Ayurveda
sees food and spices as medicinal substances and good digestion as one
of the main factors to optimal health. This is why it places great
emphasis on proper food combining and on the concept of shad rasa, or
six tastes. These six tastes ?sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and
astringent? should be present in balanced proportions in the diet.
Understanding them and how they relate to our individual constitution
can help us make better choices to promote and maintain health.
According
to Ayurveda, we are born with a unique constitution, which is an
individual combination of the three doshas, or principles that govern
the function of our bodies on the physical, mental and emotional levels.
These three energies are vata, pitta and kapha. Disease is caused by an
imbalance of any of the doshas and by the presence of ama, or toxic
food byproducts (food that hasn’t been totally digested).
Vata
is the subtle energy associated with movement. It governs respiration,
circulation and elimination, as well as the pulsation of the heart and
motor neuron impulses. When aggravated, it can cause disorders such as
flatulence, constipation, tremors, spasms, asthma, rheumatoid and
osteoarthritis, as well as many neurological problems.
Pitta
represents the fire element in the body. It governs digestion,
absorption, assimilation, nutrition, metabolism and body temperature.
Pitta type of disorders include hyperacidity, ulcers, all sorts of skin
eruptions, chronic fatigue, Crohn’s disease, colitis and numerous
inflammatory problems.
Kapha
is the energy that forms the structure of the body and provides
lubrication to the joints and organs. Out of balance, kapha can cause
problems such as obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, edema, asthma,
tumors and a variety of congestive disorders.
According
to Ayurveda, the best preventive medicine and support of the natural
healing process is a diet and lifestyle specific to the constitutional
needs of the individual and in line with the seasons and cycles of
nature.
Because
of their qualities and taste, foods that tend to increase a certain
dosha may aggravate it and likewise, foods that decrease that dosha will
pacify it and normalize its functions. Vata pacifying foods will have
more sweet, sour and salty tastes and less of excessively hot, bitter
and pungent tastes. Pitta pacifying foods will be more sweet, bitter and
astringent and less sour, salty and pungent. Finally, kapha pacifying
foods will be more pungent, bitter and astringent and less sweet, salty
and sour. A quick overview of the six tastes can give us an idea of what
types of food will aggravate one dosha or the other.
Sweet
taste is present in foods such as sugar, milk, rice, wheat, dates,
maple syrup and licorice. Its qualities are usually oily, cooling and
heavy. In moderation, it promotes the growth of plasma, blood, fat,
muscles, bones, marrow and reproductive fluids. In excess, sweet
produces many disorders in all doshas. Sweet foods can cause colds,
heaviness, loss of appetite, obesity, abnormal muscle growth, lymphatic
congestion, tumors, edema and diabetes.
Sour
taste is present in foods like citrus, sour cream, yogurt, vinegar,
cheese, lemon, unripe mangoes, green grapes and fermented food. Its
qualities are liquid, light, heating and oily, and it has anabolic
action. In moderation, sour foods are refreshing. They stimulate the
appetite, improve the digestion, energize the body and nourish the
heart. In excess, this taste can cause hyperacidity, ulcers and
perforations. Its fermenting action can be toxic to the blood and cause
skin conditions like acne, dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, boils and
edema, as well as burning sensations in the throat, chest, heart,
bladder and urinary tract.
All
salts, seafood and sea vegetables are examples of salty taste. Salty
taste is so strong that it can easily nullify the effect of all other
tastes. It is heating, heavy and oily. In moderation, it is laxative and
can lessen spasms and pain in the colon. Like sweet and sour, it is
anabolic in action. It promotes growth and maintains water electrolyte
balance. It stimulates salivation, enhances the flavor of food and aids
the digestion, absorption and elimination. Too much salt in the diet
makes the blood viscous and thick, can cause hypertension and aggravates
skin conditions. Heat sensations, fainting, wrinkling and baldness may
be due to excess salt, as well as edema, water retention, ulcers,
bleeding disorders, skin eruptions, hyperacidity and hypertension.
Pungent
taste is present in foods like hot peppers, black pepper, onions,
garlic, ginger and asafoetida. Its qualities are light, drying and
heating. In moderation, it improves digestion, absorption and
elimination, stimulates circulation, breaks up clots, and kills
parasites and germs. In excess, it may cause sexual debility, choking,
fainting and fatigue. If it leads to a pitta aggravation, it can cause
diarrhea, heartburn, nausea, peptic ulcers, colitis and skin conditions.
If it provokes vata, it can cause tremors, insomnia and muscle pain.
Examples
of bitter taste are bitter melon, turmeric, dandelion, aloe vera,
rhubarb and coffee. It is the taste most lacking in the North American
diet. Its qualities are dry and light. It promotes the flavor of all
tastes, is antitoxic and kills germs. Bitter helps to relieve burning
sensations, itching, fainting and obstinate skin disorders. It reduces
fever and stimulates firmness of skin and muscles. In small doses it can
relieve intestinal gas and work as a digestive tonic. Because of its
drying quality, excess bitter taste may deplete plasma, blood, muscles,
fat, bone marrow and semen, which may result in sexual debility.
Unripe
bananas, pomegranate, chickpeas, yellow split peas, okra, turmeric,
alfalfa sprouts and alumroot are examples of the astringent taste. Its
qualities are cooling, drying and heavy. In moderation, it aids in
healing ulcers and promotes clotting. In excess, it may cause
constipation, distension, heart spasm and stagnant circulation. It may
also lead to depletion of sperm and affect the sexual drive, and can
give rise to a variety of neuromuscular disorders.
Ayurveda
encourages the use of herbs and aromatic spices, which are also
considered medicinal substances, to create a balanced mix of all tastes.
The most common spices found in an Ayurvedic kitchen are: cumin,
coriander, ginger, hing (asafoetida), ajwan, turmeric, fenugreek, garam
masala, cinnamon, clove and cardamom. Ingesting small quantities of
these aromatic, stimulating and carminative spices on a regular basis
helps maintain the health of the digestive fire (agni) and the entire GI
tract. Toxins that accumulate from improperly digested food can also be
greatly reduced by slowly introducing these spices into the diet.
Obviously,
there is more to food than just taste. Yet taste, from the perspective
of its qualities, is very important for maintaining good health.
Ayurvedic cuisine is unique in that it makes sure each dish is cooked
and spiced so as to achieve maximum digestibility, avoid the formation
of toxins and nourish all tissues.
Understanding
the qualities in food, how they affect the doshas, and how they can be
balanced is a great asset to prevent disease. An Ayurvedic clinician can
make this a more practical task by providing specific guidelines and
food charts for the individual constitution and health needs of each
person. Ayurveda knows that the action of any medicinal substance starts
in the tongue, so let your food be your medicine!
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