Absolute Beginner's Guide to Alternative Medicine

It is not necessary to memorize which foods carry which tastes or reduce which

doshas, as there are any number of books offering long lists of food doshas and

tastes. Many people seem to know naturally what their bodies need for balance. See

Table 4.2 for the relationship between the doshas and tastes, and for some foods that

will reduce an excess of each dosha.

Table 4.2 Foods in Relation to Doshas

Dosha Balanced by Aggravated by To Reduce, Eat

Vata Salt, Sour, Sweet Pungent, Bitter, Astringent Asparagus, carrots, green

beans, avocados, bananas,

melons, rice, wheat, chicken,

seafood, chickpeas, and tofu

Pitta Bitter, Sweet, Pungent, Sour, Salty Broccoli, cabbage, lettuce,

Astringent apples, grapes, raisins, bar-

ley, oats, ice cream, chicken,

shrimp, chickpeas, tofu, and

coconut, olive, and soy oils

Kapha Pungent, Bitter, Sweet, Sour, Salty Cauliflower, celery, leafy

Astringent green vegetables, apricots,

pears, dried fruits in general,

barley, corn, rye, skim milk,

chicken, shrimp, sunflower

seeds, and raw honey

To counter an excess of Vata, diet recommendations consist of warm food with mod-

erately heavy textures, salt, sour, and sweet tastes, and added oil. To counter an

excess of Pitta, diet recommendations are for cool or warm (but not hot) foods with

CHAPTER 4 AYURVEDIC MEDICINE 59

SPACE AIR

FIRE WATER EARTH

pungent salty astringent

bitter

sour sweet

FIGURE 4.2
The six tastes
arise from the
five elements