The Lifespan of Food and Its Impact on Health
Ayurvedic Principles for Food Safety and Longevity
There’s a lot made of the topic of longevity these days.
Is it possible for human beings to live longer on average than we presently do?
If human beings are living longer, does that mean we’re living well and meaningfully?
These are questions we’ll tackle in another post. Instead, in this post, we’re going to take a look at the topic of food longevity - the lifespan of the food we eat. Or put another way, how healthful the food we eat is based on its age.
Of course, there are many considerations here. Dry and/or dehydrated foods will always remain shelf-stable for relatively longer periods of time than those with any meaningful moisture exposure. Foods that have preservatives and various other compounds added to them will also tend to last longer on the shelf than those without.
It would be the easy argument to make that one should favor fresher foods with fewer preservatives, and the dry foods one does eat generally should err on the side of whole food staples such as constitution- and condition-appropriate grains, legumes, and so on. And we would (and do) make that argument, but that is not the topic of this post!
Here is the topic of this post: Our bodies are made of food, and all food (or, at least, all food worth eating) inherently has a shelf-life to it.
The Ayurvedic perspective on this topic is essentially as follows: the shelf-life of food impacts the shelf-life of our bodies. This relates to excessive tamas: the quality of inertia and stagnation.
So - how? Why?
Considerations include - but are not limited to - bacteria, mold, and chemical changes due to decomposing food stuffs.
These are considerations that take place in real-time. Decomposition is a process that starts almost immediately following preparation and/or cooking, shortly after picking/gathering in the case of fresh produce, eggs, and dairy, and right after a kill in the case of meats, organs, and other components of animal flesh. And bacterial and mold growth both happen in tandem with decomposition.
The process of decomposing involves both the breakdown of nutrients - especially organic micronutrients like vitamins, enzymes, and antioxidants - and the release of a variety of compounds that can cause a body harm. These include:
Methane gas (the stuff flatulence is made of)
Carbon dioxide (one of our own metabolic waste products)
Ammonia (a nitrogen-based toxin)
And a number of other toxic compounds specific to individual foods, such as hydrogen sulphide, thiols (bad-smelling gases), etc.
It is worth clarifying that not all by-products of food breakdown are bad for us. The evidence of this is in the health benefits of small amounts of fermented foods, and of course in how our own microflora (gut bacteria, archaea, and fungi) help support our health through food digestion and breakdown. That said, even fermented foods can spoil, and even our own microflora will produce metabolic toxins from poorly-stored or badly-prepared foods.
This brings us more directly to the topic of how bacteria, mold, and other microbes grow on food.
Just the same way we live on food, so, too, do microbes. Microbes live in both active and dormant forms all over outdoor and indoor surfaces, and in the air all around us. And if we give them time to eat the food we buy, gather, and prepare, then eat they most certainly will.
Some microorganisms that feed on our food can be beneficial, as in the case of cultured/probiotic foods (again, appropriately chosen for constitution and condition). Others will cause disease directly if given the chance. These include (among others):
Salmonella, famous for causing typhoid fever
E. coli O157:H7, known for causing bloody diarrhea
C. botulinum, the source of botulism
And Listeria, which causes the sometimes deadly illness listeriosis
All of this falls under the domain of tamas (also referred to as tamo-guna), which is one of the three qualities (triguna) shared by all matter in the Ayurvedic medical model. Both microbe growth and the decomposing of food occur when food stagnates. Of course, the longer the stagnation goes on, the more tamas there will be. The more tamas there is in a living body, the more decomposition, breakdown, infection, and disease happens in that body.
(For reference, the other two qualities of the triguna triad are sattva, the quality of identity and clarity, and rajas, the quality of activity and momentum.)
Here’s a curveball for you all, though: tamas also increases when preservatives and other compounds are added to foods. This means that a wide variety of snack foods, pre-packaged foods, and others - while not actively rotting - will have the same (though perhaps somewhat lesser) health-weakening effects on the body (a very well-established phenomenon pertinent to all kinds of preservatives, and a topic for perhaps another post). And tamas also increases when food is preserved via cold storage (refrigeration, freezing) for too long. This is because cold storage effectively enables slow-motion decomposition - so the decomposing process will still happen, just somewhat more slowly.
There are a lot of health-related implications here, which is hopefully clear from the discussion so far.
Here is what I recommend to patients at The Buddha’s Medicine to reduce the tamas in their food, and how I practice food safety at home (credit to the FDA, as well):
Put perishables into appropriate storage ASAP. For almost anything freshly-prepared, this will usually be the refrigerator if next-day use is intended. The freezer is a better destination if the goal is to extend the life of the food by 1-4 weeks.
Seal foods well when storing, whether in a sealable bag, or solid plastic, glass, or silicone container.
Keep the refrigerator’s temperature at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep the freezer’s temperature at or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
Always check the labels on food products for sell-by and best-by dates. These are not always completely accurate, but for perishables like milk, for example, they are very important reminders to smell before consuming.
Reheat food properly. For soups and stews, ensure that they are brought to a boil again before eating. For porridges and solids, add a splash of water and reheat until evenly hot, and until steam is released.
Bring a touch more agni (life-giving fire) back into your food. An added splash of water, a tiny sprinkle of sea salt or pink mineral salt, or a pinch of a pungent spice such as black pepper or ginger powder will do the trick in most cases.
Avoid reheating and restoring food. Or put another way, if you take food out of storage to reheat it, avoid putting it back into storage.
Avoid eating any food item that is cooked and then refrigerated for more than 24-36 hours. Avoid eating any food item that is cooked and then frozen for more than 4ish weeks.
For any food item in a can or jar, avoid using if the lid is bulging prior to opening (either before first use or any other use).
Favor fresh produce and other fresh, recently-sourced foods whenever possible. Avoid over-ripe produce that is excessively squishy, wilting, or funny-/foul-smelling.
Whole staple foods, chosen for constitution/personal make-up and condition, can stay well in appropriate dry conditions for up to 1-2 years.
Avoid preserved and pre-packaged foods in most cases, wherever and whenever you are able to.
For other specific foods (such as oil-rich nuts and seeds, fresh fruits, and more), I will also sometimes make more particular food safety recommendations, as well.
In blending modern science with the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda, we can better support the health of the body, promote joyful living, and prevent unnecessary disease. The art of safe food preparation is a key tool in our utility belt at The Buddha’s Medicine, and we encourage everyone to make use of it!
Are you seeking support with your health? Do you know someone who might benefit from our Ayurvedic approach? Book a cost-free, 15min Consultation, and we’ll discuss!
Professional disclaimer: please do not initiate any herbal or other medicinal interventions without the guidance of a knowledgeable provider.
Dr. Matt Van Auken, MD, MPH
Dr. Matt is an Ayurveda-trained, triple board-certified physician.
