Diet in vomiting, Symptoms and treatment and Spiritual Therapy

Ayurveda for a healthy life- 74/2026 on 16.4.2026

11. Diet in vomiting

In patients suffering from vomiting, the stomach requires rest. Hence, the patient should be given liquids and light diet. The following light diet regime is suggested for adults. In infants, breast milk should be continued but top milk should be stopped.

Diet on the first day

A. Fruit juices : Juices of pomegranate, sweet lime, jamun, apple, grapes, bor, diluted lemon and kokam should be given. One or two teaspoonfuls of sugar should be added to the fruit juices.

B. Coconut water

C. Buttermilk curry medicated with coriander leaves, celery seeds, cumin seeds, pippali and ginger should be given. The patient should drink it sip by sip.

Diet on the second day

On the second day apart from the above diet, the patient should be given the following –

A. Rice or maize kanji

B. Soups of moong (green gram), masur and kulith (horse gram).

C. Cold milk diluted with water.

If the vomiting is not controlled, a physician should be consulted as vomiting may be a symptom of jaundice, diseases of the kidney, meningitis, migraine, etc. In addition, as vomiting gives rise to dehydration, intravenous fluids may be required hence, consult doctors.

After vomiting is controlled and the patient feels hungry, the diet should be increased as follows –

12. Vomiting

	Beneficial	Harmful
1. Cereals	Cereals more than a year old, popped rice, rice kanji and biscuit	Cereals less than a year old
2.Pulses	Soups of moong (green gram), chavli, chana (chickpea), kulith (horse gram) and vatana (peas)	Pulses less than a year old
3.Vegetables	Cucumber, methi, suran (yam), onion and pumpkin	Leafy vegetables, tendli and dudhi (bottle gourd)
4. Meat	Mutton soup, ckicken soup and rabbit meat	Fish
5. Fruits	Lemon, sweet lime, amalaki, mango, bor, pomegranate, grapes, dates, watermelon juice, jamun, kokam and kapittha (woodapple)	Pineapple, coconut
6. Milk and Oil products	Milk and buttermilk	Oil, ghee
7. Sugarcane products	Sugarcane juice, honey and sugar	–
8. Dry fruits	Dry black grapes and dates	Walnut, cashewnut and almond
9. Spices	Coriander seeds, coriander leaves, ginger, pepper, pippali, nutmeg, tamarind, saffron, cloves, cardamom, nagakeshar and leaves of kadipatta	Yashtimadhu (glycerrhiza) and garlic
10. Liquids	Cold water, cold food items, tender coconut water	Tea, coffee, oil, ghee, heavy food items
11. Odour	Fragrant flowers and perfumes	Foul odour and bad smell

The patient with vomiting should be given food items according to his likes and dislikes.

13. General recommendations and restrictions to be followed in vomiting

A. Fasting or a restricted light diet in the first few days.

B. If vomiting is persistent and the vomitus is sticky, vomiting should be induced by giving a mixture of powders of madanaphala and yashtimadhu (glycerrhiza) with a decoction of yashtimadhu.

C. Amalaki or kokam sarbat or fruit juices of jamun, bor and pomegranate should be taken in a small quantity frequently.

D. If the vomiting centre is a sensitive one should give –

1. A teaspoonful of shankhapushpi syrup twice a day.

2. A teaspoonful of sarasvatarishta twice a day.

E. 60 mg. of suvarna sutashekhar 4 times a day. 60 mg.
of mauktik bhasma 4 times a day. 60 mg. of praval panchamruta
4 times a day.

F. 120 mg of mayurapichchha bhasma (ash of peacock feathers) in amalaki juice and honey.

G. A decoction of tender leaves of mango and jamun, Mahalunga, pomegranate, bor, barley, ushira and yashtimadhu (glycerrhiza) should be given. Popped rice should be eaten in case of hunger.

14. Rasakshaya (dehydration)

Symptoms and treatment

Dryness of the mouth, loss of lustre of the eyes, reduced quantity of urine and depression of fontanelles of the skull in infants are symptoms of dehydration. If the vomiting is persistent or if symptoms of dehydration appear, the patient should be hospitalised and intravenous fluids such as glucose, saline should be given.

If the vomiting is not controlled even after investigations and treatment by a specialist, then a bad destiny is likely to be the cause. Spiritual therapy should then be undertaken.

15. Spiritual therapy (karmavipak)

A. If an individual deliberately offers a diet contaminated with the vomitus of a dog or a crow, hair or worms to a Brahman (priest), he suffers from intractable vomiting.

B. If an individual cheats someone, he suffers from intractable vomiting. He should offer food to 50 pious Brahmans and donate food along with ghee.

16. Spiritual remedies according to Astrology

If the Chandra (moon) or Shukra (Venus) is present in the sixth house of an individual’s horoscope or if Budh (Mercury) is present in the sixth house and the moon is weak, the person suffers from vomiting and thirst. He should repeat (chant) the mantras of Chandra, Shukra and Budh planets and wear silver ornaments.

17. Food poisoning : What is poisoning through intake of food ?

Food poisoning is the result of eating toxic food and gives rise to symptoms like nausea, vomiting, loose motions, drowsiness and dehydration. It affects all the individuals who have eaten the same food.

Toxins in food are of two types –
A. Chemical poison and
B. Toxins released by germs.

Food poisoning can occur even when non-recommended food is eaten.

Unnatural food : Food poisoning occasionally occurs as a result of eating poisonous fish, mushrooms or unfamiliar fruits; hence, avoid such unfamiliar food-items.

A. Chemical poison : Food contaminated with pesticides, arsenic or artificial colours can give rise to acute or chronic poisoning.

B. Toxins released by germs : Food contaminated with germs like Salmonella, Staphylococci, Clostridium and their toxins is the main cause of food poisoning caused by germs. One cannot identify whether the food is poisonous or not by merely looking at it or tasting it. Food items particularly milk products, meat and icecream when exposed for sometime act as a good medium for growth of germs. By re-cooking or boiling, the germs are killed but their toxins persist. Food poisoning is more common in summer and rainy season due to the fast growth of germs.

A patient suffering from food poisoning should be admitted
in a hospital under the care of a specialist. He should be given emetics and purgatives to get rid of the poisonous food. He should be administered with intravenous fluids such as glucose saline
and appropriate medicines. Rice kanji prepared in a decoction of bavchi seeds should be administered.

For prevention of food poisoning following care is to be taken

A. Fresh, well cooked food should be eaten.

B. Avoid eating exposed food or food from an unhygenic hotel.

C. After cooking, the food should be kept in a refrigerator.

D. Clean the utensils used for storage or cooking of food.

E. Avoid eating food exposed to dust and flies.

F. Before cooking and eating one should wash one’s hands.

G. The cook should be free of cold, cough, diarrhoea or skin diseases and avoid his contact with any contagious diseases.

H. Stored food should be rejected if –

1. Air bubbles are found in the stored food.

2. The food has a sour or foul odour.

3. The taste is altered.

Such altered food should not be eaten

Editorial Perspective

Ayurved indicates the real care for the edibles - Avoid Food : Avoid eating exposed food or food from an unhygenic hotel. Avoid eating food exposed to dust and flies. The cook should be free of cold, cough, diarrhoea or skin diseases and avoid his contact with any contagious diseases.