Ayurveda uses the concept of Ama, as a term for food that is absorbed into the system without having been properly digested. Partially digested material cannot be used by the system, and acts to clog it. Ama is generated by food that should go to form healthy tissue and instead becomes a substance that will nourish disease. In Western Medicine, the concept of intestinal toxemia, a condition in which the internal milieu of the intestines, especially the colon, changes so that toxins are generated during digestion has been known since before WW II. It is also currently used as a reason to cleanse the intestines with colonics. Intestinal toxemia develops mainly from over-consumption of protein, especially meat. The human gut is too long for us to be healthy as carnivores, and high-protein foods tend to become stagnant in the intestines; stagnation encourages the production of putrefactive bacteria in the colon, which converts undigested food to ama. Ama can be eliminated over time though diet and the use of herbs to scrape it from the intestines. The following diet and nutritional guidelines will help to eliminate it over time.

General Guidelines
Complex Carbohydrates and cooked vegetables should be the mainstay of your diet. Complex carbs are much less likely to form ama because they are easily digested, and contain fiber, which helps food to move through the intestines. Cooked vegetables are easy to digest, and are unlikely to form ama.
It is most important for you to eat home-cooked meals in a pleasant and relaxed environment. Cooking for yourself and those you love puts a loving energy into the food, creating a meal that is nourishing to both the body and the spirit.

Balance your diet as follows:
Whole grains: 20-30%
Cooked Vegetables: 40-50%
Beans: 10%
Proteins, seeds, nuts: 10%
Fruit: 10%
Salad: 10%

To build up your digestive fire, and to promote elimination of build up, cleanse one day per week or two weeks with:
- Fresh cooked vegetables/ vegetable broth/ vegetable soup
- Fruit
This is a good way to improve all of your system’s functioning in a gentle way. On this day, you should not have any stimulants like black coffee or tea. You should drink lots of the ginger tea described below

Ginger Tea
The digestion must be improved to ensure that the body can process food correctly. Ginger tea is an excellent way to improve digestion, and to encourage intestinal motility. To make the tea, bring water and ginger to a boil, boil for 10 minutes uncovered. Remove from heat, add the other spices, cover and let steep for 20 minutes. Strain. The tea will continue to get stronger the longer that it steeps.
Ingredients:
1 qt water
2 tsp. fresh grated ginger root
1⁄4 tsp. Fennel
1⁄4 tsp. Cumin
1⁄4 tsp. Coriander
¼ tsp. Cinnamon
Optional sweetener of stevia, honey brown sugar, or other raw sugar
Drink at least 3-4 cups of the tea per day

Before 10am, eat lighter foods such as fruits or herb tea, and if you have stronger hunger, have a cooked grain cereal. If you make a smoothie, keep it simple with a few fruits and no dairy. A very small amount of soy or rice milk is okay, however, a fruit juice would be better. Do not add ice.

Avoid fermented foods (vinegar, alcohol, yogurt (especially sour), aged cheese, soy sauce, beer & wine, tomato sauce, mustard, pickles etc.). These encourage stagnation in the body.

Avoid excessively salty food (snacks, roasted & salted nuts, hard cheeses)

Avoid cold drinks and food (ice cream, ice water, cold juice, diet drinks). All beverages should be taken at room temperature or warm – never cold.

Avoid refined sugar and flour and white bread.

Fruits must be eaten by themselves, not combined with other foods.

Avoid making a salad your whole meal, and avoid cold or iced salads. They are best as an accompaniment to a meal.

Nuts and seeds should be taken in small amounts. No more than one handful at a time.

As much as possible, avoid meats and animal proteins.

Plan your meals, eat two to three times per day, and avoid snacking outside of meals. This weakens the digestive fire because it is continuously working, and it also encourages incomplete digestion.

Never overeat! Over-consumption of healthy foods will create ama because you consume more than your system can handle.

Diet (Occasional means two to three times per week)

Animal Proteins:
ELIMINATE: Beef, Pork, Veal, All red meat
OCCASIONAL: Fish, White meat from poultry. Broth is preferable

Dairy:
ELIMINATE: Yoghurt, Cow & Sheep’s Milk, Cheese
OCCASIONAL: Goat’s milk products, Ghee, Spiced warm milk

Sweeteners:
ELIMINATE: White sugar
OCCASIONAL: Honey, agave syrup, raw or brown sugar.

Oils:
ELIMINATE: All refined oils
OCCASIONAL: Almond, coconut
FAVOR: Flax, hemp, olive, sunflower, sesame

Grains:
ELIMINATE: White flour, processed grains, yeasted bread
OCCASIONAL: Whole wheat
FAVOR: Brown Rice, basmati rice, barley, corn, rye, millet, quinoa, other gluten-free grains

Fruits:
OCCASIONAL: Bananas, Dates, Mangoes, Pineapples, Papaya, Melons
FAVOR: Grapes, limes, cherries, avocado, pomegranates, apples, berries, sweet and fully ripened oranges, plums.

Vegetables:
OCCASIONAL: White potato, tomato, eggplant, okra, raw veggies
FAVOR: All cooked vegetables, especially artichoke, asparagus, leafy greens, carrots, celery, corn on the cob, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, bell pepper, squash, zucchini

Beans:
OCCASIONAL: Tofu, black beans, black eyed peas, kidney beans, chickpeas
FAVOR: Mung lentils, Adzuki beans, other lentils, soy & rice milk

Spices:
OCCASIONAL: Garlic, chili, cayenne pepper
FAVOR: Cinnamon, coriander, dill, cardamom, fennel, turmeric, fresh & dry ginger, black pepper, asafetida, cumin, fenugreek, clove, celery seed, salt, and mustard seed.