Australia’s population is aging, and half are now older than 37.  15% (that’s 3.7 million) are over 65.

As life expectancy increases, and lifestyles have changed, many age-related and chronic conditions,  including various cancers and tumours, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, back pain, osteoporosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), dementia, Parkinson’s and other chronic illnesses have increasingly become a part of life for many.

National Health Survey data indicate that 3 in every 5 Australians (60%) over 65 have 2 or more chronic health conditions.

This statistic should be a cause of concern for us all:

• as the healthcare costs carried by the community and government are billions of dollars and increasing every year for ongoing treatment and care
• these chronic conditions cause much suffering; quality of life is compromised whether it is due to pain, debilitation, appointments and therapies, restricted diets, impacts on family life etc. With prescription drug use you may not be able to eat certain foods. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy side effects may cause difficulty with eating, walking and enjoying life.

Considering an Ayurvedic approach, 60% of diseases can be prevented just by adopting a healthy lifestyle, if the disease isn’t in a late or chronic stage. This means that everything you do from the early stages of your life can impact your health and your life in the future. When you are young your body can handle unwanted or toxic material more easily. Once you are over 40 your body naturally starts to decline in hormone production, endocrine function and ability to absorb essential nutrients.

However much you abuse your body after 40, it will overload the body even more and be triggered more easily into declining health. This tendency increases more so by the age of 65, with increasing likelihood of diseases manifesting because the body can not handle the overload of toxins.

Every day if you adopt healthy choices for your body it will have a positive impact over time. Sickness can come to anyone but the aim is to minimise the damage so you can continue to enjoy life and age gracefully.

Ayurveda credits having a consistent daily routine (known as Dinacharya) with maintaining balanced physical, mental and emotional health. According to your body type, seasonal and environmental factors, you can avoid illness by implementing regular habits that span from morning to evening. Such habits align with, and help optimize, the body’s natural biorhythms and biological patterns that regulate and coordinate metabolic processes.  Routines covered by dinacharya include: waking time, elimination, hygiene, massage, exercise, bathing, meals, study, work, relaxation, meditation and sleeping.

At Yatan Holistic Ayurvedic Centre, we have developed a number of Ayurvedic health products which have been packaged conveniently as Lifestyle Kits to assist you in establishing and maintaining a daily routine suited to your body constitution, efficiently and effectively.

Beneficial tips:

1. Everyone should find out their constitution: Vata, Pitta or Kapha or a combination. According to your constitution you can follow lifestyle recommendations for your dosha type. For example: Vata and Kapha constitutions need hot food and Pitta constitution need warm food for optimum metabolism.
2. Any exercise including yoga, Pilates, gym etc. should be practiced according to body constitution type.
3. Kitcheree is a nourishing, cleansing and healing Ayurvedic one pot meal of mung dhal and basmati rice that balances all doshas and is highly recommended for gut dysfunction and recovering from any illness as it is easy to digest.  You can vary the vegetables and spices used according to your taste

Easy Kitcheree recipe:

serves 1-2 people

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup mung dhal
• 1/2 cup of basmati rice
• 6 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon of ghee

Vegetables (as desired)

• 1/4 cup of sweet potato
• 1/4 cup of pumpkin
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 tomato

Spices

• 1/4 tsp of cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp of mustard seeds
• 1-2 whole dry chilli (optional)
• 1/2 tsp chopped ginger
• 2-3 bay leaves
• Pinch of turmeric powder
• Pinch of salt

Garnish / Condiment

• Fresh coriander leaves
• 1/4 lime
• Lime or mango pickles

PREPARATION

1. Wash the rice and dhal, and then drain.
2. Boil the water.
3. Heat the ghee in a frypan.  Add spices (cumin, mustard seeds, grated/chopped ginger, bay leaves, chilli) then onion and cook for a minute or so
4. Add mung dhal, rice, sweet potato, tomato and pumpkin to the frying pan and cook for 1-2 minutes until lightly browned (do not overfry)
5. Place all ingredients from the frypan into the pot of boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked to a creamy porridge like consistancy
6. Add tumeric and salt after the kitcheree has been cooking for around 10 minutes
7. Garnish with some coriander leaves and squeeze some lime over the kitcheree.  You could also top it with some feta cheese and add some lime or mango pickles as a condiment.

Ideally, adopting healthy lifestyle choices and routines at the age of 30 or younger can positively impact your future health and life – however it is never to late to start!

For further information or to book a free 10 minute consultation please call 1300 552 260.

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