A Short Journey into the 'Sweet' Taste of Ayurveda

A Short Journey into the 'Sweet' Taste of Ayurveda

Sweet tastes are the dominant taste, formed from the water and earth elements and especially useful for grounding the fearful nervous energy of Vata. These are cooling tastes, which can be good for the heat of a Pitta type and they inhibit digestion to some extent, especially in excess. Kapha already have the qualities of the sweet taste and therefore should avoid them. 

Earth the 'sweet' element

Without earth, we would not live. Everything comes from the soil in the most profound way because most of our food comes directly from it. We take food in, break it down and use the molecules to build and re-build what we are. We are created from the molecules that plants and animals have eaten that we then ingest into our own cells.

The soil has formed over billions of years of plant and animal decomposition and our Earth is a finite resource. The atmosphere enveloping our planet is a thin layer that sustains life; the soil that we live from is even thinner and as critical to life.

Earth is our mother; it builds us and deserves reverence. Our physical world, the mountains, and rocks, the plains and forests are formed from the earth. Our building resources come from the earth. It is the solid foundation for growth, the fertile soil that feeds life and absorbs death.

In our bodies, the element of earth is linked to substance and for being well-founded. We describe well-grounded, reliable individuals as being the “salt of the earth” and they have a nurturing instinct that holds families and societies together.

When mixed with water the earth element creates stable conditions, but in the wrong quantities, it becomes heavy and slow. It helps our bodies hold onto things and is connected to the sense of smell.

Avoid Artificial sweet foods, Kapha types in particular.

The sweet taste occurs in food which is often heavy and moist and it recreates that condition in the body, making it less useful for Kapha types. In nutritional terms, we should not think of the sweet taste as something that belongs to the domain of ice cream, chocolates, sugars, sweets, and pastries. These are artificial concoctions.

Nurturing and Nourishing Naturally Sweet

When found within healthy natural and non-refined food the sweet taste increases bodily tissue and relieves hunger. It is nurturing, nourishing and in balance promotes satisfaction, love and a sense of well-being, with the capacity to calm the nervous system.

In excess, it leads to complacency, inertia, and obesity. It does not stimulate digestion but does provide a feeling of satisfaction.

Naturally sweet foods

This taste occurs in natural sugar, milk, butter, rice, bread, pasta and root vegetables.

Mike Dhallwal describes the sweet taste