Choose the Ayurveda diet that suits you best

The word “ayurveda” and the knowledge to which it refers have their origins in the sacred Hindu texts of the Vedas, written on the Indian subcontinent more than 3,000 years ago. Ayurveda roughly means “knowledge about life and longevity.”

Ayurvedic dietary principles, like the Hippocratic ones here in the West, are based on individualization. Each person is unique in the universe, with a particular biotype or body-mind constitution. Therefore, the diet must be adapted to individual nutritional and energy needs.

The individual biotype depends on the proportion in which the three “doshas” or physiological humors: vata, kapha and pitta. These terms can be respectively translated by “wind”, “phlegm” and “bile”.

Ayurveda medicine considers that the disease appears as a consequence of an imbalance or loss of harmony in the person. This means that an Ayurvedic diet, designed according to our constitution to promote its balance, will not only keep us young and healthy, but can also be used as a treatment to heal an ailment or disease. Ayurveda considers that the disease is caused by incorrect diet and eating and living habits.

The system of the three doshas

Foods have specific qualities depending on the elements that compose them and that affect our balance body-mind-spirit (the prakriti or nature of our particular body). Therefore, the same food produces different effects in each person.

Know these qualities and your personal biotype (determined by the proportion of each dosha) It will allow you to create your own healthy Ayurveda diet in full harmony with your body.

The food energies they interact with the energies of each person, creating balance or imbalance. Food is made up of the 5 natural elements (water, earth, air, fire and ether), which determine its properties and effects on the body.

Water. The water element is liquid, fluid, humid, it moves downwards and is nutritious if combined with a good proportion of the earth element. The sense related to water is taste.Air. It is discontinuous movement, lightness, clarity, roughness, and it is calming, stimulating, healing and dehydrating. The sense of air is touch.Land. It is solidity, stability, hardness, density, slowness, firmness and volume. The sense related to the earth is smell.Fire. It is energy, heat, dryness, sharpness, discontinuity, lightness, clarity, luminosity and has digestive action. The sense related to fire is sight.Ether. The ether is space, expansion, clarity, lightness, integration, it is neither hot nor cold, neither empty nor full and, like air, it also has the capacity to absorb liquids and is dehydrating. The sense of ether is hearing.

The properties of food do not depend only on its composition, but on the way in which it is combined, cooked or matured, because all of this can change its qualities little or much.

You can act on your dosha

Each person is born with a proportion of these elements, manifesting in our body in a psychosomatic way. This ratio define your biotype, which was constituted, according to Ayurveda medicine, by the physical and energetic conditions that occurred at the moment of your conception.

However, because our body-mind-spirit It is a constantly evolving ecosystem. the proportions of the 5 elements in our body and, consequently, the dosha, can also vary throughout our lives.

This means that we must check our dosha and update the diet before important vital changes. In reality, people are not purely vata, kapha or pitta, but we are, in reality, the result of a combination of these doshas.

Your biotype is unique

Up to 10 possible biotypes can be established, which are used as a reference, although your constitution is truly unique: it may be clearly dominated by one biotype, and you would then be considered to be vata, kapha, or pitta; all three can be very balanced and then you would be vata-pitta-kapha; or you can have two dominant doshas, ​​which gives rise to 6 combinations:
vata-pitta, pitta-vata, vata-kapha, kapha-vata, pitta-kapha and kapha-pitta.

To know how we should feed ourselves, we must first know the qualities of each food, because the interaction between the 5 elements in food and the 5 elements in our body, which in turn define the dosha, will determine the final effect on our body-mind-spirit.

The six flavors of Ayurveda

The first clue as to what the effect of a food is is the taste. Ayurveda considers six flavors: astringent, sweet, sour, salty, bitter and spicy. But, in reality, the effect of food does not depend only on its taste, but on the experience of our body after digesting it.

So, for example, food can be “cold” or “hot” not only because of their temperature, but also because of how they behave when they reach the stomach: sweet, bitter and astringent are considered “cold”, and salty, sour and spicy are considered “hot”.

Foods with virya or cold energy increase vata and kapha and reduce pitta. On the other hand, those who have hot virya increase pitta and reduce vata and kapha.

But this is in the short term, because in the long term there is a post-digestive effect (vipaka) that we will also have to take into account:

Acidic foods remain so. Sweet and salty foods have a sweet post-digestive effect. Spicy, bitter and astringent foods are spicy in the long run. For example, turmeric, being bitter and cold, has a long-term pungent, that is, hot, action on the body.

How to choose the ingredients

When we know the qualities of food and the state of our doshas we can decide what combination of ingredients will be more beneficial for our balance. Basically, foods with qualities similar to our dominant dosha or doshas will increase them and contribute to the imbalance, while foods with different qualities will decrease and balance them.

Therefore, in food and in Ayurvedic medicine there are two fundamental principles: equals increase and unbalance and opposites provide harmony.

The traditional medicine of India gives importance to everything that favors a good digestion of food to facilitate the assimilation of nutrients and reduce the production of fermentation and toxins.

In addition to physical hygiene habits, emotions and thoughts they are also important. That is why it is advisable to cook with love and eat with serenity, without sadness, worries or anger.

How to adapt your life and diet to your Ayurvedic biotype

If you want to know your doha, you can answer the following test: Are you vata, kapha or pitta? Discover your Ayurvedic type.

Once you know your biotype or energetic constitution, you can adapt your habits and choose the foods that suit you. Try creating your menus with them in mind.

If you are Vata…

To balance you:

Live in a warm, humid, and calm climate with little wind.Do physical and mental activities in moderation.Get enough sleep, meditate regularly, and provide yourself with a safe and loving environment.You are balanced by fatty, salty, and hot soups.Add a handful of cashews or half an avocado to your vegetable creams. Keep a regular schedule and eat early.

Food for Vata:

As vata is cold and dry, it calms down with hot and moist foods, emphasizing the balanced sweet-sour-salt flavor. Avoid yeast, refined sugars, fermented sugars, dried products, potatoes, and foods that give you result in flatulence.Vegetables: artichoke, asparagus, beetroot, carrot, cucumber, green bean, cooked onion, radish, sweet potato, turnips, sprouts and sprouts.Fruits: citrus fruits, apricot, avocado, banana, cherry, coconut, date, fig, grape , mango, melon, nectarine, papaya, peach, pineapple, plum, raspberry and strawberry.Grains: rice, oats, mung beans and lentils (especially red ones).Nuts and seeds: all are indicated in small quantities.Oils: from sesame, olive, hemp and flax. Spices: all except coriander, parsley and saffron.

If you are Kapha…

To balance you:

Lead an active, creative and stimulating life, interacting with your environment. Express your emotions, don’t hide them. Disconnect when you can from technology and stay in touch with nature. The lighter and lighter your food, the easier your digestion will be and better your health. Drink 3 to 4 glasses of water a day. A plant-based diet meets all your needs.

Food for Kapha:

As kapha is heavy and cold, it calms down with hot, light and dry foods with an astringent-spicy-bitter taste. Avoid meat, eggs, dairy products, sweets, salt, bread, fried foods, greasy, salty, sweet and cold foods. They benefit you bitter and astringent vegetables, and hot herbs and spices. Increase gluten-free whole grains: quinoa, amaranth, millet, and whole oats. Vegetables: bell pepper, leafy greens, mushrooms, onion, peas, potato, radish, and sprouts. Fruits : apple, apricot, cranberry, grape, kiwi, pear, persimmon, pomegranate, and dried fruits. Grains: oats, rye, and lentil. Nuts and seeds: almonds and sunflower seeds in moderation. Oils: sunflower and almond, in moderation. small quantities. Spices: all, except salt.

If you are pitta…

To balance you:

Live in a cool climate, avoid sources of heat and lead a relaxed life. Meditate and practice yoga regularly. Express your emotions with respect and love towards others and towards yourself. The best diet for you is organic raw vegan, since that you are very sensitive to the toxins found in food. Eat lightly and with plenty of alkalizing foods.

Food for Pitta:

Pitta is calmed by cold, raw foods with a sweet-astringent-bitter taste. Increase protein, sprouts, sprouts, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Avoid excess fat, salt, caffeine, garlic, and spiciness. Vegetables: asparagus , cabbages, celery, cucumber, green leafy vegetables, mushrooms, peas, sweet potato, sweet pepper and zucchini. Fruits: apple, cherry, coconut, date, fig, black grape, mango, melon, pear, plum, pomegranate and, always that are ripe and sweet, grape, orange and pineapple.Grains: rice, oats, mung beans, chickpeas and peas.Nuts and seeds: almonds, cashews, pumpkin and sunflower seeds.Oil: olive in small quantities.Spices : small amounts of basil, cilantro, mint and turmeric.