Did you check out nutrition 1, 2, & 3 yet? Not totally prerequisites, but definitely worth checking out.
In Ayurveda there are 6 tastes and it’s having a balance of these tastes in our diet that creates harmony in the body and mind. Each taste has contains certain elements (space, air, fire, water, earth), so depending on what you are made of, there are tastes that will be more balancing for you than others.
For example, if you are a vata person (made of air and ether) in general sweet, salty and sour foods will be your best bet because they are grounding and warming (earth and water and fire elements). If a vata person tends to eat too many raw veggies, salads, or dry foods (air and ether elements) there are not enough grounding elements to the food, which will increase vata causing constipation and/or an unsettled mind.
See the chart for more detail on which foods increase or decrease each dosha. Remember, what ever dosha(s) we are naturally, we want to choose foods that decrease that dosha. Increasing could cause the dosha(s) to aggravate and overflow into a state of disease. So for a rule of thumb, choose the tastes that decrease. Also! If you are balanced, you will crave foods that balance you. If you are imbalanced, you will crave the foods that continue to imbalance you.
Your next question probably is, “How do I know which foods are which tastes?!” I will tell you. This is an overview – there are entire books written on this (a great one!), so for now I will stick to bite size chunks for easy digestion ;)
Sweet: carbohydrates/grains, rice, bread, sweet fruit, beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, milk, oils, meats, nuts
Sour: citrus fruits, yogurt, alcohol, vinegar, sour cheeses, tomato, raspberries, strawberries
Salty: all salts; sea, black, rock
Pungent: garlic, onion, ginger, wasabi, black pepper, cloves, cayenne pepper, horseradish, salsa, jalapenos
Bitter: coffee, rhubarb, tumeric, most green and yellow veggies, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, leafy greens, cabbage
Astringent: fruit peels, unripe banana, leafy greens, blueberries, cranberries, beans, legumes, peas, green tea
6 responses so far ↓
1 terg // Aug 27, 2010 at 3:45 pm
What a load of unscientific nonsense.
2 Monica // Aug 27, 2010 at 3:54 pm
Really? Have you tried it? Yes, it is probably less “scientific” than our medical system, however, as “science improves” we find ourselves the sickest we’ve ever been…and getting sicker. If you have not tried it don’t knock it, is all I’m sayin.
3 Brittany // Oct 19, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Is it possible for all three to be imbalanced at once?
4 Monica // Oct 19, 2010 at 9:12 pm
It is but usually one will stand out – maybe two. You can work on the one that stands out most and then the secondary.
5 Autumn // Oct 28, 2010 at 12:38 am
Science is an enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the natural world. Ayurvedic medicine has been building and testing knowledge since before 1500 BC :)
6 Shakti Saran // Nov 8, 2010 at 1:22 am
Hello,
I’m sharing a few things I read.
Is Ayurveda Scientific Medicine?
http://www.sigmadecade.com/is-ayurveda-scientific-medicine
Ayurveda has developed its own theoretical framework to understand the structure and properties of all material things based on the theory of Pancha Mahabhutas (the five primordial elements) which analyses all the constituents of the universe based on the sensory organs that are employed to detect them. They have a theoretical framework based on the three doshas namely Vatha, Pitta, and Kapha to understand health and disease. The Ayurvedic Materia Medica lists the properties of literally thousands of plants as well as hundreds of animals and mineral products based on Ayurvedic concepts.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo0010/00100440.htm
Ayurveda out of balance: 93 percent of medicinal plants threatened with extinction
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=ayurveda-out-of-balance-93-percent-2010-04-05
Best,
Shakti Saran
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