Dear Kurma,
Is reheated food a bad thing?

Rajesh, New Jersey, USA

Dear Rajesh,
Yes. According to Ayurveda it is heavy on the system and takes much longer to digest, especially grains. It is said that when you reheat grains, the body has to work twice as hard to digest it. Also reheating de-natures the food and often compromises or lowers the food's nutritional value. It is not a good food to eat.

In traditional cultures, food was, and is, always prepared fresh. With the onset of refrigeration, along with the advantages of being able to store left-over food came the inevitable health disadvantages. Reheating is a modern fast-food, fast-lifestyle phenomena with unfortunate repercussions.

So fresh is best, always. I am uncompromising in this and I personally always avoid knowingly eating reheated food out of choice. For some, it is a convenience thing to have frozen or refrigerated food ready to thaw and eat, but in the long run your health will suffer, and in the short run you will feel tired and run down if you eat it regularly, because the body is working hard to digest it, taking energy away from other parts of the body.

I hope this has shed some light.

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