The Six Tastes of Ayurveda

In Ayurveda, it is believed that the six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent affect the balance in your body. In order to have a healthy and balanced body, you should consider the six tastes in your diet. The guide lines described below, will help you with your weight loss and also with the related health problems.

Ayurveda is an ancient system of health care that has been practiced in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka for thousands of years. Ayurveda focuses the three Doshas: Vata, Pitta, Kapha that exist in every person and a perfect balance between these three Doshas means a balanced and healthy body. This means that your body will naturally prefer healthy food and this is important if you want to lose weight.

First, you must find out which of the three Doshas that is dominating within you. If you don’t know your Dosha (Vata, Pitta or Kapha), do the quick test by clicking on the following link: “Dosha Test”.

Now that you know your Dosha, you will learn what kinds of your flavors, herbs and spices, you should use in your cooking in order to stay healthy. These easy guide lines will help you stay balanced and healthy.

Go to the section that describes your Dosha (Vata, Pitta or Kapha)  to find out which of the six tastes that should be in your diet:

Dietary Guidelines for VATA

If you are a Vata, and have trouble with your weight as well as some Vata-related health problem (restlessness, worrying, low self esteem, high blood pressure), it’s probably due to an imbalance in your Dosha. If that is the case, you should consider your diet and its tastes in order to reduce your Vata.

Eat food that is: Sweet, Sour, Salty - Oily, Heavy, Warm. The best way for you to balance your Vata is to eat foods like cooked beets, carrots, asparagus, sweet potatoes and cucumbers, but don’t eat them raw. Small quantities of black pepper, mustard seed, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom are also good for balancing Vata. Rice and wheat is recommended. Sweet and sour fruits such as oranges, bananas, grapes, peaches, melons, fresh figs, sweet pineapple and mangoes all have the sweet taste that Vata needs. Brown and raw sugar, molasses and honey is good if consumed in reasonable amounts. Sea food, chicken, turkey is acceptable. All nuts are good. All dairy products are good for Vata. To ease your digestion you could boil milk and drink it warm.

Don’t eat food that is: Pungent, Bitter, Astringent – Dry, Cold, Light. Reduce intake of beans (except green beans), oats, corn, millet, barley, and corn.  Minimize use of chilies and red pepper. Dry, light or astringent fruits such as apples, pears, and dried fruits need to be taken less. Rabbit and red meat are to be avoided. Strictly avoid taking milk with full meals. (Milk mixes only well with the sweet taste like cereal and toast.)

Tastes decreasing VATA	Food / herbs to eat	Tastes increasing VATA	Food / herbs to avoid
Sweet	Peaches, sweet plums, grapes, melons, oranges, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets,  milk, butter, rice, wheat bread, basil, licorice root, red cloves, peppermint, slippery elm, fennel                           Avoid highly processed sweets such as candy bars and sugar	Pungent	Onion, radish, chili, ginger, garlic, asafoetida, cayenne pepper, black pepper, mustard
Sour	Yogurt, vinegar, cheese, sour cream, green grapes, citrus fruits hibiscus, rose hips, tamarind, pickles, miso, caraway, coriander, and cloves	Bitter	Dandelion root, holy thistle, yellow dock, rhubarb, bitter melon, greens such as romaine lettuce, spinach, and chard fresh turmeric root, fenugreek, gentian root
Salty	Table salt, sea salt, rock salt, kelp,         sea weeds	Astringent	Unripe banana, cranberries, pomegranate, myrrh, goldenseal, turmeric, okra, beans, mace, parsley, lentils, broccoli, cabbage, saffron, basil, alum

Dietary Guidelines for PITTA

If you are a Pitta, unable to lose weight and you feel a lot of anger and irritation, it could be a sign of an unbalanced Pitta. To balance your Pitta you should consider your diet and its tastes.

Eat food that is: Sweet, Bitter, Astringent – Oily, Heavy, Cold. In order to balance you Pitta you should eat moong beans, olive and coconut oil. Asparagus, cabbage, cucumber, carrots, cauliflower, sprouts, celery and green leafy vegetables are also recommended. Barley, oats, white rice, wheat are good. Sweet fruits like grapes, coconut, cherries, melons, mangoes, pomegranates, sweet oranges, plums, pineapples are fine alternatives. All sweeteners are good for Pitta. White meat is acceptable (chicken, pheasant, turkey). Milk, butter and ghee are food for pacifying Pitta.

Don’t eat food that is: Pungent, Sour, Salty – Dry, Light, Warm. Turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, fennel and cardamom should only be taken in small amounts as they increase Pitta. Chilly should be avoided. Reduce use of almond, corn, sesame oil, brown rice, and corn. Reduce intake of sour fruits, such as olives, under ripe pineapple, sour oranges and unripe bananas. Large quantity of honey should be avoided. Avoid red meat, seafood and egg yolk. Reduce use of cheese, yogurt, sour cream, and cultured butter milk.

Tastes decreasing PITTA	Food / herbs to eat	Tastes increasing PITTA	Food / herbs to avoid
Sweet	Peaches, sweet plums, grapes, melons, oranges, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets  Milk, butter, rice, wheat bread, basil, licorice root, red cloves, peppermint, slippery elm, fennel                           Avoid highly processed sweets such as candy bars and sugar	Pungent	Onion, radish, chili, ginger, garlic, asafoetida, cayenne pepper, black pepper, mustard
Bitter	Dandelion root, holy thistle, yellow dock, rhubarb, bitter melon, greens such as romaine lettuce, spinach, and chard fresh turmeric root, fenugreek, gentian root	Sour	Yogurt, vinegar, cheese, sour cream, green grapes, citrus fruits hibiscus, rose hips, tamarind, pickles, miso                          caraway, coriander, and cloves
Astringent	Unripe banana, cranberries, pomegranate, myrrh, goldenseal, turmeric, okra, beans, mace, parsley, lentils, broccoli, cabbage,                 saffron, basil, alum	Salty	Table salt, sea salt, rock salt, kelp, sea weeds

Dietary Guidelines for KAPHA

If you are a Kapha and you feel very tired or depressed and you can’t lose any weight, you probably have too much Kapha within yourself. You need to balance your Dosha with a proper diet considering its tastes.

Eat food that is: Pungent, Bitter, Astringent – Dry, Warm, Light. To balance your Kapha you should eat beans, vegetables, barley, rye and corn grains. Eat lighter fruits of the more astringent kind like pears, apples, and pomegranates. Use honey as sweetener. Moderate intake of white meat (chicken, turkey) is permitted for those who cannot do without it. Use low fat milk.

Don’t eat food that is: Sweet, Sour, Salty – Oily, Cold, Heavy. Avoid nuts, large amount of any oil, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and salt for it increases Kapha. Kapha can be decreased by reduced intake of wheat and rice. Avoid heavy, very sweet or sour fruits like grapes, bananas, figs, oranges, coconuts, pineapple and melons. Avoid sugar products. Meat is not recommended. Avoid red meat and seafood. Reduced intake of milk is good. Milk should be boiled before drinking to make digestion easier and should always be taken warm. Do not drink milk with meals especially salty or sour foods. For Kapha disorders like congestion, one or two pinches of turmeric or ginger may be added to milk before boiling it. Yogurt, cream, ice cream, cheese, butter and excess of whole milk are not recommended.

Tastes decreasing KAPHA	Food / herbs to eat	Tastes increasing KAPHA	Food / herbs to avoid
Pungent	Onion, radish, chili, ginger, garlic, asafoetida, cayenne pepper, black pepper, mustard	Sweet	Peaches, sweet plums, grapes, melons, oranges, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, milk, butter, rice, wheat bread, basil, licorice root, red cloves, peppermint, slippery elm, fennel                                         Avoid highly processed sweets such as candy bars and sugar
Bitter	Dandelion root, holy thistle, yellow dock, rhubarb, bitter melon                                  Greens such as Romaine lettuce, spinach, and chard fresh turmeric root, fenugreek, gentian root	Sour	Yogurt, vinegar, cheese, sour cream, green grapes, citrus fruits Hibiscus, rose hips, tamarind, pickles, miso                          Caraway, coriander, and cloves
Astringent	Unripe banana, cranberries, pomegranate, myrrh, goldenseal, turmeric, okra, beans, mace, parsley, lentils, broccoli, cabbage,             saffron, basil, alum	Salty	Table salt, sea salt, rock salt, kelp, sea weeds