What’s So Amazing about Khichadi?-2
Why Split Yellow Mung Beans?
To be called khichadi, the rice has to be cooked with a legume. Traditionally, that legume was split yellow mung dal beans. These are the only legumes that are classified as “vata balancing” in Ayurveda. This means that, unlike every other type of beans or lentils, they will not produce any intestinal gas.
Split yellow mung beans also have their husk naturally removed. When they are split, the husk, which is very hard to digest and gas producing, naturally falls off. This process naturally renders them much easier to cook, digest, and assimilate.
A Perfect Protein
The combination of rice and beans has been a staple around the world for 10,000 years, and for good reason. You have probably heard the term “complete protein,” but let’s take a minute to really understand what that means.
There are 20 amino acids that combine with one another to make the proteins the body needs. 10 of them, the body can synthesize on its own. The other 10, called essential amino acids, the body does not make, meaning we must get it from our foods. Animal proteins are “complete” in that they contain all ten essential amino acids, but plant foods need to be combined to make a “complete protein.”
Split_Yellow_Mung_Beans
According to Ayurveda, split yellow mung beans are the one type of beans or lentils that will not produce gas.
Rice, like most grains, is very low in the amino acid lysine. As a result, if you live on grains alone, you will likely become protein deficient. Legumes and lentils, on the other hand, have lots of lysine, but they are generally low in methionine, tryptophan and cystine. Fortunately, grains are high in these three amino acids.
So the marriage of rice and beans, as found in khichadi, has been providing the 10 essential amino acids and making complete proteins for cultures around the world for thousands of years. For cultures that have subsisted on a plant-based diet, this marriage is often what allows their diet to be nutritionally sustainable.
Khichadi for Cleansing
During a cleanse, it is essential to have adequate protein to keep the blood sugar stable and the body burning fat.
One of the most common reasons folks have trouble with cleansing is due to unstable blood sugars made worse by the detox process. During a fast, for example, you are asked to drink only water, juice or veggies. For many, this type of austere fasting can be a strain and deplete blood sugar reserves. Then folks get really hungry, irritable, and end up with a low blood sugar headache or crash. While the goal of a fast is to shift the body into fat metabolism and detox the fat cells, this will not happen if the body is under stress and strain as a result of a difficult fast.
One of the most common reasons folks have trouble with cleansing is due to unstable blood sugars made worse by the detox process. During a fast, for example, you are asked to drink only water, juice or veggies. For many, this type of austere fasting can be a strain and deplete blood sugar reserves. Then folks get really hungry, irritable, and end up with a low blood sugar headache or crash. While the goal of a fast is to shift the body into fat metabolism and detox the fat cells, this will not happen if the body is under stress and strain as a result of a difficult fast.
Om Namah Shivay
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