Ayush Ahara is a concept that combines traditional Ayush food principles with modern nutrition to promote holistic well-being through personalized diet. It is gaining more acceptance in this era of modernization, industrialization and digitization due to its capability to tackle the diseases of the civilization – the present-day non-communicable diseases like Diabetes, Obesity and Hypertension.

Dietetics is the science of diet and nutrition focusing on the promotion of health and it generally includes individual nutritional needs, nutrition counseling, menu planning, understanding nutritional properties of food and application of good diet in clinical and community settings. The Food safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI) has come up with the “People’s User-friendly Resource for Practicing and Learning to Eat – PURPLE Book on Diets for diseases” as a part of Eat Right India campaign which serves as a guide for the dieticians and practicing Doctors on general dietary recommendations and advice on Diets for different diseases.

Ayurveda books explains Ayurveda Dietetics – the dietary guidelines for maintenance of health under the heading Aharavidhi and dietary advocacy for the  different diseases under the vast heading Pathya-Pathya. But now, the world has changed and a number of new dishes and cuisines have been introduced along with innovative cooking methods. It is a need of the hour to introduce a detailed ‘Ayurveda dietary advocacy on diseases’ aligning with line with today’s modern dishes, eating styles and habits focussing on the concept that – Food is the best medicine. The Union Health Minister in 2021 introduced the “Aharakranthi mission” with the theme Utham Ahara Utham Vichara – Good food Good Cognition” which is a nation-wide campaign to create nutritional awareness of Ayurvedic dietary principles among the public.

Food technology is the application of science and technology to the production, processing, preservation, packaging and distribution of food products. Many startups have come up with innovative processed and semi-processed food products in the name of AYUSH Ahara. The application of scientific and technological advancements helps to improve food safety and quality and to enhance nutritional value of these food products and to support sustainable agricultural and food systems for future world.

Research and Development is also going on in the field of Nutrigenomics and Ayurvedic genomics which includes studying the interaction between genes, diet, and health in the context of Ayurveda. Clinical trials should be conducted to validate the efficacy and safety of Ayurveda dietetics and innovative food products. Ayurveda Food science is another area of research investigating the chemical, biochemical and nutritional properties of Ayurvedic ingredients and food products of today’s world. Standardization and regulation includes establishing standardized protocols for Ayurvedic diet planning, food processing, and product development to ensure quality and safety.

As torch bearers of AYUSH systems, it is out duty to proclaim and propagate the principles of dietary guidelines explained in our AYUSH systems and to validate it’s efficacy and usefulness in this era. The World Ayurveda Congress 2024 organized in Uttarakhand in December 2024 is an excellent platform to present your valuable ideas and researches regarding Ayush Ahara.