Needs versus desires must be properly differentiated. Therefore the question of "what is the best diet", is both irrelevant and false. For one person the answer would be different to another. It depends on so many factors, for instance: body type, weight, working activities, age, genetic disposition, climate, location, and many other things. Please don't ever think that there is some perfect diet for the human race. It would seem philosophically and practically impossible to describe such a thing. For example who is going to break the sad news to the Inuit of northern Canada that they should become vegetarian!
   Please never become a food faddist. Don't get into food trips, be they orthodox or alternative, Eastern or Western. A trip is just that, a trip. It can never lead you to a real home base in the end. My approach is not trying to convert anyone to a "yoga food trip" or say that everyone in the world should eat this way or that way. However, cultural variation and freedom for personal style doesn't mean there aren't certain laws of nature which should be observed to help keep us as close as possible to what the manufacturer intended when he / she / it built this body machine. Just as when driving a vehicle, there are laws of nature such as gravity, friction, momen-tum etc which the car must respond to. Then there are the social laws for traffic control which the driver must respond to. There are also unwritten laws of commonsense for safe travel plus there are guidelines for car care and maintenance. And along with all these parame-ters, there is still plenty of freedom for variation and enjoyment along the way. But if you are unaware of, or intentionally break the laws of nature, sooner or later you'll pay the price and have a big crash (illness). If you constantly ignore the manufacturers recommendations, your vehicle will soon end up in the workshop (hospital) for repairs or even worse, at the wrecker's (cemetery)!
   There may not be a "perfect diet" for all persons, but there is definitely an ideal functioning of the body's mechanisms for good digestion and therefore there are valuable guidelines for feeding the body to preserve these mechanisms. As you learn to better understand both the structure and function of the body and the workings of these natural laws from an experiential (not theoretical) point of view, then you will know what is the perfect diet for you.
  Who fully understands these natural laws and guidelines? Who has been there

before us, and over a long time proven these things to be true and correct? Who has lived long lives in harmony with nature and truly understands the deepest nature of our existence? The key I offer to finding this balance of body and mind, of health and happiness, of food and diet, is yoga and its wonderful spiritual philosophy and practices.

	~ Anna Yoga ~

   In Sanscrit, the word for food is anna. Anna means all matter which is consumed. It is not just physical food, but includes all the mental and spiritual foods which help us grow on the non-physical planes as well. Since ancient times, food has been worshipped as a gift from mother nature, and eating it was considered to be paying homage to the gods and goddesses. It was also treated as a sacred medicine.
   Beyond consumption, our body was seen as a transformer of that food. Just as a tree absorbs certain elements from nature, and feeds out others into the environment to help both itself and others, so too do we humans have a purpose in eating beyond that of our own existence and pleasure.
   Food is such a big part of our life. We eat, say on average, 3 times a day. All the planning, buying, preparing, cooking, eating, cleaning up, and disposal of wastes, makes up a large proportion of our activities. For some people, all this time of dealing with food is seen as a chore. They don't perceive that time and effort as fundamental to their own wellbeing - as an investment in their health - and they certainly don't see their own eating regime as affecting others outside of themself. If that profile fits you, then Anna Yoga could be a valuable area for study.
   Initially, it is one's attitude to consumption (of all things) which needs modification, and then through Anna Yoga we learn to be more aware of our substance use (and abuse).
   The yogic masters have said, that without a proper balance of one's physical and mental food intake, the benefits of other yoga practices are lessened. To progress in yoga areas such as asanas, breathing, relaxation and meditation, the yogini should also study and practise anna-awareness in daily life. That way, all the time spent shopping, preparing and eating food then becomes a time of yoga, Anna Yoga.