The Right Way of Drinking Water as per Ayurveda

As per Ayurveda, drinking water at the end of a meal is akin to drinking poison. It kills the Jathaaragni (that aspect of prana or energy which enables the body to digest food) thereby making the food rot inside the system instead of getting digested. This in turn leads to excess acid and gas being produced in the system and a very vicious cycle starts.

Maharishi Vagh Bhatt has identified 103 ailments that occur as a result of drinking water after having eaten food.

1. The minimum gap between food and water should be between 1.5 to 2.5 hrs. This also varies based on geographic and other conditions and the duration is higher in the mountains and lower in plains and hot areas. This is because the body’s ability to digest food varies with the ambient conditions.
2. Water drunk before food should be drunk at least 40 minutes before eating food.
3. To clean the mouth and throat after food only one or two sips of warm/gunguna water can be taken.
4. If really thirsty, one can have fresh juice of seasonal fruits after morning meal and buttermilk/chhaas after lunch. Milk can be had after dinner. Though these also contain mostly water, the properties are completely different and they actually help digestion and the body instead of hurting it.
5. Always drink water sip by sip like one drinks hot tea.
6. Drink water first thing in the morning. It is to be consumed warm at body temp and should be sipped like hot tea so that max possible saliva goes into the stomach. Only if you are drinking water kept in a copper pot it need not be warmed up as it already has same quality as warm water. Mud pot water is also to be warmed up. Below 18 and above 60 years of age should drink only 1.5 to 2 glasses while others should drink upto 1.25 ltrs. i.e. min 3 glasses. This is the only water one should drink without feeling thirsty. Sips should be smallest. Try this for 6 months and see the changes in health. You will feel fresher and lighter, and will see improvements in sleep, digestion, pains, heart.
7. In case you are regularly taking in water kept in copper pot then you should stop for a couple of weeks after 3 months of continuous usage.
8. Never drink cold water. It should always be Warm/gunguna or at body temp. Drinking cold water leads to decrease in blood supply to various organs. Over a period of time this leads to the weakening and hence failure of various organs and causes probs like heart attack, kidney failure, brain hemorrhage etc. Drinking chilled water leads to severe constipation. Large intestine shrinks causing various other complications. This is applicable to other cold foods as well.