According to the Oxford Dictionaries, the French term for "dessert" is derived from "desservir," which means "to clear the table." However, Ayurveda recommends that you start your meals with a sweet taste rather than a savoury one...
Dessert is always served last, whether it's a simple four-course meal or an elaborate eight-course affair. There is always room for that baked cheesecake even after you've had your fill of a delicious dinner and your brain has sent out fullness signals. In contrast to our custom of saving room for dessert after a meal (the post-dinner walk is sometimes used as an excuse to visit the neighbourhood ice cream seller), Ayurveda believes that dessert should be served first and before anything else.
A mouthful or two of sweet before veggies and rice or chapatti may help you better absorb vitamins and nutrients better. Fast-acting sugary flavour stimulates salivary glands and the sense of taste. They allow the digestive juices to flow freely is made possible by eating the sweet first. Eating sweets towards the conclusion of a meal might cause digestion to be slowed. Because the empty calories and sugar in dessert dampen the digestive fire, the acid created causes fermentation and indigestion. In this instance, bloating is not unusual.
What’s the correct way to have your meal?
Ayurveda's major text, the Sushruta Samhita, has a section on the proper arrangement of flavours in a meal. It recommends starting with something sweet, moving on to something sour and salty, and concluding with foods that are pungent, bitter, and astringent. Savoury and salty flavours in the middle of a meal encourage digestion in small intestine, while sweet in a hungry person also helps dominate the vayu (wind). Kapha dosh is calmed by the bitter, astringent flavour (earth).
Trick Or Treat?
So, how did we get into the habit of stuffing our faces with sugary treats after a big meal? Sugar represents yin energy, which is why it makes people seek it, according to macrobiotic theory. According to traditional Chinese medicine, certain food groups have more of the yin (feminine energy) or yang (male energy) energy (masculine energy). When you consume sugar, it makes you feel fuller and more energised, and you crave more of the same. As a result, she explains, a meal high in simple carbohydrates is almost always followed by something sweet. In order to satisfy your sweet need, you should consume more fruits and vegetables (such as carrots and onions) and less white sugar.
The Entire Meal
Ayurveda also asserts that the body is unable to function properly if it is denied access to sweets. It's essential for tissue growth. Sweets can even be medicinal if taken in moderation.
