Saatvik foods: This is the sort of food which ascetics used to eat, and which have the qualities that improve the physical, mental and spiritual health of a being. Grains, fruits, milk and honey form an integral part of this genre of edibles, and these foods keep the `Taamas' and `Rajo' attributes under control.

Taamas foods : These are the foods responsible for encouraging negative tendencies such as anger, selfishness and avarice in human beings. Examples of such foods are spicy and fried stuff, meat, tobacco and alcohol.

Raajas foods : It is consumed by the rich, comprising of kings, businessmen, money-lenders and industrialists. These foods serve to make their consumers lazy, pleasure-loving, sensuous, and even drunkards. Sweet, fried stuff and foods rich in calories have the above-mentioned qualities. Eating a number of dishes all together can also set off `Rajo' tendencies in a being.

There can be no two opinions regarding the fact that our food-habits and diets affect our physical, mental and spiritual health. It has even been said that we 'do and think as we eat and drink'. This alone necessitates our diet to be nutritional, energizing and the least harmful for all round well-being.