 Let us look at what are the predominant factors which govern the digestion and assimilation of food. So that is captured in the concept called ashta-ahar-vidhi-vishesh, ashta meaning ate ahar is food, vidhi means method, vishesh means specific method. So what are those factors? Those factors are prakriti, karan, samyog, rashi, desh, kaal, upayog, samastha and upayogtha. Prakriti, what is the quality and characteristic of food? Karan, how the food is being processed? Samyog, how the combination or mixing is done? Rashi, in how much quantity that food is taken? Desh, in which desh, in which habitat that food is used or consumed? Kaal, what time of the day, what kind of the year that food is taken? Upayog, samastha, classical ayurvedic rules of eating, how to set, when to use water, when to drink water, what should be followed by what. There is an excellent, beautiful protocol given in Ayurveda about what to eat, how to eat in one sitting, that is upayog, samastha, upayogtha, the person who takes the food, because the person also has its individual agency, its own capability. So these are the eight factors to be considered while taking food. You can imagine, now you can see that how evolved the food science has been, the ahar vijnan, food science has been in the yogic tradition and in the ayurvedic tradition. So first is prakriti, we discuss there are predominantly three types of vikratis or prakriti found and all of us have all three having one or two dominant over other one or two. These are kaffa, vat and pitta, pitta is considered to be the combination of fire and water, vat is the combination of akash, the ether and air, kaffa is predominantly the combination of water and earth. So kaffa governs the structure of body, vat is like wind, it is light, cool, dry, mobile. It governs the movements including neurotransmitters, pitta is hot, sharp, penetrating, volatile and oily and this governs the digestion system. So vat, pitta, kaffa, prakriti or vikrati, they decide the kind of food the person should take up. You might recall that you all were given an assessment, you are asked to take the assessment on these prakriti and if you have taken that you might be having some idea what is predominant vikrati in your body and mind. So vata people choose warm nourishing cooked food that is moist, mildly spiced, cooked with oil so that it lubricating and it is lubricating and comforting. So vata people choose that kind of food. The diet of for the vata people must include fresh or cooked fruit, grains, dairy that are sweet in taste, sour food like lemons and limes and salty food that are warming and moistening. One with the vata dos should drink warm teas regularly, preferably non caffeinated tea and herbal teas are great for the vata dosa, people with the vata dosa. People with the pitta dosa, they need dairy products such as fresh milk, cottage cheese, cream cheese or fresh goat cheese and these are the soothing to pitta but they must avoid mixing dairy and fruit. Pitta predominant people consume foods that have taste that are sweet, dairy, fresh fruit, vegetable, whole grain and not the refined sugar but sweet, naturally sweet food. Bitter means all green except spinach, astringent, legumes, apples, potatoes, pitta dosa can enjoy tenderly on tea regularly to cool and soothe themselves. People suffering from caffe dosa, so they need to consume the food which taste that are balancing to kafa are fresh and dried ginger, onions and peepers. That are pungent in nature and all greens and all vegetables bitter in nature and astringent like legumes or except soya and dried food that is good for the people suffering from caffe dosa. Caffe dosa must choose food that are dry, light and warm and they can enjoy abundant vegetable, herbs and spices. Then comes a transformation of food, what Ayurveda says about it, Ayurveda says that transformation of food into energy is based on optimum heat energy that is Ushma, Ushma pacati the role of Ushma is to digest, optimum moment of the different parts of the intestine, vayu prakarshati so vayu causes the moment in the different parts of the intestine, mucus loosens, clayda is called mucus that gives sathilia means looseness, lubrication gentiles and lubrication is given by ghee lubrication is also generated by the body itself so sne ho mardavam gyanayati that which does the lubrication sufficient time, kaal parimana must be followed until one diet is out of the system the next full diet should not be taken, combination of some yoga of all these so the conversion of the food into energy happens with optimum heat energy, optimum moment, mucus, lubrication, sufficient time and combination of all these what are the qualities of right food so right food is agni rakshane aharaha that which enhances oj, tej and prana we are going to discuss what is oj, tej and prana, ahar se maha bhesha jatvam ahar is also like a medicine ahar must be taken according to the suitability patya apatya vichar so the quality good quality food means that is taken after sufficient thoughts about what should be taken what should not be taken, ritu saam me ahar the food which is according to the season ahar se dehas se api panche bhavati tabyam means five elemental nature of ahar and deha so deha the body is made up of five elements ahar is also made up of five element there has to be a right equilibrium of these elements in ahar and these elements in the body dhincharyam bhojanase kala and ah according to the daily routine so these are the qualities of right food there are few other qualities as well given in great detail on this website of dharmaviki.org dharmaviki.org is our own website is this is development of one of the IIT Bombay research project and ah you will see lot of these concepts are given in great detail so you can use this website as like notes for many of the topics and the topics which are well developed there very much very well presented there in the dharmaviki ah we have also given the reference behind those topics on those slides of the reference of that particular page of dharmaviki.