Verse 17.10 : Sraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga "Three Divisions of Faith"

Krishna describes Tamasic foods, which are dear to those in the mode of ignorance (Tamas). In Vedic hygiene and food preparation, eating stale, decomposed, or unclean food was seen as a cause of mental darkness and physical decline.

Tamasic foods are stale (yāta-yāmam), tasteless (gata-rasam), putrid, rotten (pūti paryuṣitaṁ), left-over (ucchistam), and impure (amedhyam). These foods have lost their vital energy (prana) and nutritional value. Consuming them darkens the consciousness, generating laziness, confusion, and physical heaviness.

This refers to stale, highly processed, preservative-laden foods, and substances like alcohol and narcotics. In psychology, a Tamasic diet is closely linked to depressive states and lack of motivation. When we feed our bodies dead, toxic foods, we feel heavy, sluggish, and disconnected. Shifting to fresh foods helps lift the mental fog and supports emotional renewal.