Ayurveda and the 6 Tastes & Nutrition

Ayurveda and the 6 Tastes & Nutrition

We are, in fact, a sustained pulse of energy, or life force and we share that characteristic with every other living creature.

The idea of harmony and balance attracts us at an intellectual level and represents a goal that we can attain through attitudinal change, but there are fundamental practical actions and processes that sustain our vibrational core.

Food Carries Memory

We resonate to our best frequency when our intake of good, natural food is balanced by our thought and actions. Food carries memory, energy and vibration from the five elements of nature into our bodies. The natural food contains the complete cycle of life within its genetic make-up and this attunes bodies to a greater cycle of life. Natural food is the most powerful transformer of consciousness we can engage with.

The taste of food

“The tastes of the food we eat have a critical influence on our consciousness and health. Every cell, atom, and molecule in the body has a rudimentary response to each of the six tastes” (Swamini Mayatitananda, A Life of Balance). When the six tastes are absent, we lose that particular cellular memory of the five elements and we begin to lose a part of our intrinsic nature. The presence of the six tastes in our daily food intake is critical to our welfare. They trigger responses that go deep into our psyche and which have a major impact on our awareness.

Herbs and spices

Additionally, herbs and spices have specific medicinal qualities and it is essential that we work directly with them as well as the six tastes because they contribute so effectively to the sensation of taste, triggering essential healing responses. Take notice of this; taste is essential to healing. A mistake is often made by people who replace genuine nutrition with supplements.

Much of our instinctive building and healing capability is lost when we use herbs in tablet, pill and capsule form because tablets and pills bypass the sensation of taste. Many naturally produced commercial medications are based on ingredients that originate from plants containing the quintessential medicinal pungent, bitter and astringent tastes. Unfortunately, because they are in tablet form the pungent, bitter and astringent qualities fail to trigger particular healing for specific areas of the body.

Ayurveda Six Tastes

Ayurveda recognises six major tastes (rasas) present in foods which influence the doshas. These are: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent.

For each dosha, three tastes increase and three tastes decrease (pacify) its proportion within the physiology.

To ensure satisfaction from eating, all six tastes should be present at every meal. To maximise balance, those tastes that decrease the predominant dosha in one’s mind body type should be favoured.

If you crave a food that is not recommended, eat a small quantity of it and focus your attention on the flavours while chewing and swallowing. This will result in a sense of satisfaction without the need to eat large quantities. You should have a no sense of deprivation when the meal is completed.

In order to ensure that all the tastes are represented in the appropriate balance, spice and herbal blends (churans) may be added to your foods. A Vata churan, for example, has all the tastes represented with an emphasis on those that pacify Vata. You may also be recommended to drink a Dosha pacifying tea (Vata, Pitta or Kapha) during the day or at bedtime.

These are examples of Ayurvedic Tastes and Elements with food choices

SWEET

Bread, pasta, fats, and nuts

Water and Earth Elements

SALTY

Salt, sea vegetables, juicy vegetables, and tomatoes

Water and Fire Elements

SOUR

Acidic foods, lemons, limes, and grapefruit

Earth and Fire Elements

PUNGENT

Spices, garlic, hot spices, and ginger

Air and Fire Elements

BITTER

Spices, turmeric, aloe vera, and neem leaves

Air and Space Elements

ASTRINGENT

Beans, legumes, teas, and cabbage

Air and Earth Elements

Pulse of Energy

We are, in fact, a sustained pulse of energy, or life force and we share that characteristic with every other living creature.

The idea of harmony and balance attracts us at an intellectual level and represents a goal that we can attain through attitudinal change, but there are fundamental practical actions and processes that sustain our vibrational core.