Loss of Appetite

Loss of appetite and indigestion are closely linked entities of digestive disturbance in Ayurveda. Agnimandhya is the term used to denote loss of appetite while Ajeerna denotes indigestion. A harmonious balance of Vata and Pitta holds the essence of a normal appetite. A deviation in their mutual balance could lead to a loss of appetite. Irregular dietary habits bring about a vitiation in Pitta while psychic problems like anxiety, fear, or physical causes like suppression of impeding urges lead to an imbalance in Vata. Both these sequences lead to disturbances in normal levels of appetite.

Common recipes:

• Extract about a cup of pomegranate seed juice. Add a pinch of rock salt and a spoonful of honey. Taking this solution slowly removes the bad taste from the mouth and increases your appetite!
• Take equal parts of mustard seeds, asafetida, ginger, cumin seeds and black salt and grind the mixture to a fine powder. Add this mixture to a glass of buttermilk and drink it an hour before meals to enhance the appetite.
• Mix well a spoonful each of Indian gooseberry powder, clarified butter and honey. Take this paste prior to meals to improve the appetite.
• Ingredients: one part each of cloves, nutmeg and long pepper, 3 parts of Indian gooseberry and 8 parts of ginger. Grind the mixture to obtain a fine powder. Add sufficient sugar to make the taste palatable. Consuming a spoonful of this mixture twice or thrice a day helps in regaining lost appetite.
• Mix in equal parts cinnamon bark, small cardamom, coriander seeds and fennel seeds. Soak the mixture in cold water overnight. Strain this blend with a tea strainer. Drinking this cold infusion early in the morning helps in building an appetite.
• Soak about 10 grams of tamarind in a cup of warm water for 30 minutes. Squeeze the mass to obtain tamarind juice. Add a pinch of table salt to suit your taste. Add about 2 grams of powdered ajowan seeds. Taken before meals, this juice improves appetite. Alternatively, you can dilute 1/2 a teaspoonful of tamarind pulp in one cup of water for this purpose.
• Basil tea is an efficacious drink to enhance appetite. Take about 20 gms of Basil leaves and boil it in 250 ml of water till the quantity is reduced to half the original volume.