As the digestive fire is strongest at midday in our climate zone, lunch should be the main meal of the day and should take place between 11am and 2pm. This is the Pitta time of the day. Breakfast is the Kapha time and nourishes our body particularly well.

Influence on body weight

So if you want to gain or maintain weight, you should eat a hearty breakfast. If you want to lose weight, you should eat particularly lightly during the Kapha time of the day or simply revitalise your inner fire with a digestive drink (pachana).

Pachanas are preparations with a pungent, salty and/or bitter flavour. They cause a rapid formation of digestive juices in the gastrointestinal tract and thus stimulate the processing of our food. Good processing and combustion is important so that food can be fully digested and waste products eliminated. A typical pachana is hot water with ginger (fresh or powdered), lemon juice and salt or honey. Drunk on an empty stomach, this "tea" really gets Agni going. Other pachanas are our DigesTeas for Vata, Pitta and Kapha. If you have excessive Pitta and during a detox programme, alkaline powder is an excellent morning drink.

Dinner or breakfast?

Most people find it easier to give up breakfast than dinner. One thing is certain: the later and heavier an evening meal is, the more serious the damage to health. We are not talking about an extraordinary feast, but the habit of eating a hearty, late dinner several times a week.

In many families, dinner is the only opportunity to eat a meal together. If this is the case, then the evening meal must be early, light and easily digestible. It can consist of a soup or a cup of milk (cow's, goat's or plant milk), for example.

A light dinner is also important if the aim is not to lose weight.

Unless there are serious reasons for eating dinner, breakfast should be prioritised.

Our 5 tips for breakfast:

• Only eat when you are hungry. It is best to wait 1 - 2 hours after getting up before eating your first meal. As soon as you get up, you should drink plenty of water, a digestive tea or alkalising powder.
• Only eat enough for breakfast so that you are really hungry again at lunchtime. This hunger is a sign that your breakfast has been processed.
• Adapt the quality of your breakfast to your dosha.
  Vata nutritious, Pitta light, Kapha liquid
• Reduce your consumption of caffeinated drinks! See below.
• Savouring is important! Only those who savour are fully mindful and can therefore digest everything. And don't forget: Enjoyment begins with chewing!

Caffeine or not - that is the question here

The majority of the adult population drinks caffeinated beverages with or instead of breakfast. Some also drink coffee during the day or after lunch. How can we judge the consumption of caffeine/theine from an Ayurvedic point of view?

Effect of caffeine

Caffeine has a stimulating effect, accelerates the heart rhythm, has a warming effect and acidifies the body. This leads above all to an increase in Vata and Pitta.

Caffeine dependence

The breakdown of caffeine in the body takes many hours. The so-called half-life of caffeine in the human body is 4 - 8 hours. This means that after 4 - 8 hours, half of the caffeine ingested has been processed. However, this also means that 16 hours after coffee consumption, a quarter of the caffeine ingested is still effective, and after 32 hours, a sixteenth.

So if you drink just one cup of coffee a day, you will always have some caffeine in your blood. This leads to a strong habituation or addiction. Withdrawal symptoms occur at the latest after a caffeine break of 24 - 36 hours: raging headaches, restlessness, back pain and aching limbs. Depending on the degree of dependence, it may take one or more days for these symptoms to subside.

Caffeine breaks

This means that if you want to lead an independent life, you should definitely take a caffeine break several times a year, lasting one or more weeks. This is how long it takes for the long-term effects of caffeine to wear off.

It is best not to drink coffee or black tea once or several times a day as a matter of habit, but only a few times a week at most, depending on the occasion.

Caffeine and the three doshas

Vata: is intensified by caffeine. Vata people react with restlessness and nervousness and should be particularly careful with their coffee consumption. If you are prone to sleep disorders, it is better to avoid coffee altogether. Recommended preparation: with a little milk, cream or plant milk, cardamom and cinnamon.

Pitta: caffeine makes you hot-tempered and aggressive. Pitta people become over-acidic very easily after drinking coffee and can develop heartburn or reflux. Recommendation for preparation: add cardamom, coconut milk or almond milk.

Kapha: benefits most from moderate coffee consumption. Coffee stimulates the mind, but also the transport of digestive chyme and bile secretion. This can be an advantage for tired, sluggish Kapha types. Recommended preparation: best drunk black, flavoured with cinnamon and ginger.

Summary

Breakfast is the second most important meal of the day. Depending on the leading dosha, it should be nutritious, light or liquid. Wait until you feel hungry and never eat too much!

Caffeine from coffee, black or green tea leads to inner restlessness and habituation. Therefore, do not drink coffee every day as a habit! Take coffee breaks for several weeks, Lent is a good opportunity to do this.