What Srimad Bhagavad Gita says on food ! Chapter-17

Here Lord Krishna describes which food is good for our health on chapter 17 of Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Food has a direct effect on our intelligence.

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śrībhagavānuvācha |

trividhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṃ sā svabhāvajā |

sāttvikī rājasī chaiva tāmasī cheti tāṃ śṛṇu ‖ 17.2 ‖

There are three types of reverence of a human being, reverence is that which originates from the self. That is the accumulated rites of deeds performed for infinite births. Such reverence is called Swabhabaja, these are three types Sattvic, Rajasic and Tamasic. Your actions become your values and go with you.

āhārastvapi sarvasya trividho bhavati priyaḥ |

yaGYastapastathā dānaṃ teśhāṃ bhedamimaṃ śṛṇu ‖ 17.7 ‖

You choose your life according to your own nature. You can figure out the nature of a human according to their hymns and food. There are three types of worship, penance and charity. Even the food that each person eats is of three types according to nature. Such as Sattvik, Rajasik and Tamasic.

āyuḥsattvabalārogyasukhaprītivivardhanāḥ |

rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ sāttvikapriyāḥ ‖ 17.8 ‖

Satvik food that extends life, purifies life and imparts strength and satiety. This type of food is heart-healthy and gives peace to your mind. Satvik food is made for the use of the human body and not for tasty food. Satvik food is very vegetarian food, which connects us to spirituality.

kaṭvamlalavaṇātyuśhṇatīkśhṇarūkśhavidāhinaḥ |

āhārā rājasasyeśhṭā duḥkhaśokāmayapradāḥ ‖ 17.9 ‖

When vegetarian food is cooked with bitter, highly sour, salty, chilli, sugar i.e. more spices etc. it is known as Rajasic food. Eating Rajasic food seems tasty, but such food produces ill health and depression.

yātayāmaṃ gatarasaṃ pūti paryuśhitaṃ cha yat |

uchChiśhṭamapi chāmedhyaṃ bhojanaṃ tāmasapriyam ‖ 17.10 ‖

The food which is undercooked, foul-smelling and rancid is Tamasic food. The carnivore is also included in the Tamasic diet because man's body is not made for meat, because it takes a long time to digest this food. Tamasic food and stale food aggravate diseases. That is, it should be eaten within three hours of cooking. Tamasic food also upsets your mind. If Rajasic food is home to the sick, then you can understand how much harm the body will suffer from tamasic food.