direct effect on the individual’s physiological state and its influence on the
medicine. Inadequate digestion will result in the formulation of inter-
mediary products. It is suggested that a build-up of these intermediate prod-
ucts, collectively known as ama, might lead to disease. Ayurveda stresses the
importance of avoiding this possibility through maintaining a diet appro-
priate to one’s constitution and recommends the application of measures to
ensure correct digestion. Food should be clean and fresh, taken in small
quantities and chewed well before swallowing.
Ayurveda identifies six tastes and says that each taste is associated with
an organ in the body and, when found in excess, will adversely affect the
organ. The six tastes and associated organs are:
- sweet – spleen, pancreas
- salty – kidney
- sour – liver
- pungent – lungs
- bitter – heart
- astringent – colon.
People are encouraged to take food appropriate to their constitution, e.g.:- Vatais aggravated by astringent, bitter and pungent tastes, and
balanced by salty, sour and sweet tastes. Generally most sweet fruit
(including dates, figs and papaya) are found to be beneficial. - Pittais aggravated by pungent, salty and sour, and balanced by
astringent, bitter and sweet tastes. Sweet fruit (e.g. apples, cherries and
ripe mangoes) are beneficial here too. - Kaphais aggravated by salty, sour and sweet, and balanced by
astringent, bitter and pungent tastes. Cranberries and other astringent
or sour fruit are beneficial.
Each person eats according to his or her own state of health in order to
maintain harmony within the body. Thus an individual showing a pitta
prakriti would benefit from ‘cool’ spices such as cardamom, mint and
turmeric. Turmeric is especially beneficial to the liver because this is consid-
ered to be a pittaorgan. Similar to their Chinese counterparts, Indian house-
wives choose – or perhaps ‘prescribe’ would be a better word – their dinner
menus carefully with reference to prevailing environmental conditions and
family activities, thus ensuring that their relations are kept in the best of
health, both physically and mentally. Knowing this aim, one can appreciate
the origin of the delicate balance of herbs and spices so characteristic of
Indian cuisine. A number of dietary incompatibilities are recognised: milk is
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