Dietary Guidelines 2021 by AyurTimes

 

Dietary Guidelines by Ayur Times are unbiased recommendations for healthy eating and advise a most favorable diet for us. My recommendations are based on evidence and research studies and my clinical experience with Ayur Times Healing Diets.

I tried to keep this guide very concise. Why do we recommend these food group? What are evidence and research studies that become the basis of our 2021 Dietary Guidelines? These are not covered in this guide to keep it concise. But you will find the answers in my future articles and videos.

FOOD PLATE METHOD

There are 10 important food groups, which are important to keep you healthy.

1. Fruits.
2. Vegetables.
3. Whole Grains.
4. Legumes.
5. Nuts.
6. Seeds.
7. Fresh Herbs.
8. Spices.
9. Water.
10. Sunshine.

The above picture displays a simple food plate principle.

Fruits	¼ Plate
Vegetables	¼ Plate
Grains	¼ Plate
Legume, Nuts & Seeds	¼ Plate

In addition to the plate, there are four circles, which represent:

1. Fresh Herbs: Eat at least two fresh herbs – fresh leaves of coriander, parsley, dill, mint (all types), fenugreek and Basil (all types) daily.
2. Spices: Eat turmeric, ginger, black pepper, long pepper, green cardamom seeds, cinnamon, and cumin seeds daily. Use Asafoetida (Hing) in legume recipes, especially for gas-forming beans. Take other spices occasionally.
3. Water: Drink water when you feel thirsty. Take at least three glasses a day.
4. Sunshine: Get sunshine for at least 30 minutes daily. It is treated as a food group because it helps in Vitamin D production. It also has some healing benefits.

FRUITS

Recommendations:

1. Include a variety of fruits.
2. Eat at least 3 different fruits daily.

Standard Serving Size for Fruits

Fruits Type	1 Serving Size equal to:
Fresh Fruits	150 grams
Dried Fruits **	30 grams

** Dried fruits include dried apricot, dates, prunes, figs, etc.

Recommended Fruits Servings:

Age Group (in years)	Daily Recommended Servings
1-2	1 Serving (150 g)
2-3	1 ½ Serving (225 g)
4-8	2 Servings (300 g)
9-11	2 ½ Servings (375 g)
12-14	3 Servings (450 g)
15-18	4 Servings (600 g)
19-50	5 Servings (750 g)
51-70	5 Servings (750 g)
70+	4 Servings (600 g)
Pregnant	5 Servings (750 g)
Lactating	5 Servings (750 g)

VEGETABLES

Recommendations:

1. Include a variety of vegetables.
2. Eat at least 3 different vegetables daily.
3. Eat 60% Raw and 40% Cooked: 60% of total vegetable intake should be from non-starchy vegetables and raw uncooked form. 40% should be cooked form. Boiling is the best method to cook vegetables.
4. Boil starchy vegetables (e.g. potatoes, yam, butternut, pumpkin, zucchini, etc.), green leafy vegetables (e.g. spinach, beet greens, swiss chard, mustard green, etc.) and other vegetables with high oxalate content. Don’t eat these vegetables in raw form.

Standard Serving Size for Vegetables

Vegetable Type	1 Serving Size equal to:
Fresh Vegetables	150 grams
Cooked Vegetables	75 grams

Recommended Vegetable Servings

The following table represents the serving size for fresh (raw uncooked) vegetables.

Age Group (in years)	Daily Recommended Servings
1-2	1 Serving (150 g)
2-3	1 ½ Serving (225 g)
4-8	2 Servings (300 g)
9-11	2 ½ Servings (375 g)
12-14	3 Servings (450 g)
15-18	4 Servings (600 g)
19-50	5 Servings (750 g)
51-70	5 Servings (750 g)
70+	4 Servings (600 g)
Pregnant	5 Servings (750 g)
Lactating	5 Servings (750 g)

For cooked vegetables, serving size reduces to half. For example, if raw vegetable serving size is 150 grams, for cooked vegetable, it will be 75 grams.

WHOLE GRAINS

Recommendations:

1. Variety: Include a variety of whole grains in your diet.
2. Intact Whole Grains: Eat more intact whole grains. We recommend eating 75% to 100% of the total grain’s servings in the form of intact whole grains. If it is not possible, eat more than 50% of total grain’s servings in the form of intact whole grains.
3. Whole Grain Flour: Eat less food made of grain flour. Flour should contain bran, and it should be made of whole grains. We recommend eating 0 to 25% of total grain’s servings from whole grain flour. If it is not possible, eat less than 50% of total grain’s servings from the whole grain flour. Mix whole grain flour with 10% of bran. For example, mix 1 Kg of Wheat Bran in 10 Kg of whole wheat flour.
4. Knead in Vegetable Puree: If you eat chapati, knead whole grain dough with seasonal vegetables (except spinach, swiss green, beet greens, and vegetables with high oxalate content) and their juice. Do not use water for kneading the flour.
5. Avoid Refined Grains: Do not eat refined grains and food made of refined grain flour. For example, avoid white rice, white bread, white flatbread, chapati made of white flour etc.

Standard Serving Size for Grains

Whole Grains	1 Serving Size equal to:
Whole Grains (cooked) in general	½ cup (approx. 75 g)
Millets (Cooked)	½ cup (approx. 75 g)
Chapati or Flat Bread	½ chapati (approx. 40 g)
Bread	1 slice (approx. 40 g)
Brown Rice (Cooked)	½ cup (approx. 75 g)
Barley (Cooked)	½ cup (approx. 75 g)
Quinoa (Cooked)	½ cup (approx. 75 g)
Semolina (Cooked)	½ cup (approx. 75 g)
Buckwheat (Cooked)	½ cup (approx. 75 g)
Pasta (boiled)	½ cup (approx. 100 g)
Popped Popcorn	3 cups
Porridge (boiled in water; thick)	½ cup (approx. 100- 120 g)

Recommended Grains Servings

Age Group	Male	Female
1-2	2 servings	2 servings
2-3	3 servings	3 servings
4-8	4 servings	4 servings
9-11	5 servings	4 servings
12-14	6 servings	5 servings
15-18	6 servings	6 servings
19-30	6 servings	6 servings
31-50	5 servings	5 servings
51-70	5 servings	4 servings
70+	4 servings	3 servings
Pregnant	–	7 servings
Lactating	–	8 servings

LEGUMES

Recommendations:

1. Variety: Include a variety of legumes (preferably lentils) in your diet. Do not eat the same type of legume daily.
2. Preference: The preference should be given to mung (green lentil), masoor (red lentil), fresh green beans and fresh green peas. Pigeon peas (including Toor/Arhar dal) is also a good option.
3. Alternate: Legumes has 5 subtypes (Lentils, Beans, Peas, Chickpea and Soy). You should alternate each type. Do not consume same type of legume daily, especially beans.
4. Soak: Soaking legumes is particularly important. Never miss soaking. Soak lentils overnight (6-8 hours) before cooking. Soak beans and chickpeas for 24 hours before cooking. In case of beans and chickpeas, change water after every 6 hours and wash 2-3 times. This process eliminates antinutrient compound in the beans and reduces the gas-forming effects.
5. Sprouts: You may eat sprouts once a week if you prefer. Sprinkle black pepper powder on sprouts. Take care of sprouting process and avoid bacterial and fungal contamination. Sprouts can be a risk factor for food-poisoning. In ayurveda, sprouts are not generally recommended. Cooked legumes are considered better than sprouted legumes. Mung sprouts are the best and most recommended. Avoid sprouts from all other legumes.
6. Spice up: Add antispasmodic and antiflatulent spices, especially for beans and chickpeas. For example, add cumin seeds, asafoetida, clove, mace, or nutmeg to the legume recipe to avoid gas-forming effects. Asafoetida and cumin seeds are more important than other spices in case of beans.

Recommended Daily Amount

According to age group, the recommended daily amount for legumes varies. Here is a details:

Standard Serving Size for Legumes

Type	1 Serving Size equal to:
Cooked Legumes (Lentils, Beans, Chickpea)	½ cup
Fresh Green Pea	1 cup
Cooked Fresh Green Pea	½ cup
Fresh Green Beans	1 cup
Cooked Fresh Green Beans	½ cup
Hummus (Mashed cooked legumes)	¼ cup
Sprouts	1 cup
Edamame	1 cup
Tofu	½ cup

Recommended Daily Servings

Age Group (in years)	Recommended Servings per Day
1-2	½ serving
2-3	¾ serving
4-8	1 serving
9-11	1 ½ servings
12-14	1 ½ servings
15-18	1 ½ servings
19-50	1 ½ servings
51-70	1 ½ servings
70+	1 serving
Pregnant	1 ¾ servings
Lactating	1 ½ servings

Alternating Legumes

Day 1	Mung (Green Beans) + Masoor (Red Lentils)
Day 2	Green Beans
Day 3	Chickpeas
Day 4	Mung (Green Beans) + Masoor (Red Lentils)
Day 5	Tofu
Day 6	Green Peas
Day 7	Beans (choose one e.g. kidney beans, or black beans)

Legume Types

Lentils (Lens culinaris)	Beluga Lentils, Black Lentils (Urad), Brown Lentils, Castelluccio Lentils, Crimson Lentils, Mung (Green Lentils), Puy Lentils, Masoor (Red Lentils)
Split Lentils	Ivory or White Lentils (Urad Dal), Red Split Lentils (Masoor Dal), Yellow Lentils (Mung Dal)
Beans (Phaseolus, Vicia faba, Vigna)	Adzuki Beans, Anasazi Beans, Appaloosa Beans, Black Beans, Black Calypso Beans, Black-Eyed Peas, Bolita Beans, Cannellini Beans, Christmas Lima Beans, Cranberry Beans, Eye of the Goat Beans, Fava Beans, Flageolets (Fayot), Great Northern Beans, Jacob’s Cattle Beans, Kidney Beans, Lima Beans, Marrow Beans, Mung Beans (Green Gram), Navy Beans, Navy Beans, Pinto Beans, Rattlesnake Beans, Red Beans, Scarlet Runner Beans
Peas (Pisum sativum, Cajanus cajan)	Green Peas, Pigeon Peas, Yellow Peas, White Peas
Split Peas	Green Split Peas, Pigeon Split Peas (Toor Dal), Yellow Split Peas
Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum)	Chickpeas, Bengal Gram (Desi Chickpeas), Split Chickpeas (Kala Chana Dal)
Soybeans (Glycine max)	Soybeans, tofu and other soy products

How to Get Rid of Gas Formation due to Beans and Chickpea?

Beans and chickpeas are gas-forming. Soaking them for 24 hours before cooking and changing water and washing 2-3 times after every 6 hours reduces the gas-forming effect significantly. But still, you can experience gas formation and flatulence. To get rid of this effect, you should also eat the following spice mixture:

Spices	Mixing Proportion
Carom Seeds	20 g
Fennel Seeds	30 g
Clove	10 g
Green Cardamon Seeds	10 g
Cumin Seeds	10 g

Dosage: ½ tsp. With lukewarm water. You can take it twice on a day when you consume beans and chickpea.

NUTS

Recommendations:

1. Soak nuts for at least 6 hours before eating.
2. Choose at least 4 types of different nuts every day.
3. Optional: Eat at least 5 Brazil Nuts every month (if available in your country).
4. Almonds and walnuts should be an essential part of your diet.

Recommended Daily Amount

Standard Serving Size for Nuts

The standard serving size for nuts is 30 grams.

Recommended Servings for Nuts

Age Group	Recommended Daily Servings
1-2	¼ serving (7.5 grams)
2-3	1/3 serving (10 grams)
4-8	½ serving (15 grams)
9-11	¾ serving (22.5 grams)
12-13	1 serving (30 grams)
14-18	1 ½ serving (45 grams)
19-50	1 ½ serving (45 grams)
51-70	1 serving (30 grams)
70+	¾ serving (22.5 grams)
Pregnant	1 ½ serving (45 grams)
Lactating	1 ½ serving (45 grams)

SEEDS

Recommendations:

1. Soak seeds for around 6 hours before eating.
2. Choose at least 2 types of different seeds every day.
3. Sesame seeds, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds should be an important part of your weekly diet.
4. Do not take the same seeds daily. Alternate them with other seeds.

Recommended Amount for Seeds

Age Group	Recommended Daily Amount
1-2	2.5 g
2-3	3.3 g
4-8	5 g
9-11	8 g
12-14	10 g
15-18	13 g
19-50	15 g (2 tablespoons)
51-70	15 g (2 tablespoons)
70+	12 g
Pregnant	15 g (2 tablespoons)
Lactating	15 g (2 tablespoons)

Recommended Seeds

• Flax seeds
• Sesame seeds
• Pumpkin seeds or pepitas
• Chia seeds
• Cantaloupe seeds
• Cucumber seeds
• Hemp seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Watermelon seeds

FRESH HERBS

Recommendations:

1. Eat green leaves of fresh herbs with every meal.
2. Choose at least 2 types of different herbs every day.

Recommended Fresh Herbs

You should eat any 2 herbs from the following list:

• Basil (all types).
• Coriander or Cilantro.
• Mint (all types).
  • Apple mint.
  • Orange mint.
  • Peppermint.
  • Pineapple Mint.
  • Spearmint.
• Parsley.
• Curry leaves.
• Dill leaves.
• Fennel (green).
• Giloy.
• Hyssop.
• Oregano.
• Moringa.
• Rosemary.

Recommended Amount for Fresh Herbs

Age Group (In Year)	Recommended Daily Amount
1-2	2.5 g
2-3	5 g
4-8	7.5 g
9-11	10 g
12-14	15 g
15-18	20 g
19-50	25 g
51-70	20 g
70+	15 g
Pregnant	20 g
Lactating	25 g

Note: Pregnant woman should take coriander, fennel green, dill leaves, giloy leaves, mint, or moringa. During pregnancy, preference should be given to coriander as the main herb.

SPICES

Recommendations:

1. Eat Daily: Turmeric, Black Pepper, Long Pepper, Ginger, Cumin Seeds, Green Cardamon and Cinnamon.
2. Eat Weekly: Any two of Asafoetida, Carom Seeds, Clove, Fenugreek seeds, Mace, Nutmeg, Saffron and Fennel Seeds.

Recommended Amount for Spices

Spices	Recommended Amount
Turmeric	50 mg of Kg Body Weight
Black Pepper	5 mg of Kg Body Weight
Long Pepper	5 mg of Kg Body Weight
Ginger	5 mg of Kg Body Weight
Green Cardamon	25 mg of Kg Body Weight
Cinnamon	25 mg of Kg Body Weight
Asafoetida	5 mg of Kg Body Weight
Carom Seeds	25 mg of Kg Body Weight
Clove	25 mg of Kg Body Weight
Fenugreek seeds	50 mg of Kg Body Weight
Mace	25 mg of Kg Body Weight
Nutmeg	10 mg of Kg Body Weight
Saffron	10 mg of Kg Body Weight
Fennel Seeds	100 mg of Kg Body Weight

WATER

Recommendations:

1. Drink water whenever you feel thirsty.
2. Drink lukewarm water during winters.
3. Drink water kept in an earthen pot during summers.
4. Drink water sip by sip. Do not gulp water in a hurry.

SUNSHINE

Recommendations:

1. Take sunbath daily for at least 30 minutes.
2. You can take sunbath any time during the day whenever the sun is tolerable to the skin. Cover the head if taking a sunbath in mid-day.
3. Avoid taking sunshine during intense heat.
4. Mornings and evenings are the best time to sunbathe but require a longer duration (30-60 minutes).

SUPPLEMENTS

Recommendations:

1. Vitamin B12: Take at least 50 mcg of Cyanocobalamin daily. The optimum recommended dosage is 50 mcg daily or 2000 mcg weekly. Check Vitamin B12 Guide for more details.
2. Vitamin D: If you do not get sufficient sunshine, take Vitamin D 1000 IU daily or 7000 IU weekly.
3. Ashwagandha + Long Pepper: Take at least 400 mg of Ashwagandha powder and 100 mg of Long Pepper powder daily if you are underweight or have a normal weight (and if no abdominal fat).
4. Amla + Long Pepper: Take at least 1000 mg of Amla powder and 100 mg of Long Pepper powder daily if you are overweight or obese or have abdominal fat.

You should not take any other supplements for proteins, multivitamins, and minerals.

EXERCISE

However, exercise is not part of the food. But its inclusion is necessary here to stay healthy.

Recommendations:

1. Do exercise for at least 30 minutes daily.
2. Involve in physical activities at least for 120 minutes daily.

Thirty minutes of exercise and 120 minutes of daily involvement in physical activities (e.g. playing) are mandatory. In total, you should be physically active for about 2.5 hours daily.

LIMITED FOOD

You can take the following food in a limited amount, as recommended below:

Limited Salt

Recommendation: You should avoid a high salt diet. You can take up to 2.5 grams (a half teaspoon) of salt daily. It is equal to 1 gram of sodium.

• Recommended Salt Type: Himalayan Pink Salt or Sendha Namak (Rock Salt).
• Acceptable Salt Type: Iodised salt 50% + Himalayan Pink Salt 50% (if you are not taking sea vegetables). But we recommend sea vegetables for iodine instead of iodised salt.

Limited Oil

We encourage 100% oil-free diet and take nuts and seeds as an alternative. You should take nuts and seeds daily in the recommended amount. These will help to fulfil the daily requirement of healthy fats. Besides, you can also take fresh avocado and coconut 2-3 times a week.

If it is not possible, then we recommend using oil in a limited amount. You should choose oils extracted from seeds. These should be easy to extract, cold-pressed and extra virgin varieties.

How to Take Oil

• Do not Cook in Oil: You should not cook your food in oil.
• How to Use Oil: You can add oil in your food after cooking.

Recommended Oils

We recommend cold-pressed and extra virgin varieties of the following oils:

1. Avocado oil.
2. Flaxseed oil.
3. Olive oil.
4. Peanut oil.
5. Sesame oil.
6. Sunflower oil.

You should not take other oils that are not listed above. You should choose native seed oil. If olives are not grown in your country, you should not take olive oil. If avocado is not grown in your country, do not take avocado or avocado oil.

In terms of ayurveda, sesame oil is the best among other oils.

Acceptable Oil Amount

Condition	Allowable per Week
No exercise/physical work	Nil
30 minutes of exercise/physical work daily	35 ml per week
60 minutes of exercise/physical work daily	70 ml per week
90 minutes of exercise/physical work daily	105 ml per week

The simple rule if you have abdominal fat or overweight or obese, you should not take oil regardless your physical work.

The total intake of oil should not exceed 105 ml per week.

Limited Sea Vegetables

Sea vegetables are important for getting iodine. However, each sea vegetable contains a different amount of iodine content and can also be toxic if taken in excess. For example, kelp contains a huge amount of iodine, which can have damaging effects.

Recommended: Nori, Horsetail tangle, Wakame, Mekabu and Dulse.

Age Group	Recommended Amount per WEEK
1-2	1.5 grams per week
2-3	3 grams per week
4-8	4.5 grams per week
9-11	6 grams per week
12-14	9 grams per week
15-18	10 grams per week
19-50	10 grams per week
51-70	10 grams per week
70+	10 grams per week
Pregnant	10 grams per week
Lactating	10 grams per week

The above-recommended amount applies to Wakame, Dulse and Nori and it is weekly recommended amount.

Acceptable: A pinch of Kelp, twice a week.

Restricted: Hijiki and seaweeds containing arsenic in excess.

Note: Before taking sea vegetables, always check iodine and arsenic content.

Dr. Jagdev Singh

https://www.ayurtimes.com/dietary-guidelines/