Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 16 (Suppl), June 2017, pp. S 47-S 52 Concept and role of diet as a component of Naturopathy and yoga therapy Rajiv Rastogi 1 * & Sanjeev Rastogi 2 1 Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy, New Delhi-110058; 2 State Ayurvedic College and Hospital, Lucknow-226003, UP E-mails: rrastogi2009@gmail.com*, rastogisanjeev@rediffmail.com Received 11 January 2017, revised 15 February 2017 Diet is an important component of a comprehensive naturopathic healthcare plan. Food is regarded as medicine at many systems of medicine but this is more obvious and apparent in Naturopathy. Naturopathy promotes and encourages the natural food, i.e., the food which is provided by nature and is consumed essentially in the natural form. The concept of diet is little different in modern medicine. In Naturopathy food is classified as acidic or alkaline, live or dead food, eliminative, soothing, constructive, vegetarian or non-vegetarian, liquid, fruit, and mono fruit diet, etc. Naturopathy gives more emphasis on raw food rather than cooked food. According to it, to remain healthy 80 % of the food items should be alkaline, i.e., uncooked and only 20 % food items should be acidic, i.e., cooked. In Yoga, the food is classified as Sattvik, Rajasik and Tamasik. In this paper, a review of the concept of diet in Naturopathy and yoga comparing to other systems is made and the significance of some important rules of diet therapy in Naturopathy and yoga are tried to be highlighted. Keywords: Diet, Diet therapy, Aahar Chikitsa, Food as medicine IPC Int. Cl. 8 : A23L 33/00, A47G 19/26, A47J 39/02, A61K 36/48, A61K 31/00, A61N 5/00, A61H 39/00 Diet (Aahar) is an important component of Naturopathic plan of disease management. Right food is so much important to health as per the belief of Naturopathy that it is often regarded as a medicine 1 . Naturopathy insists that our food must be as natural as possible. There is not only an insistence upon a complete natural diet, but naturopathy equally insists that food should be produced under natural conditions and consumed in natural form without being altered by man 1,2 . Natural food if properly selected, rationally combined, and judiciously consumed may have a remedial value to cure disease by supplying the alkaline elements in organic form. These organic mineral elements in food preserve the tissues from disorganization and from putrefaction. These vitalizing minerals, salts and vitamins are vital to health through warding off the diseases and premature aging 2 . Naturopathic preference is for food with their natural properties to help health and resistance to external influences and diseases 2 . Accordingly, the food having excess fat, fast food and junk food, etc., are discouraged and fresh seasonal fruits, fresh green leafy vegetables and sprouts are encouraged as healthy food items in Naturopathy. Diet is now being recognized as one important single factor responsible for health and also the disease 2 . According to Sir Robert Mc Carrison, ‘the right kind of food is the most important single factor in the promotion of health; and the wrong kind of food is the most important single factor in the promotion of disease’ 2 . Hippocrates in the 5 th century BC wrote, ‘I maintain that research on the subject of diet is of all objects of medicine most worthy of our closet attention. It will contribute much, both in re-establishing health, and preserving those who are at present in normal health, by providing them with a sound constitution’ 2 . Naturopathy believes ‘that disease is a disturbance of the function or the structure of any organ or part of the body; chronic diseases are associated with an accumulation of foreign matter, waste products, dead cells, poisonous elements and dangerous toxins’ 2 . These poisonous products are the result of lowered vitality, imperfect elimination, and faulty digestion brought about by the sluggish functioning of every organ. Such conditions of the body are due to denatured, demineralised, and devitalized foods which have interfered with the natural metabolism of the system. Hence, such a diet is the cause of practically all diseases of the body and mind 2 . _________ *Corresponding author