The science of Ayurveda teaches that to maintain our health it is important that the food we eat nourishes our body and also restores the balance our Doshas.  Depending on our constitution, some foods can be beneficial and others should be avoided.

Imbalances can be caused by a variety of situations, eating the wrong foods, stress, poor sleeping habits, poor elimination, physical exhaustion and if not corrected, eventually lead to some form of disease.  To help prevent this it is important to try to maintain our doshas in a proper balance.

The ability of our food to balance our doshas is determined by its taste; either salty, sour, sweet, bitter, astringent, or pungent and its other qualities, either heavy, oily, cold, hot, light or dry.


The Six Tastes


Bitter: The bitter taste is found in foods such as rhubarb, bitter melon, romaine lettuce, endive, chicory, spinach, chard, kale, turmeric root and tonic water.
Pungent: The pungent taste is found in foods such as radish, chilli peppers, black pepper, cayenne, ginger, and other hot-tasting spices. 
Astringent: The astringent taste is found in foods such as parsley, cranberries, beans, lentils, pomegranate, cabbage, apples and pears.
Salty: The salty taste is found in any food to which salt has been added also kelp and seaweed.
Sour: The sour taste is found in foods such as green grapes, lemons, limes, pickles, vinegar, yogurt, miso, cheese, and plums.
Sweet: The sweet taste is found in foods such as sweet potatoes, table sugar, peaches, honey, rice, melons, pasta, milk, carrots, beets, cream, butter, wheat and bread. 


The Tastes And The Doshas.

Bitter - The bitter taste decreases both kapha and pitta, but increases vata.

Pungent - The pungent taste decreases kapha, but increases pitta and vata
.
Astringent - The astringent taste decreases kapha and pitta, but increases vata.

Salty - The salty taste increases kapha and pitta, but decreases vata.

Sour - The sour taste increases kapha and pitta, but decreases vata. 

Sweet - The sweet taste increases kapha, but decreases pitta and vata.





The Six Major Food Qualities


Heavy: Heavy foods include bread, pasta, cheese, and yogurt. 

Light: Light foods include rye, barley, corn, spinach, lettuce, pears and apples. 

Oily: Oily foods include dairy products, meat, fatty foods, and cooking oils.

Dry: Dry foods include beans, potatoes, barley, and corn. 

Hot: The hot quality describes hot beverages and warm, cooked foods.

Cold: The cold quality describes cold beverages and raw foods. 


Food Qualities And The Doshas


Heavy - The heavy quality decreases vata and pitta, but increases kapha. 


Light - The light quality decreases kapha, but increases vata and pitta.


Dry - The dry quality decreases kapha, but increases vata and pitta. 


Hot - The hot quality decreases vata and kapha, but increases pitta.


Cold - The cold quality decreases pitta, but increases kapha and vata.


When you select foods appropriate for your constitution, you can maintain or restore your proper dosha balance. Keep these dietary and lifestyle suggestions in mind when trying to balance your particular dosha.

Whatever your dominant dosha, the principles of ayurvedic nutrition state that you should eat fresh unprocessed foods where ever possible.

To find out your dominant Dosha, go to this link.
It's a very simple test and you can fill it out as many times as you want :)
http://tridosha.com/self-test


I hope this helped you at least a little bit in your search for a healthier life.




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