Bad Food Combinations And Solution

As Per Ayurveda
Though some food articles are quite safe, Ayurveda explains that combination of
two particular safe foods may not be ideal for health. It depends upon the quantity
of each food stuff, time of taking food, processing of food and a lot of other
factors. Lets have a look at the list.
Principles involved:
Opposing duel qualities: If two qualities are strongly exhibited in two items and
their combination would lead to a bad quality match, then they are rendered
incompatible. Usually hot potency and cold potency is considered. But this does
not always hold good. For example, in some cases, in some hot potency herbs, they
are treated with milk (cold potency) to lower its hotness. Example: Garlic Milk
Remedy, Bhallataka (hot) processed with milk etc.
Similar qualities: If two foods have many similarities with them, to such an extent
that the combination would increase a particular Dosha to a very high extent, then
they are said incompatible.
Example: Fish with radish.
Opposing multiple qualities: If two foods have multiple opposing qualities, their
combination is usually declared incompatible. For example honey and ghee in
equal quantities.
Processing: If processing of food leads to alteration / destruction of original
quality of the food, then it is not recommended. Such as heating of curds and
heating of honey.
Time of intake: We learnt in basic principles of Ayurveda that, the day and night
can be divided into three parts, From morning to evening, in one third part, Kapha,
Pitta and Vata are active. If taking some food aggravates Dosha due to its similarity
in qualities with the timing of Dosha, then that food at that particular time is
defined as incompatible. Example: Taking curds at night. Or taking excess sweets
at night.

Enough of logics and theories. Let us dive into actual list of bad Ayurveda food
combination.
Wrong Food Combinations As Per Ayurveda:
Pork, Buffalo meat, Swan meat, goose, crab, fish, tortoise, should not not be taken
along with black gram, honey, milk and germinated grains.
Radish is incompatible with fish.
Fish with milk is incompatible. Both fish and milk of them have sweet taste, but
due to the contradiction in their potency (fish is hot and milk is cold) they vitiate
the blood and obstruct the channels of circulation.
Anupa Mamsa Meat of Yak, buffalo, cow, deer, elephant,
Audaka / Varishaya fish, whale, pearl oyster, conch snail, cat fish, crocodile,
These meat / fishes should not be taken together with honey, sesame seeds, sugar
candy, milk, black gram (Masha), radish, lotus stalk or germinated grains (Viruda
dhanya). By doing so, one gets afflicted with deafness, blindness, trembling, loss
of intelligence loss of voice and nasal voice, it may even cause death.
meat of Kapota (dove) fried in mustard oil together with honey and milk, for this
obstructs channels of circulation and causes dilatation of blood vessels,epilepsy,
Shankhaka (a disease of the head characterized by acute pain in temporal region),
Galaganda (Scrofula) or even death.
Milk should not be taken after the intake of radish, garlic, Keshnagandha
(Moringa oleifera Lam.) Arjaka ( Ocimum gratissimum Linn), Sumukha Surasa
(Tulsi Holy basil), etc. this may cause skin diseases. Though garlic and milk are
heated and used together in many medicines, cold milk should not be consumed
immediately after garlic, radish, holy basil consumption.
Holy basil with milk If you are taking holy basil capsule or tablet for any
respiratory or viral infection condition, then better to avoid having milk soon after
this. Maintain a gap of at least 30 minutes between the two.
Milk with sour fruits All sour substances, sour fruits such as sour mango, sour
pomegranate, etc are incompatible with milk
Horse gram with milk is a bad combination.

After consuming green leafy vegetables and radish, drinking milk should be
avoided
Spinach with sesame seed Indian spinach (Basella rubra) processed along with
sesame seed paste. It causes diarrhoea.
Pork should not be taken along with porcupine meet.
Honey should not be heated. Honey should not be consumed by person suffering
with excess heat. As it causes Pitta increase.
Honey and ghee or honey and rain water, both in water both in equal quantity,
Radish along with black gram is forbidden.
Curds along with palm date
Black pepper along with fish or during digestion of fish
Banana along with butter milk is not recommended
Chicken and Spotted deer should not be taken along with curds
Uncooked meat along with bile of animals is bad.
Sheep meat along with leaves of Kusumba herb
Germinated grains along with lotus stalk
Lakucha Phala (wild jack) along with black gram soup.
Kakamachi (Black night shade) along with jaggery
Pippali Long pepper fruit, prepared with fish fat and Kakamachi (Black
nightshade Solanum nigrum), mixed with honey causes death.
Pippali (long pepper) processed with the oil in which fish is fried should be
rejected.
Ghee kept in bronze vessel for more than 10 days should not be taken.
Hot substances or hot procedures (like sun bath) is not recommended along with
Bhallataka (Semecarpus anacardium)
Mixing of milk, beer and Krishara (rice green gram dish)
Mixing of equal quantities of any 2, 3 or all of the following is not recommended
honey, ghee, meat, fat, sesame oil and beverages.
Honey along with ghee, even in unequal proportions, should not be consumed
along with water.
Honey along with seeds of Pushkara (Inula racemosa)
Honey, along with wine of dates (Maireya) and sugar
Milk drinks along with Mantha (solution of corn flour)

Mushroom with yellow cap, with mustard oil is incompatible.

Leaves of Jatuka(Ferula narthex) or ripe fruit of Nikucha (Artocarpus lakoocha
Roxb). Should not be taken with honey and milk
Ripe fruit of Nikucha (Artocarpus lakoocha Roxb) should not be taken with the
soup of Masha (black gram), sugar candy and ghee because they are mutually
contradictory.
Meat of Tittiri, peacock, Godha (Iguana lziard), Lava (common quail), Kapinjala,
cooked by the fire of wood of castor and processed with, fried in castor oil is
lethal.
The treatment for incompatible food consumption
Shodhana purification procedure Panchakarma. It helps the cleanse the body
and gut of the toxins.
Shamana palliative treatment Based on particular Dosha imbalance observed in
the patient.
Virodha chikitsa symptom based treatment.
Health should be restored quickly by using food that have opposite qualities to that
of incompatible foods.
In whom it might not affect?
In those who exercise regularly, who are habituated to oily fatty food, who have
good digestion power, in young and strong, the incompatible food will not cause
any ill effects.
In those, who are habituated (sathmya) to incompatible food and in those who take
low quantities of incompatible food for a long period of time, the ill effects will not
be seen.
Types of Viruddha Ahara- Types of food incompatibility as explained by
Charaka:
1. Desha Viruddha Place Intake of dry and strong substances such as strong
wine, in deserts; oily and cold substance in marshy land is place contradictory diet
habit. because, in deserts, it causes extreme increase of Vata and Pitta and in
marshy land, it causes extreme increase of Kapha Dosha.
2. Kala Viruddha Time contradictory diet habit Intake of cold and dry
substances in winter; pungent and hot substance in the summer.

3. Agni Viruddha Power of Digestion contradictory diet Intake of heavy-todigest food when the power of digestion is low (mandagni); intake of light food
when the power of digestion is very high (Teekshnagni). Similarly intake of food at
various with irregular and normal power of digestion fall under this category.
4. Matra Viruddha Dose specific diet contradiction Intake of honey and
ghee in equal quantities
5. Satmya Viruddha Habit specific diet contradiction- Intake of sweet and
cold substance by persons accustomed to pungent and hot substances.
6. Dosha Viruddha Dosha specific diet contradiction- Utilization of drugs,
diets and regimen having similar qualities with Dosas but at variance with the habit
of the individual.
7. Samskara Viruddha processing Method of preparation specific diet
contradiction:- Drugs and diets which when prepared in a particular way produce
poisonous effects, for example, meat of peacock roasted on a castor spit, heating of
honey etc.
8. Veerya Viruddha Potency specific diet contradiction- Substances having
cold potency in combination with those of hot potency.
9. Koshta Viruddha Bowel specific diet contradiction
Administration of a mild purgative in a small dose for a person of with hard bowel
(Krura Koshta) and administration of strong purgatives food for a person with soft
bowel (Mrudu Koshta)
10. Avastha Viruddha Stage specific contradiction: Indulgence in Vata
aggravating diet after physical stress, sexual intercourse, exercise.
Indulgence in Kapha aggravating diet by a lethargic, sleepy person.
11. Krama Viruddha Order specific contradiction If a person takes food
before his bowel and urinary bladder are clear (empty) or when he does not have
appetite or after his hunger has been highly aggravated.
12. Parihara Viruddha Prescription specific contradiction Intake of hot
things after taking pork
13. Upachara Viruddha Treatment specific contradiction Taking cold things

after taking ghee.

14. Paka Viruddha Cooking contradiction Preparation of food with bad or
rotten fuel, under-cooking, over-cooking or burning during the process of
preparation.
15. Samyoga Viruddha Combination Intake of sour substance with milk.
16. Hrudaya Viruddha Palatability :- Any substance which is not pleasant in
taste.
17. Sampat Viruddha Richness of quality:- Intake of substance that are not
mature, over-mature or purified.
18. Vidhi Viruddha Rules of eating :- Taking meals in public
Effect of taking incompatible foods
Intake of unwholesome food is responsible for the
Shandya causation of sterility ,
Andhya blindness,
visarpa (herpes, spreading type of skin disease),
Dakodara ascitis,
Visphota eruptions,
Unmada insanity,
Bhagandara fistula,
Murcha fainting,
Mada intoxication,
Adhmana bloating
Galagraha spasmodic obstruction in throat,
Pandu anemia, initial stage of liver disorder
Amavisha- poisoning due to Ama (indigestion and altered metabolism),
Kilasa type of skin disease,
Kushta skin disorders
Grahani sprue, IBS,
Shotha oedema,
Amlapitta acid dyspepsia,
Jvara fever,
Peenasa rhinitis,
Santana Dosha foetal diseases and
Mrutyu death. [102-103]
Treatment for disorders of incompatible food and diet habits
First the undigested food particles left in the gut and the highly imbalanced doshas

should be expelled out of the body. For this purpose, two Panchakarma treatments
Vamana emesis treatment and Virechana purgation treatment is adopted.
Then, specific antidotes and prophylaxis is adopted.
How to leave bad food combinations and adopt right foods?
Unhealthy things foods, drinks, activities which have become accustomed by
long use should be discontinued by quarter and quarter gradually.
Similarly healthy things (foods etc.) should be gradually made use with intevals of
1, 2 and 3 days.
So, the process of shift from bad to good food should be gradual and methodical,
rather than a sudden shift.
Sudden discontinuance of unhealthy things, foods, drinks etc. and indulgence in
healthy things, done suddenly and improperly give rise to diseases
The ill effects of incompatible foods that eliminated gradually and good habits
developed gradually leads to robust health.
References:
Charaka Samhita Sutrasthana 26th chapter
Ashtanga Hrudaya Sutrasthana 7th chapter