Digestion is divine

[Pan]

Oh, in other words, we kind of eat a varied diet naturally.

[jsolomon]

Mabelline, thank you for catching my drift and not my English.

Pan, what Mabelline said. We are unconcerned with what the popular media tells us about eating a varied diet because we concern ourselves with it.

A thousand apologies, effendi.

[mongo_jones]

mongo_jones, it's ironic that my stomach often gets upset from overly rich (i.e., too much fat) Indian food. I eat it anyway, and there's less of a chance of problems when I don't go to crappy places like most of those on 6th St. (since those always upset my stomach, I don't go to them except when there's absolutely no way to refuse gracefully, so that's almost never), but I have to wonder at what level I'd find no excess of ghee or oil.

pan, i think you might consider that the average indian restaurant in the u.s (including many expensive and well-reviewed ones) merely follow a formula which usually has no connection to the kind of thing i am talking about.

good indian restaurants and homes in india are a different story. my wife and i just returned from a month in india. it was her first time visiting: she hadn't taken any shots or anything but didn't get a single unfortunate digestive episode (which is a fancy way of saying "the runs").

i'm also suspicious (okay, so i'm generally suspicious) of applying the ancient-early modern-modern narrative of development described above too generally. are people who still emphasize balancing of "humors" or digestion not modern?

[Carlovski]

I wouldn't agree that it isn't a part of modern discussion - witness the huge range of people who suffer (Or think they suffer more likely) from food intolerances. I'm not talking about genuine allergies, but the sort of thing where people say certain food gives them wind, or makes them sluggish (You know, when people eat twice the amount of calories they need having a huge pie, and do no exercise, so of course when they get fat and feel bloated it is 'Gluten intolerance')

[Pan]

Mabelline, thank you for catching my drift and not my English.

Pan, what Mabelline said. We are unconcerned with what the popular media tells us about eating a varied diet because we concern ourselves with it.

A thousand apologies, effendi.

No apologies necessary. I just wasn't sure I understood you.

[Pan]

i'm also suspicious (okay, so i'm generally suspicious) of applying the ancient-early modern-modern narrative of development described above too generally. are people who still emphasize balancing of "humors" or digestion not modern?

Yep, they sure are modern!

My father cooks Indian food with a very minimal amount of fat, much less than called for in the recipes he uses, and I daresay, much less than is common for the overwhelming majority of Indians. As a result, my stomach is upset much less often after eating his Indian food than after eating Indian food even in a good restaurant like Madras Cafe - though their food is good for my respiratory system.

Don't you find that most Indians use a fair amount of fat in their home cooking?

Edited January 19, 2004 by Pan (log)

[mongo_jones]

Don't you find that most Indians use a fair amount of fat in their home cooking?

well it depends. indian is an awfully big word and covers a very wide range of cultural (and culinary) diversity. even so the average cardiac conscious indian (like me, for good reason) probably uses no more fat than the average cardiac conscious american. my mother, on the other hand, uses fat like it is going out of style--and you should see the havoc she causes when she visits us and uses the same amount of fat on our non-stick pans.

however, my point is that ayurvedic indian cooking (regardless of fat) and those food practices it has influenced in india strives to optimize digestion and other invisible aspects of food consumption. certain ingredients are emphasized for these reasons and properties.

also: fat doesn't equate indigestion. my father, for example, will say that a meal at his airforce club in delhi--including their butter chicken--will ease its way down even your digestive system without causing problems. he actually boasts about the food there to calcutta relatives by saying "you can eat till you're full and you won't even have one burp". as to whether this is scientifically possible i don't know but my two experiences eating there bear this out.

[jsolomon]

also: fat doesn't equate indigestion. my father, for example, will say that a meal at his airforce club in delhi--including their butter chicken--will ease its way down even your digestive system without causing problems. he actually boasts about the food there to calcutta relatives by saying "you can eat till you're full and you won't even have one burp". as to whether this is scientifically possible i don't know but my two experiences eating there bear this out.

That's not exactly true, as anyone with a shakey, or removed, gall bladder can tell you. There are certainly more causes for indigestion than there are symptoms, but when someone tells me that fatty foods cause them indigestion, I generally believe them.

Personally, any time I have a radical change in my diet I have a few days of novel digestive patterns.

[mongo_jones]

well, yes. but those people would probably have trouble with more than just extremely fatty food.

my point, however, is that a meal with no fat might cause indigestion and a meal with fat might not. a lot of indians swear by pure desi ghee; others claim that the ways in which things are cooked, and the other ingredients, have the most impact.

[Pan]

well, yes. but those people would probably have trouble with more than just extremely fatty food.

I don't see why. The gallbladder stores bile, which breaks down fats.

[mongo_jones]

well, yes.  but those people would probably have trouble with more than just extremely fatty food.

I don't see why. The gallbladder stores bile, which breaks down fats.

since i didn't bring gall-bladders up (now, that's a painful image) i won't get into the nitty gritty of what they do and don't do and how people with or without gall bladders might respond to fatty foods. i'll just restate my original point a little more succinctly: a lot of indian food (contrary to the experiences most have had with it in american restaurants) emphasizes the importance of good digestion as an important evaluative component.