. Vitamins:

Vitamins act as catalyst in a human body. Without vitamins no matter how much food we eat, we can not get the nutrients from the food. After consuming fat, proteins, carbohydrates, if we do not take sufficient vitamins, we shall not get any nutrition on strength from other foods. Up to the age of 20-25 years, necessary vitamins are started producing in liver. But after the age of 25 we need to take extra vitamins from outer resources.

Fruits, vegetables especially green leafy vegetables, sprouts etc. are very good resources of vitamins. Vitamin A, Vitamin B-complex, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and k are some of the vitamins needed by the human body

The resources of vitamins:

1. Vitamin A: Yellow fruits, carrot, etc.
2. Vitamin B: complex: Red rice, boiled rice.
3. Vitamin C: Green chillies, amla, mausambi, orange, pineapple etc.
4. Vitamin D: Sufficient vitamin D is produced in the body itself. When we expose the body to the sun rays, vitamin D strengthens the bones.
5. Vitamin E: Sprouts, etc. Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant and prevents ageing. It also increases the complexion and keeps young.
6. Vitamin K: It plays a role in blood coagulation
7. Minerals: Zinc, Magnesium, cadmium, sodium and potassium are some of the important minerals needed by the body everyday. Jaggery, Ragi, Black Gram, Apples, Brinjals, Dates, etc. are good resources of minerals.
   Sodium and potassium help in the functioning of the cells of our human body. Zinc, Magnesium and Cadmium help in the production of insulin and sugar control. Sprouts and Black Pepper are the good resources of cadmium.
8. Antioxidants: Electrons are reduced from the cells of the human body which are called free radicals. These act as mad persons entering the body and create disturbances in the body destroying good cells. Hence swelling starts in the body and cholesterol also increases. In order to stop the disturbances, the body needs antioxidants like vitamin a, Vitamin C and Vitamin E. These antioxidants act as policemen preventing the mad free radicals from damaging the cells of the body.