Today let us celebrate the curative powers of the Six Tastes according to Ayurveda.  
So often we eat unconsciously.  Oh, we might notice that food is sweet or salty but what else do we notice?  The temperature?  The texture?  There is an even greater depth of taste to every individual food we eat which, with some awareness, we can discover and use for our individual benefit.

Ayurveda recognizes taste as one of the important values of food.  Other values are the quality, i.e. whether the food is heavy, light, dense, watery, oily, dry, etc; the elements that make up the food, i.e. water, earth, fire, air and space; and the cooling or heating effect of the food, both its immediate effect on the stomach and then it's post-digestive effect.  Today let's focus on the taste of food.  It might be unusual to think of the taste of food as a doorway to personal health and sense of well being in body and mind.  However, according to Ayurveda, taste has therapeutic value.

Sweet Taste 
The sweet taste is found in most grains and sweet fruits (fresh or dried), winter squash, many root vegetables, natural sweeteners. The elements of water and earth make up the sweet taste. These elements are heavy, thus the sweet taste provides density and weight to the body.  The sweet taste is conducive to a sweet personality, and gives us a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment. Too much of the sweet taste in our diet leads to laziness.  And if the sweet taste is lacking in our diet we can feel unsatisfied, discontented or depressed.

The sweet taste will pacify the intense nature of Pitta, and ground Vata.  But it will increase the heaviness of a Kapha constitution.  Too much sweet taste will also cause weight gain for any one.    

Sour Taste
The sour taste consists of earth and fire and is found in lemon, lime, green grapes, vinegars, fermented foods, wine, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, hibiscus, rose hips, tamarind, green mango, tomato.  It stimulates the appetite and saliva, enhances digestion and elimination, and increases thirst.  It is considered hot and oily, so can increase heat in the body and liver.  

The sour taste aggravates Pitta and Kapha, but balances and grounds Vata.

​The sour taste increases discernment, heightens our awareness and sharpens the mind.  Too much can make us judgemental and critical, and too little can make us scattered, impulsive and careless.  

Salty Taste
Salt is a special combination of fire and water.  It increases heat in the body and can also contribute to water weight gain if taken in excess because it is considered moist (attracts moisture).  The salt taste is found in salt, of course, but also in seaweed, celery, and ocean fish and it bears qualities that are heavy, oily and heating.The salt taste in moderation enhances the flavour of food. It stimulates digestion, helps our electrolyte balance, increases the absorption of minerals and cleanses our tissues.  

The salt taste is great for Vata because it counteracts the cold, light nature of Vata.  Too much salt can cause water retention, especially for Kapha constitution folks.  And too much salt can aggravate Pitta conditions such as hypertension or ulcers.  The exception is whole mineral salt, such as pink Himalayan salt, which is a rock salt and is less heating than sea salt.  It can be used in moderation by Pitta types..  

The salt taste can combat dullness, depression and gives us a passion and zest for life.  Those who decide to avoid the salt taste completely in their diet could discover procrastination and feel unmotivated. Too much salt taste can make us hedonistic and can adversely effect the blood and skin. 

Bitter Taste
The bitter taste is the lightest and coldest of the six tastes.  It is made up of air and space.  It is anti-inflammatory and detoxifying and so can remove waste and toxins easily from the body.  Bitter foods can also purify the mind from toxic thoughts and negativity.  The bitter taste is best for Pitta because it cools the heat, and for Kapha because it provides lightness;  but it is less beneficial for Vata because of its cold, light nature. 

The bitter taste is found in dark green vegetables.  It is also found in turmeric, coffee, and black or green tea, eggplant and dark cocoa.  It imparts dynamism, cool-headedness and focus.  Too much bitter taste in our diet, such as too much coffee or tea, can make us feel pessimistic, depressed and bitter.  If we avoid the bitter taste in our diet, we could feel perpetually disappointed or sad.  

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Pungent Taste
Fire and air make up the pungent taste. Reach for warming and hot spices and herbs such as hot peppers, cayenne, ginger, mustards, onions, garlic, cloves, pepper, radishes, oregano, basil, arugula, thyme, rosemary.  Pungent foods are extremely drying.  They are great for wet nature of Kapha, and warming in small quantities for the cold nature of Vata.  Pitta wants to avoid most pungent foods but there are some specific pungent spices and herbs that can be used to advantage in small quantities. 

The pungent taste warms the body, enhances  digestion, gives us drive and ambition.  It stimulates the circulation, breaks up clots, reduces fat, eliminates congestion.  The pungent taste gives us drive and ambition.  With too little, we become passive.  With too much we can become sharp and critical, even aggressive.  

According to Ayurveda, like aggravates like. Watermelon is delicious, yes! But are you still eating watermelon during the Winter and Spring?  As it's name implies, watermelon is full of water.  It's also very cooling.  Your body needs water during the heat of the summer to hydrate it and cool it down.  Your body, however, will protest the cold quality of watermelon during Winter resulting in a weakened immune system, and its watery quality during Spring could make you feel even more bloated and heavy (like mud).  Don't waste your money and your health on less than optimal out-of-season foods.

The best food choices during Spring are light or drying such as non-gluten grains (which by the gluten is fine in other seasons), very little dairy (goat milk or goat cheese is best), lots and lots of non-root veggies, especially cooked leafy greens; choose seeds instead of nuts; and eat lots of beans and lentils for their astringent/drying effect.  

​If you missed my online group 21-Day Ayurvedic Seasonal Eating and Lifestyle Program for Kapha/Spring season, stay tuned for my 21-Day Ayurvedic Seasonal Eating and Lifestyle Program for Pitta/Kapha Season, starting around the end of June.  You'll learn how to eat for the season to stay balanced, ward off fatigue and irritability from heat, achieve an appetite that will allow you to enjoy the best foods yet even lose weight, neutralize acid reflux and heartburn, and increase your friendships. Yes! that's right.  Staying balanced during Pitta season will draw new friends to you.  More about that later :)  

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In each season, nature offers us foods to help balance the qualities of the season that might throw us off balance.  For example Kapha season (Spring) is characterized by it's heavy, wet, cold and sluggish nature.  One of the things we might experience is sluggish or sticky bowel movements, but nature provides us with a perfect remedy in the form of rhubarb.  Rhubarb is light and dry with a bitter, astringent and pungent taste to counteract the heavy, wet tendencies of Kapha season.  Because it has a cooling effect on the body it's good to combine it with warming spices such as fennel, cinnamon, ginger or cardamom.  

How do you like to eat rhubarb?  I can think of several ways and you'll find lots of recipes for these on Google:  stewed rhubarb, baked rhubarb strawberry crumble, rhubarb berry muffins, rhubarb jam, strawberry rhubarb pie, rhubarb coffee cake, and rhubarb syrup.  Eat rhubarb and your root chakra will thank you :) 

​Rhubarb will be featured in my upcoming Ayurvedic Spring Green Cleanse in April where you can join others in a challenge to include as much green food as you can eat to help cleanse and balance your body and mind during Kapha season.  Don't worry, there's LOTS of green foods, and you can even modify the challenge to include just one green food at each meal.  Stay tuned for more info!  

Rhubarb is a powerful food and should be avoided by pregnant and breastfeeding women, anyone who has a tendency for gout because of it contains oxalic acid, and anyone experiencing general sense of debility or with any bowel obstruction because of it's purgative effect.  Rhubarb should be eaten in moderation by anyone experiencing dry constipation or strong anxiety.  In these latter cases add some butter or ghee to your rhubarb dishes to counteract these effects.  

​#ayurvedicgreencleanse 

This delicious buttermilk drink helps lift the heavy mood after the long winter because it's light and refreshing.  It also enhances the digestive strength and feeds the healthy gut bacteria.  

Ingredients (Serves 1):

• 1/4 cup plain organic yogurt* (or homemade)
• 3/4 cup COLD water
• 1/4 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
• pinch of good quality salt
• *Try to find a yogurt that doesn't have milk solids or milk protein in it because these can be hard to digest. 

Directions:

1. In a blender, blend the plain yogurt on low by itself for three minutes.  
2. Add cold water and blend again on low three to five minutes, stopping several times to collect and remove any fatty foam that rises to the top.  Repeat blending and removing foam until yogurt appears watery but cloudy. 
3. Pour into glass, add the spices and salt.  Whisk gently to mix evenly.
4. Serve at room temperature.  (Cold drink weaken the digestive strength.)

Drink and enjoy!  This buttermilk can be served with a meal to help digestion, or drink as a refreshing snack between meals.
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Tips like this will be part of my Ayurvedic Green Cleanse, coming April 2018.  It's an amazing spring cleanse focusing on green foods (and there's LOTS of them!) and other health promoting foods and drinks.  It's NOT a raw food cleanse.  Instead there's lots of cooked foods designed to lighten your weight and emotions and to remove toxins, yet feel satisfied and full at the same time.  The Green Cleanse can also be modified so only half your plate is green along with your regular food.  And even if all you can do is have one green thing on your plate at each meal that's perfectly acceptable too!  Participate according to your own level.  Stay tuned for further announcements about my  Ayurvedic Green Cleanse! 

Each Ayurvedic body type (dosha) has their particular strengths and weaknesses.  Also, because health begins in the digestive tract, you also want to know what imbalances exist in your digestive system. For example you might be a Vata body type but have a Kapha-type digestive imbalance.  That can all be determined through detailed questionnaires included with my Ayurvedic Food Lifestyle Program.  Here I will give you a little taste of each body type (dosha), their digestive challenges and some basic steps to take to alleviate problems. 

Vata's body type is generally light, thin, and sensitive.  Inside, the intestinal skin (i.e. the lining of the intestinal tract) can also be sensitive.  Vata-type digestion regularly involves indigestion, constipation, gas and bloating.  The appetite can vary in strength during any given day and they can lose their appetite easily.  The dry and cold qualities of vata can lead to enzyme deficiency, along with poor nutrient absorption and sometimes undigested food in the stool.  Other people wonder how a vata person can eat so much and not gain weight.  It's because their body sometimes isn't able to extract enough nourishment.   Vata types should always take time to relax and eat with a stress free mind to aid digestion.  Also it's important to eat foods that are warm, moist and oily to counteract the cold, dry nature of their constitution. 

Pitta's body type is strong with medium build and a fiery or passionate temperament.  Pitta-type digestion is hot and strong, with strong appetite and hunger pains.  No problem with low stomach acid here!  In fact there can be a tendency towards hyperacidity and burning sensation in the stomach.  Food can often be digested too quickly so there can be a tendency to have loose stool.  Because of the strong digestive fire, food might move through too quickly.  Pitta-type digestion can handle foods that are more difficult to digest, such as raw foods.   Pitta types need to slow down to eat and take time to chew their food well to calm their overactive digestive system, eat lots of cooling green foods and avoid hot spices. 

Kapha's body type is heavy and dense and digestion tends to be slow and boggy.  The heavy, oily nature of Kapha-type digestion can create excess mucus in the stomach.  This mucous coats the food and interferes with enzyme production and so the digestion slows down.  The stomach acid can also be low, leading to fermentation in the stomach and acid reflux.  There might be an urge to burp but it's difficult to release the gas because of the mucous.  There is a tendency to have sludgy bile and even gallstones and weight gain because of the heavy, static nature of kapha.  The stool could also be thick and sticky or you might notice oil sitting on the water in the toilet after a bowel movement.  There could be a type of constipation caused by lack of peristalsis where the colon doesn't contract well to move the poop along.  Kapha types need to eat warm and light non-oily foods with lots of stimulating spices to counteract the cold and dense constitution. 

Learn more with my free Ayurvedic Tips for Better Digestion .  Click the highlighted link to get your copy.

Have you noticed that everyone's tongue looks different? Some are big, some are small, some are pointy, some are thick, some have bumps or cracks.  For example, if you have indentations along the outer edges it depicts malabsorption of nutrients; red patches on both sides two-thirds of the way back is a sign of candida; if your tongue is totally smooth it could be a sign of B12 deficiency.  

I have a crack in my tongue.  Yes, it's right down the centre.  I'm sure it depicts the root of all my problems because, you see, according to Ayurveda the tongue tells all. That crack down the centre tells me that I have a delicate nervous system.  I've had this crack for as long as I can remember.  Maybe I was even born with it. 

This delicate nervous system has been my director.  It has encouraged me to lead a quiet life because I am one of those Highly Sensitive Persons (HSP).  I am easily stressed, sometimes to point of folding up on the floor in a blubbering teary mess.  I don't like noise.  I prefer quiet music and nature sounds.  I cringe if I have to listen to advertisements on TV or radio.  I would rather read a good book or sit listening to the ocean waves than attend a festival with hundreds of other people.  All because I have a crack in my tongue. 

Luckily I also have Kundalini Yoga.  It is my saving grace.  It offers me hundreds of tools and techniques to strengthen my nervous system.  So, I spend some of my time daily with these tools, working with my breath or moving my body or arms according to precise instructions.  Kundalini Yoga is like no other yoga.  It is unusual to say the least, challenging yet simple, and profoundly effective at healing on so many levels.  

And so, out of my deep and abiding care for others, I offer you these tools and techniques.  I invite you to check the side bar on this page for a link to sign up to my email newsletter which you will receive rather irregularly, but always full of useful yogic tips (and food tips, too--can't forget the food!).