A Satvic troika

There was a fascinating study conducted in 2007 by researchers at the University of Bordeaux In this experiment fortythree rats were placed in cages with two levers One lever when pressed by the rats gave them an intravenous hit of cocaine making them feel an instant lsquohighrsquo The other lever when pressed by the rats gave them a sip of sugar waterThe researchers allowed the rats to do a couple of sample tries so that the rats could understand each leverrsquos offerings Then the real test commencedWhat do you think the rats would have preferred Believe it or not 94 per cent of the rats preferred sugar water over cocaine Interestingly even when researchers increased the cocaine dosage the rats still preferred the sugar waterWhatrsquos the science behind this When we consume sugar the amount of dopamine released in the brain increases just like the response triggered when we take an addictive drug Over time with repeated exposure our brain becomes dependent on sugary foods to get this dopamine rush Whatrsquos surprising is that researchers suggest the brain finds the rewards from sugar even lsquomore rewarding and attractiversquo than those from cocaineEating an early dinner is one of the simplest but most effective ways of improving overall health and even reversing lifestyle diseases as it gives your body the time and opportunity to cleanse itselfActually we donrsquot even need stacks of research papers to understand how addictive sugar is We can see it in our everyday life Have you ever experienced how difficult it is to stop after just one sugary treat like a cookie You intend to eat just one but before you know it yoursquove consumed the whole pack Soon you begin craving the sweet even after your meals and throughout the dayWell you must know that this isnrsquot a mere temptationmdash itrsquos an addiction Yes lsquoaddictionrsquo is a strong word but research as well as our personal experience shows us exactly thatBeyond its addictive nature sugar has numerous other downsides Strong evidence indicates that excess sugar in our diet is stored as fat in our body causing excessive weight gain Shortterm studies also link high sugar intake to elevated blood sugar levels diabetes high triglycerides increased blood pressure and heart disease Itrsquos no wonder some experts have labelled refined sugar a lsquoslow white poisonrsquoSubah and Harshvardhan SarafNow having understood the addictive and harmful nature of sugar therersquos no denying that most of us love desserts Itrsquos hard to imagine life without them The good news is that we donrsquot have to give them up At our Satvic headquarters we love preparing desserts We frequently bake cakes to mark celebrations with our team prepare Indian mithais like kheer and rabdi for festivals and occasionally indulge in scrumptious desserts to end our meals The only difference is that we donrsquot use refined white sugar Instead we prepare or find treats made from wholesome sweeteners Yes there are some excellent alternatives to white sugar But before sharing the best ones letrsquos do a short activityThe most sustainable way to actually eliminate refined sugar from your life is to replace and not remove There are many replacements of refined sugar Letrsquos categorise them from the worst to the bestThe worst are the highly refined sweeteners These include brown sugar essentially white sugar coated with brown molasses khaand mishri and commercial honey Our recommendation would be to remove these entirely from your diet or at least reduce their intake as much as possibleThe hours we sleep is when the body recharges but this crucial process can be hampered if we overload the brain with information right before bedtimeBetter are minimally refined sweeteners This includes jaggery which is commonly found in India You can find it in block syrup or powder form Aim to purchase chemicalfree jaggery from an authentic brand keeping in mind that the darker the jaggery the purer it tends to be While jaggery is less refined than white sugar it is still a refined food and hence you should practise restraint while consuming it The best are unrefined sweeteners These include dates figs and raisins And letrsquos not forget fresh fruits like bananas mangoes oranges pineapples berries melons and more These are Naturersquos candies and are the most wholesome of allbull bull bullI grew up in a Jain family Jainism is a spiritual path originating in ancient India that follows the principles of nonviolence compassion and the pursuit of spiritual purity I lived in a joint family with my parents four taijis aunts and four taujis uncles their children my grandmother and grandfather At one point there were twentyone of us living in one homeThough I didnrsquot understand most of the concepts of Jainism back then I used to observe all the elders in the house practising certain ritualsOne of their rituals was to eat their dinner before sunset which was around 6 pm and only have their next meal after sunrise the next day My grandparents were especially particular about this After coming back from school when I used to be having my snack at 5 pm they used to be getting ready to eat their dinner To be honest I found this quite odd I always wondered how they didnrsquot feel hungry at nightWhenever I used to ask them why they ate their dinner so early they simply said lsquoBecause wersquove always done it this way Our elders did it so we do itrsquo As you can imagine I never felt inspired to try it myselfFast forward to years later I went to a health institute in Florida There I noticed something similar happening This institute was essentially a healing and education centre where people would typically come and spend two to three weeks By following the guidelines shared people were able to reverse even serious health problems While I was there I observed that there was one key practice followed by the institute every single day This was the practice of having an early dinner Every day dinner was served by 6 pm and cleared away by 730 pmFor me this was a revelation I realised that what you eat is as important as when you eat it Thatrsquos when I also realised that what my grandparents had been doing as an ageold practice all this while was actually grounded in deep wisdomFrom then onwards I inculcated the habit of eating early dinners in my own life and saw massive improvements in my energy levels and overall healthWhile eating the last meal by 6 pm is ideally recommended feedback from many members in our Satvic community those who diligently follow this lifestyle and my own observations made me realise that this time isnrsquot practical for most Hence we suggest 7 pm as a more feasible optionbull bull bullWhen we scroll through Instagram Facebook or any social media our minds get bombarded with content Herersquos something interesting that Jim Kwik the author of Limitless shares we now consume as much data in a day as an average person in the fifteenth century would have absorbed in an entire lifetimeWhatrsquos worse is that much of this data exposure happens right before we sleep In other words we overload our minds with an unrestricted bombardment of information when it should really be winding down for rest What happens as a result Afterwards our body may sleep but our mind remains activeHave you ever experienced that the last thought you had before sleeping continues to generate random thoughts throughout the night For example watching a latenight horror movie often leads to a nightmarish dream or if you happen to stalk someone on social media just before bed their presence may find its way into your dreams I must confess that Irsquove encountered this phenomenon frequently as you may recall from my rather bizarre dream in the previous chapter But why does this happen Because the last visual or audio input we expose our minds to before sleep leaves an impression that we carry forward with us to our sleepRegrettably many of us go to sleep after watching world news or dramatic TV shows that showcase chaos and families and homes breaking apart What we donrsquot realize is that we take this emotional residue the lust greed jealousy hatred pain and fear with us into our sleep This not only keeps our minds on high alert preventing us from sinking into deep sleep but also makes that negativity seep into our subconscious mindIn essence how deeply you sleep at night depends largely on how you spend the last one hour before sleep Now that wersquove discussed how gadgets get in the way of achieving deep sleep letrsquos look at what we can do instead in that last one hour before sleepCreating a WindDown Routine What really is a winddown routine We can understand it using a simple analogy just as we remove our belt coat and jewellery before sleeping we also need to remove the inner chatter and the buzzing thoughts from our mind before bedtime In other words we need to quieten the mind before we sleep This process of quieting the mind is what we are referring to as lsquoa winddown routinersquoIn order to do this the first thing we need to do is to disconnect from technology at least one hour before going to sleep We need to set a designated cutoff timemdash whether itrsquos 8 pm or 9 pmmdashafter which we put away our gadgets and donrsquot look at any more screensHow do we practically implement this Do we just get off our laptop phone and television and then just sit there looking at the wall Well thatrsquos a surefire way to get internet jitters and find yourself on your device a few minutes later If we really want to be off technology before bed it has to be replaced with something we enjoy equally or even more than being on our device Simultaneously this should be an activity that brings us peace pacifying the mind rather than stimulating itHere are three examples of lowstimulation activities that you can replace scrollingwatchingworking with you may experiment and find what works best for youReading a book You could pick up a physical book on a subject you wish to learn more about Reading allows you to enjoy a great story inspiration or education without overwhelming your brain Alternatively you could even journal This involves putting pen to paper and expressing your thoughts feelings and experiences from the day Itrsquos a mindful activity that allows you to unload the dayrsquos mental baggage before heading into a restful nightrsquos sleepEngaging in a recreational hobby This could involve anything that you have a natural interest in whether itrsquos knitting crocheting painting or playing an instrument You could choose a hobby that yoursquove been wanting to start but havenrsquot found the time toHot foot baths To take a hot foot bath fill a bucket with comfortably warm water and soak your feet for twenty minutes As you allow yourself those uninterrupted twenty minutes you experience the absence of stimulation signalling to your brain that itrsquos time to wind down Additionally this practice improves blood circulation and immediately helps you feel more relaxedExcerpted with permission from The Satvic Revolution by Subah Saraf and Harshvardhan Saraf Penguin Random House India