Scientific Facts Behind Eating Habits of Jains

Jainism which is one of the oldest religion in world whose roots have been found even before 3000 BC i.e. before the beginning of Indo-Aryan culture. Well that makes it’s existence over 5000 years. With a total population of Six billion in world which is even less than 2% of India’s population the principles and practices of Jainism are still alive. Today let’s see how does the various eating habits of Jains can be justified by Science.

Sattvic vs Asattvic Food

A sattvic diet is basically food which contain one of three yogic qualities known as sattva. Main constituents of sattvic foods are nuts, seeds, oil, fruits, vegetables, dairy ,whole grains and legumes.

While asattvic food contains which can either decrease the energy of body(tamasic) or increase the energy(rajasic). These food contains fish, meat, onion , alcohol and opium.

According to the study, Rajasic foods keep the body very active which causes restlessness, problems of sleeping, anger, irritability. Tamasic foods make the body and mind sluggish and lazy.

On the other hand, Sattvic food keeps you energetic by purifying the body of toxins and calming the mind. It also imparts spirituality, health, and longevity. The Sattvic diet has the most micronutrients compared to any other type of diet. Where, the food is digested quickly, and the gut remains healthy.

Jivani/Bichhavani — Prohibition of drinking unfiltered water

In the past, when wells or baolis were used for the water source, the cloth used for filtering used to be reversed and some filtered water was poured over it to return the organisms to the original body of water. This practice termed as ‘jivani’ or ‘bilchhavani’, is no longer possible because of the use of pipes for water supply.

According to Jains the water contain micro-organism and as Ahimsa is one of main principles to avoid harming them the whole process of bichhavani i.e. boiling then filtering with cotton cloth takes place.

BUT THIS MEANS THAT BOILING WATER CAUSES ORGANISMS TO GET KILLED. SO WHY BOIL?
In unboiled (kaachu) water the birth and death of the water-bodied living beings takes place continuously. While boiling kills the countless micro-organisms for once, according to the Jain doctrines, beings will not be born and so will not die for a certain period; further violence is avoided.

Anastamita/Anthau — Not eating after sunset

Traditionally cooking or eating at night was discouraged because insects are attracted to the lamps or fire at night.

They do not consume food which has been stored overnight, as it possesses a higher concentration of micro-organisms (for example, bacteria yeast etc) as compared to food prepared and consumed the same day.

Indian Science of health has formulated a rule that after having taken food, one should drink little-little water many times. Eating food before sunset allows this practice naturally. Some scientists also say that you should avoid food atleast 3–4 hours before sleeping, so that the food gets digested properly before sleeping.

A recent research in Hong Kong proves that people eating food by early evening are less prone to heart diseases. Other scientific reasons are fluctuations in sleep cycles and increased urinations and excretion needs.

Big No to root vegetables

Jains don’t eat root vegetables such as potatoes, onions, roots and tubers, because tiny life forms are injured when the plant is pulled up and because the bulb is seen as a living being, as it is able to sprout.

Also, consumption of most root vegetables involves uprooting & killing the entire plant. Whereas consumption of most terrestrial vegetables doesn’t kill the plant (it lives on after plucking the vegetables or it was seasonally supposed to wither away anyway).

Prohibition on Honey and Allowance on Ginger and Turmeric

In Jainism, ahimsa or non-violence is the motto, and thus consuming honey is also forbidden. Honey is extracted from honeybees and in this case, is termed as a form of violence.

Earlier the collection or production of honey involved using smoke, scaring away the bees, destroying their ‘home’ and killing many bees in the process. Also, incessantly innumerable tiny ‘jivas’ are born in the beehive and they all get killed. In short, it was sheer cruelty and hence against the basic principles of Jainism.

Despite the health benefits that may be associated with honey, it’s high in sugar — which can be detrimental to your health.

In fact, studies show high sugar diets may be linked to obesity, inflammation, insulin resistance, liver issues, and heart disease.

These two ingredients are always talked about with doubt when it comes to the community, however, these can be consumed. The reason: they are dried and Jains consider those ingredients that can be dried up. Its consumed only and only for medicinal purpose just because its benefit out-weighs the demerits.