bacteria
Hinduism Scientific Fact
Why it is not prescribed to eat sweet and go outside?
Most of us have been perturbed and irked by the sudden jostle from our parents or specifically grandparents when we go outside home after eating something sweet. This sudden irk becomes more prominent during the night time, when they will give some salt in the hands and ask the person to lick it and them go.
The Garuda Purana states about the things to which the ghostly species are attracted to. They are attracted to pleasant as well as putrid smell of any form which works as a food for them. So, whenever someone eats a sweet item of any kind, the pleasant smell of the sweet attracts these species and hence, they become prone to attack by them. The attack may be subtle or gross, depending upon the level of piety of the individual. Pious persons are safeguarded by the destiny as well as supreme lord whereas impious may have to face certain strange happenings.
Salt, on the other hand is a pure substance. In Garuda Purana, the supreme lord Sri Krishna states to Garuda, “Know that sesame seed comes from my sweat and the salt originates from my body”. Salt, being pure and stronger than all other tastes, subdues the effect of sweet and hence, stops the pleasant as well as putrid smell coming from our mouth.
Scientific Paradigm
The eating of sweets after brushing one’s teeth increases the chances of tooth decay. And the more time elapses after brushing one’s teeth, the more are the chances. Also, sweet items are the most nutritive in nature. Due to high content of sugar, they act as the best medium for growth of bacteria. Whenever we move out, we are in contact with billions and trillions of them. These bacterial infections can cause variety of oral as well as digestive system diseases.
Salt, being strong and piercing in nature, makes the mouth saline and stops the bacterial growth to a very high extent. It acts an oral cleanser and mouth refresher, completely eliminating the chances of any of such diseases.
Get dirty, stay healthy! Why should we eat with our hands?
Few of us burdened under the weighty words of westernization and globalization are many times compelled to follow few norms, which are against our will and acceptability. Remember those days when mom used to run behind us with a plate and trying to bluff their toddler for feeding them with their own hands. Those heavenly days were mostly cherished by every Indian kid, but here my intentions are to highlight the fact ‘Why were we fed with hands rather than classy cutlery’.
Today we have broken those natural essence and jumped on to the modern ways of society, yet for some ‘eating with hands’ is still in trend. Eating with cutlery is thought to be more modern, hygienic and convenient, however most people don’t realise that there is a rationale behind eating food with your hands.
- According to the Vedas, our hands are the representation of the five elements of nature.
Thumb: Fire
Index finger: Air
Middle finger: Heaven
Ring finger: Earth
Little finger: Water
So these elements work on your food by cleansing it and preparing us to eat and digest them well.
- A certain kind of bacteria resides in our hands, mouth, throat, intestine, gut and rest of the digestive system; that saves us from the outside harmful bacteria. So the pattern of bacteria is maintained when you eat through your hands.
- In our Indian culture, it is said that “eating food with your hands feeds not only the body but also the mind and the spirit”. Even our Vedas gives utmost importance to this pattern of eating.
- The satiety value of food enlarges when one eats with hands rather than spoon or fork.
- Even while we watch television and eat, our complete senses are involved in the process of eating through hands and we engage ourselves in feeling the texture, warmness and taste of the food.
- As soon as you touch your food with your hands, the brain signals your stomach that you are about to eat. This in turn, prepares the stomach to digest the food it will receive, aiding in better digestion.
- People who eat with their hands are more conscious about hygiene than others, thus it inculcate the habit of washing hands and staying clean. It also keeps you away from certain diseases.
- Eating with hands provides you with another level of awareness and your mind, body and soul are indulged in the entire process making you feel full.
So few of these points might encourage you to get back to the original avatar and get your hands dirty, off course when it’s healthy 🙂
Contributed By: Meenakshi Ahuja
Shubhpuja.com 