So, why do we really eat? The real purpose of eating is to fulfill a very important role. As humans and being more evolved compared to atoms and molecules, plants and animals, it is our duty to serve them. How can we serve them? When we eat food, we offer good service to the food and water atoms and molecules that are converted to our cells and tissues, skin, blood and muscles by converting these atoms and molecules to a higher state of human-consciousness. This is the best service that we can do. However, for this to happen, we have to demonstrate pure love in the eating process.

What does it mean to demonstrate pure love in the eating process? This means that we take the right food combinations, prepared in the proper way, while observing proper time intervals between meals. We also should ensure that eat that we do not overeat. The above-mentioned points are important to enable the food that we eat to be digested properly.

When food is improperly digested, it leaves our system as waste, in the form of lesser evolved atoms and molecules. Thus, the true purpose of eating, which is to provide service, is left unfulfilled.

How can we fulfill our true purpose of eating?
Most importantly, we should observe the golden rule of eating ONLY when we are truly hungry. 

Given below are more guidelines that will help us:

1) We should observe proper time gaps between the intake of food. In general, there are 3 areas of digestion – mouth, stomach and intestines. The food is in the mouth for a very short time. Therefore, only very limited digestion takes place in the mouth. Food takes about 2 to 2.5 hours to be digested in the stomach and 4 to 5.5 hours to be digested in the intestines. The time taken to digest food is dependent on what we eat and the quantity of food that we eat. In general, we should observe a time gap of at least 6 to 8 hours between consumption of any kind of food.

2) Refrain from snacking. When we take snacks between meals, extra digestive juices and bile will need to be produced by the system, causing additional strain on the different organs of the digestive system, such as the liver, intestines and pancreas. This causes the respective organs to be overworked and as a result, may cause the organs to malfunction. Other organs may also become affected as a result.

3) Some basic food(s) and food combinations to avoid:

1. Milk and milk products should be limited if not avoided altogether. Intake of milk can cause many complications to arise, if it is not properly digested. Under various conditions, milk is left undigested. The milk protein molecules are small and so, are easily absorbed into the blood system. These molecules are transported all over the body and have a high chance of being deposited in different organs, especially in the lower organs such as the prostrate and ovaries, due to gravitational pull. This deposition can cause serious health issues such as cancer.

2. Milk should be completely avoided in the following combinations:
   - with fruit - Milk is mainly digested in the stomach and requires a low acidic medium for digestion. When taken with fruit, it is quickly transported to the intestine by the pulp of the fruit. As such, only minimal digestion of the milk occurs.
   - with any high protein substances such as lentils. Lentils require a high acidic medium for digestion while milk requires a low acidic medium. With the presence of lentils in the stomach, the milk, therefore, is left undigested and moves in this undigested form into the intestine where it is readily absorbed into the blood stream. As described above in a., this can cause severe health issues.

3. All types of grains should be taken as a whole.
   Lentils should be consumed along with the covering sheath. The covering sheath is essential to hold together the dicotyledonous seeds of the lentils. By removing the covering, we are discarding the most essential part of the seed- the bond of unity, which serves to hold together the dicotyledonous seed. When we do this, our body reacts similarly. One by one the organs begin to separate from the body and we develop illnesses such as arthritis or problems of the liver and heart. Similarly, it is best to take red or brown rice - where minimal or no portion of the covering sheath has been removed. Most people are attracted to the whiteness of the polished rice and think that it is cleaner and so better. This is untrue. Unpolished rice is best for the intestines and our system as a whole.

4. Vegetables with thin coverings should not be peeled. They should be cooked as is. Examples of such vegetables are potatoes, carrots and squash. If the vegetable has a hard covering, we should thoroughly rinse them in water before lightly scraping the hard covering.

5. We should refrain from taking juice of fruits but we should eat the whole fruit instead. This is because the pulp of the fruit has essential nutritional elements.

6. Food substances rich in protein should not be taken together with food substances rich in carbohydrates. For example, lentils should not be taken with potatoes nor roti (chapaatis) with rice.

7. We should take sugar-cane candy (gura), in-place of sugar, to sweeten our tea and coffee and any other food substances. Sugar crystals are loose scatter easily. There is hardly any bond of unity amongst the sugar crystals. Sugar-cane candy, on the other hand, has atoms and molecules that bind the atoms and molecules together. These work as a bonding force. When we take sugar, our body cells and tissues move away from each other and we develop health problems such as arthritis.