5

Water

IT’S EASY TO see the different ways healthy food choices can support your child’s overall well-being according to Ayurvedic nutrition principles, but did you know there is also a correct way to drink water? It may come as a surprise for some parents to learn that your child’s daily water requirements cover more than a fixed amount of fluid or simple age-to-ounces ratio. Ayurveda still makes it easy to follow some basic guidelines without too much calculating!

First, take a moment to consider Ayurveda’s concept of humans as a microcosm of the universe at large as it relates to the essential element of water—the second of the four inputs. Roughly 70 percent of both the Earth’s surface and the human body consist of water, the sustenance of life necessary for the flow of all material energy. It should come as no surprise then that when it comes to water consumption and your child’s health, hydration is just the tip of the iceberg. The proper regulation of this flow within the human body supports the integrity of every physiological function from a cellular level right through the final processes of elimination and purification. This includes saliva production; body temperature regulation; protection of the body’s tissues, joints, and spinal cord; and creation and excretion of urine, sweat, and bowel movements—which in turn prevent constipation and urinary inflammation caused by increased concentrations of urine and acidity. Your child’s water intake also helps dissolve minerals and other nutrients and facilitates optimal absorption and nutrition. Staying hydrated is just as important for your child’s mental health as it is for physical health and helps the brain remain alert, focused, and attentive while maintaining cellular and chemical activities that regulate anxiety and stress levels.

Agni: The Digestive Fire

To fully appreciate the vital role water plays when it comes to your child’s health, let’s first explore the concept of agni, one of Ayurveda’s core principles alongside the doshas. You might recognize this Sanskrit term meaning “fire” from earlier discussions. According to Ayurveda, agni represents the digestive fire that burns within every human being and embodies the source of life itself. Agni facilitates every stage of digestion, transformation, and metabolism and replenishes the body’s tissues continuously from the time of conception until death.

Have you ever heard the expression “having a fire in your belly,” often used to characterize someone as passionate or determined? In balance, agni supports a long, robust life and reflects vitality, energy, strength, radiance, a clear mind, and even lustrous skin. Out of balance—just like the doshas—it causes disease. Let’s take a look at how agni works on a functional level so you can see the key role the digestive fire plays in supporting your child’s optimal growth and development.

As mentioned, agni governs all the various components of digestion and metabolism and directly transforms food into nutrients. Once food is digested in the gut, agni’s power of transformation continues through the entire digestive process: nutrients are absorbed and utilized by the body’s various organs and tissue systems, converted into energy, and finally, the waste produced throughout the entire process of digestion and metabolism is eliminated through bowel movements, urine, and sweat. As you learned from the previous section on Ayurvedic nutrition, eating the right foods alone isn’t enough if your body can’t digest them.

For example, weak agni may present as low weight gain despite the fact that a child is eating plenty of food, or even consuming more food than siblings. When a child’s agni is weak, Ayurveda recognizes two types of gut responses. The most common is when the child’s gut identifies food as a crisis and responds with symptoms of diarrhea, stomach cramps, or vomiting. The second triggers the gut to prematurely start moving food downward, resulting in incomplete processing at each stage of digestion. Let’s explore the ways weak agni impedes the normal digestive process.

Structures in the gut called sphincter muscles hold food in specific areas until the digestive process in that location is complete. The pyloric sphincter at the end of the stomach only allows its contents to move to the small intestine after pH levels indicate complete transformation. The process then continues as food passes through the ileocecal valve at the end of the small intestine into the colon. When these sphincters allow food to move to the next segment of the gut prior to completing a stage of digestion, the food your child eats can’t be digested and absorbed. This manifests as poor weight gain, undernourishment, and failure to thrive. Ayurveda calls this common childhood disorder grahani, and it stems from low agni. Strengthening your child’s agni will reinstate the disordered functions of the sphincters and is the only way to treat this condition. The advanced stage of grahani is comparable to the modern diagnosis of kwashiorkor, expressed as extreme undernourishment prevalent in many developing countries.

When your child’s internal fire burns bright, absorption and assimilation of foods take place seamlessly. Digestion is strong, the doshas are nourished, and gut health improves. This in turn enhances the microbiome and supports the gut-brain axis that links the central nervous system to your stomach and intestines.

When you consider the intimate connection between the gut and brain, you can better understand the interplay between aggravated doshas, emotions, and corresponding dosha-related organs.

For example, Ayurveda considers the liver the seat of pitta. As we have discussed, excess pitta can evoke emotions such as anger and irritability. When a pitta imbalance is left uncorrected and continues to accumulate, the emotions associated with that dosha can lodge in the liver and over time even affect liver function.

On the other hand, when agni is low or weak, digestion becomes fragmented and inefficient and causes toxins known as ama, or undigested food, to collect in the body. Not only does accumulated ama lead to poor digestion and toxicity, but it also hinders the body’s cellular intelligence and natural flow of the doshas, causing further imbalance and disease. This is the time to reignite the fire! The charts below can help you determine the strength of your child’s agni and uncover possible causes of a weak digestive fire.

At the end of this chapter, you will find simple Ayurvedic recipes you can make at home to reset and strengthen your child’s agni. Follow these tips to rekindle and enhance your child’s digestive fire:

•Avoid overeating and/or eating heavy foods in large quantities.

•Avoid leftovers, processed food, canned foods, fast food, or food with additives and artificial coloring.

•Avoid ice water and other drinks and cold foods.

•Eat heavy foods in smaller quantities.

•Calm the mind before eating.

•Avoid prolonged fasting.

•Eat meals at regular times and avoid skipping meals without any reason.

•Drink warm water throughout the day.

•Physical exercise enhances digestion.

Remedies to Aid Digestion

These recipes are sweet with a hot and spicy taste. For children who are not accustomed to spices, you may have to add more honey. According to Ayurveda, the subtle composition of honey undergoes chemical changes when heated, causing a reduction of its natural therapeutic properties and value that can lead to increased mucus and stagnation instead of clearing the body channels. When in doubt, use Dr. J’s pinkie test: if your pinkie can comfortably tolerate the temperature, it’s safe to add honey!

ginger, salt, and honey remedy

Prep time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

¼ teaspoon fresh ginger juice (use a grater or garlic press in place of a juicer) or dried ginger powder

1 teaspoon honey

Pinch of Himalayan pink salt

Mix the fresh ginger juice or dried ginger powder with the honey and a touch of Himalayan pink salt. Offer your child ½ teaspoon of this mixture 2 to 3 times a day.

ccf tea

Prep time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

½ teaspoon crushed cumin seeds

½ teaspoon crushed coriander seeds

½ teaspoon crushed fennel seeds

2 cups water

Raw honey and lemon juice to taste (optional)

This commonly used traditional Ayurvedic tea enhances digestion without overheating the body system. Boil the crushed cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and fennel seeds in the water for 5 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature, strain, and have your child sip throughout the day. If your child is reluctant to drink because of the spicy flavor, add raw honey and freshly squeezed lemon to enhance the taste.

coriander seed tea

Prep time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon crushed coriander seeds

2 cups water

Boil the crushed coriander seeds in the water for 5 minutes, then strain and cool to lukewarm for your child to sip throughout the day. This recipe is especially beneficial for children with hyperacidity and for those who cannot tolerate hot spices.

Fire and Water

You may be wondering now what this belly fire has to do with your child’s water intake. Ayurveda sets forth specific principles that define how much water to drink, when to drink it, and in what form water should be consumed to maintain a healthy balance between the fire and water elements within the body. Ayurveda explains this delicate relationship in terms of opposites. Simply put: water represents cooling, heavy, and dull qualities that can dampen and smother the heat of the digestive fire when consumed improperly.

Imagine your child has a campfire in their belly. You need some kindling to get it started, but if you throw on too much, the fire will die and need to be reignited. Too much water will smother the flames. When you tend to the natural rhythms of your child’s agni, you help fuel the digestive process. Following a regular eating schedule supports the body’s natural intelligence in developing functional rhythms and producing digestive secretions. The best way you can support the cycle of digestion, absorption, and assimilation and ensure the food your child consumes is properly “cooked” by agni within their body is by establishing regular mealtimes.

Now that we’ve covered different routines to support agni, let’s take a look at a couple of ways you could unknowingly be smothering the flames of your child’s digestive fire and some tips to refresh the whole family’s hydration habits.

Do you ever find yourself pushing your children day after day to drink more water or trying to make up for inadequate hydration in the hours after school or before bedtime? Not only is gulping down large quantities of water at one time not the best way for your kids to hydrate, it also extinguishes agni and sets the table for digestive problems at your child’s next meal.

Let’s see what happens to the digestive process when it’s watered down to better understand the different ways water consumption can impact your child’s metabolic fire. Excess fluids smother the digestive fire and dilute all the components of agni, which include saliva, stomach acids and enzymes, and bile. These diluted components then become less functional and inhibit the normal rate and process of digestion. When agni flickers, it becomes impossible for food to “cook” evenly, the same as it would if you were trying to make a meal over hot embers instead of a flame. This results in incomplete digestive transformation and poorly assimilated food that can result in a lack of nourishment and energy.

According to Ayurvedic science, the ideal ratio of food to fluids at mealtime is as follows: fill one half of the stomach with solid food, one quarter with fluids, and leave one quarter vacant for easy movement and assimilation of food in the gut. Drinking too much fluid with a meal throws off this balance and weakens digestive strength. It is interesting to note that drinking a lot of fluids at the beginning of a meal can result in weight loss and a lack of nourishment whereas drinking large amounts of fluids at the end of a meal can cause weight gain. The ideal way of hydrating at mealtimes is to sip as you eat.

Ayurveda recommends consuming larger amounts of water first thing in the morning, the only time of day the impact on agni won’t interfere with digestion as your stomach is completely empty. This in turn facilitates easier bowel movements and creates more urine to flush the toxins and water from all the body systems. It’s best to wait about an hour after increased water intake to have your first meal of the day so the fluid won’t hamper the absorption of your breakfast.

If you aren’t sure how eager your children will be to dive into a mug of water before breakfast, invite them into the kitchen with you to prepare their own kid-friendly herbal tea blends—a creative way to build this morning practice into your whole family’s routine. Start out with mild flavors your children might already be familiar with like peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, or basil. Not only will this jump-start their day, it’s also the perfect way to delight your child’s senses with the enticing aromas of the amazing world of herbs—a great way to introduce your kids to gardening!

Ice

If you’re in the habit of dropping ice cubes into your child’s beverages, it’s time to rethink that next trip to the freezer! One of the most common sources of weak agni stems from drinking water at the wrong temperature—a pitfall you can easily avoid. One of the most effective ways you can set your children up for a lifetime of strong digestion and good health is to follow Ayurveda’s simple recommendation to consume water either warm or at room temperature. And the same goes for you! Modifying your own lifestyle habits alongside your child’s is a great way to reestablish the balance within your own body—and set an example for your kids at the same time.

You may have discovered by now that the key principles of Ayurveda remain consistent across different applications in daily life—and are actually quite intuitive. The same way you know you can douse a fire with a bucket of water, you can also weaken agni with cold beverages or ice—the quickest way to freeze digestion in its tracks. One of the greatest challenges of an Ayurvedic doctor is to convey this concept to individuals that see no problem with consuming cold or icy beverages or consistently offering them to their children. Physics is helpful to get the point across. Science is clear that cold always causes constriction and warmth always causes dilation. When you drink chilled or icy beverages, the exposure to cold causes constriction of the digestive, respiratory, circulatory, and elimination channels and leads to stagnation. Stagnation then constricts the channels of the body, slows digestive secretions, and causes feelings of heaviness in the stomach. The constriction of the respiratory channels affects oxygen intake, which in turn slows down metabolism and causes reduced energy release. Constriction also effects elimination channels and leaves bowel, urine, and sweat excretions partial, causing further dullness and lethargy. Over time, excessive cold intake can cause obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, respiratory disorders, and diminish your child’s overall health and vitality.

So in addition to hindering the digestive process in your child’s belly, cold water intake also slows down metabolism. The same way swimming in a chilly pool for long periods of time can lower your child’s core body temperature, so can drinking icy cold water. As the body struggles to regain its set point of 98.6 degrees (or your typical base temperature between 97 and 99 degrees), energy reserved for other processes gets rechanneled to regulate body temperature, and metabolic function slows. There is a concept in Ayurveda that the body fears exposure to cold and has a mechanism to preserve warmth as the essential aspect of our existence.

The very best way to keep children hydrated is to simply encourage them to drink small quantities of warm water by sipping throughout the day. A great tip for school-age children is to top off their water bottles before they leave for the day with some hot water left over from your morning kettle. Chances are, they won’t notice the slight temperature change, and it will keep them nourished all day long. Want to make hydration more fun without adding unhealthy artificial ingredients? Encourage your kids to dive into hydration with a transparent water bottle to which you can add their favorite fresh fruit or lemon slices. This will naturally infuse the water with flavor and bring a smile to their faces!

Now that we have covered when to consume water, how to consume water, and some everyday tips on simple ways to begin new habits, let’s discuss how you can best determine your child’s daily water requirements according to the principles of Ayurveda.

Daily Water Requirements

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could rely on your children’s thirst alone as a guide to how much water they should consume? Very often, by the time kids feel the need to quench their thirst, they are already depleted or headed toward dehydration—which most parents can attest often leads to chugging copious amounts of liquids followed by a stomachache.

Ayurveda assesses daily water requirements for children based on many factors including age, constitution, activity level, and exposures to the external environment. As your child grows, their fluid intake should increase along with body weight and size, but keep in mind there is not a fixed amount of water children should drink based on age or any other one factor. Ayurveda offers insight into hydration based on what suits children individually and what will maintain the balance of their unique constitution.

For example, a vata child may require more fluids because the energy of vata is dry in nature. These children are generally prone to conditions including dry skin and mouth, cracked lips, and dehydration. In the case of a fiery pitta child, water requirements tend to be comparatively higher than vata as the body naturally expresses heat, causing excessive perspiration especially when pitta rises—in summertime, for example. Kapha children often require less water given the built-in nature of their constitution to retain and hold more moisture within the body system.

After you’ve considered your child’s dosha, you’ll want to look at seasons, daily weather and temperatures, and activity levels to signal your child’s hydration needs. A leisurely stroll along a breezy stretch of coastline for a vata child naturally very sensitive to moving air could require the same increase in fluids as an arid desert hike on the same summer’s day for a pitta child. In general, any activity or season that increases sweating requires a higher water intake, but you always want to keep your child’s constitution at the helm of daily routines to prevent imbalances.

How do you know if your child is drinking enough water if you’re not counting ounces? The color of your children’s urine will indicate general hydration levels. When urine appears straw-colored or colorless, that means internal fluids are at an adequate level, and you should maintain your child’s water intake. But anytime urine appears a deep or dark yellow, their system is becoming unbalanced, and fluids should be increased. Another useful way to assess your child’s hydration status is to simply watch for signs of increased dryness throughout the body system, especially in the lips, eyes, and hands. Even when children are thirsty or dehydrated, they often forget to drink water if they are engaged with friends, games, and special projects. It can be helpful to gauge how much water your child is drinking based on the periods before lunch and then dinner in the evening. Ayurveda provides simple guidelines that can help you prevent and manage dehydration; refer to chapter 16 for more information.

Parents often wonder how much other fluid consumption over the course of a day will count toward children’s overall daily water intake. After all, getting kids to drink water on its own can be a struggle, especially with the growing number of exciting, flavored hydration beverages, seltzers, and vitamin drinks available. While it isn’t necessary to limit your children to a plain glass of water every time they’re thirsty, be wary of sugary and artificially flavored alternatives. Do you have a child who loves seltzer water or sparkling, fizzy drinks? It is important for parents to note these beverages do not offer the same hydration benefits as plain water and are acidic in nature. Carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolved in water is carbonic acid, which like any other acid increases tendencies to develop gastritis, GERD, feelings of burning in the stomach, and even vomiting. Feel free to offer your children fresh fruit juices and warm, organic whole milk as other healthy options alongside water—just, again, be sure they are not chilled.

This brings us to one last note on the popular trend of giving children cold smoothies blended with frozen fruit, cold milk, and various protein powders for a quick and healthy breakfast. According to Ayurvedic principles, this works directly against supporting your child’s growth and development. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first consideration is the impact of cold beverages on your child’s health, as we have just discussed. The second issue is incompatible food combining, as covered in chapter 4. According to Ayurveda, milk and fruit should never be consumed together; this is considered one of the worst incompatible food combinations for the digestive system. Moreover, protein powders are simply too heavy for a child’s gut to digest and assimilate—it is equivalent to eating raw lentils and can cause gas formation, bloating, flatulence, and continuous burping. A much better alternative is to blend fresh fruit—not frozen—with previously boiled nondairy oat or rice milk, or almond milk with some dry roasted nuts (which are easily digestible), and a touch of a refreshing spice like cardamom.

As we have explored, water is an essential component to maintain balanced nutrition, circulation, immunity, and elimination. Too little water or too much water causes turbulence in our physiology and leads to imbalances. A personalized approach to children’s hydration habits is another Ayurvedic routine to help maintain day-to-day health. A balanced flow of the four inputs through our body in alignment with the flow of nature helps achieve sustainable health and longevity. Now, we will turn our attention to the third input: the breath—the flow of prana through our body that sustains life.