One of the primary things, if not THE most important thing that we can do for our health is to build a strong and robust digestive fire. This fire is called agni and there are a number of ways to build this up. In Ayurveda, everything is related to the strength of your digestion, so if you do go and see a practitioner, they will almost certainly start by suggesting ways to strengthen your agni.
This lime, ginger, and salt habit is certainly no hardship to build into your daily routine. It is delicious and it’s a really beautiful little ritual to establish. It’s quick and easy to prepare and the ingredients are readily available. Along with helping to build agni, there are lots of other health benefits as well including increasing the metabolism, burning toxins and reducing unhelpful cravings. What’s not to love?
Fresh ginger (not dried) is used extensively in Ayurveda as a digestive aid because it is beneficial for all dosha types. It can help with digestion and absorption, reduction of gas, detoxification, metabolism, menstrual cramps, congestion, nausea, stress and tension, inflammation, immunity and with fever in common colds.
The lime also boosts essential digestive enzymes such as cholecystokinin (CKK) which helps with satiety. Take this digestion booster about half an hour before meals, and it will start building the fire ready for the meal. Then, when the meal hits your belly, the fire is nice and toasty and starts burning your food effectively so that you can absorb it well and get rid of the toxins.
You will often see honey included in this recipe, but if you are vegan, you may not want to include this.
A suggested Vegan Ayurvedic recipe to prepare this appetizer is:
2 inches of fresh ginger root
Juice of 1 lime
Himalayan rock salt
Peel and slice the fresh ginger thinly and place in a mason jar. Squeeze the juice of one lime into the jar and add some Himalayan rock salt to taste. You can store it in the fridge for a few days. I usually make some to take to work and some to keep at home.
Enjoy some ginger pickle just before meals and observe what happens!
You can store it for a few days in a fridge. Allow it to warm well in your mouth and chew thoroughly before swallowing.