{"id":116,"date":"2023-02-13T11:11:48","date_gmt":"2023-02-13T11:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandesha.sivanandayoga.org\/articles\/?p=116"},"modified":"2023-04-02T01:44:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-02T01:44:09","slug":"the-six-tastes-of-ayurveda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandesha.sivanandayoga.org\/teachings\/5-points-of-yoga\/proper-diet\/the-six-tastes-of-ayurveda\/","title":{"rendered":"The Six Tastes of Ayurveda"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>\u201cAs is the food, so is the mind\u201d, so goes a Hindi proverb. Our lives are shaped by our diet. In many of the ancient scriptures of yoga we are directed to take proper care of our diet. The following unhealthy food items should be avoided: stale and reheated, very dry and very sour food; also food that is very difficult to digest.<\/em><br \/>\n&#8211; Hatha Yoga Pradipika Ch. 1 v.60<\/p>\n<p><em>The foods which increase life, purity, strength, health, joy and cheerfulness, which are savoury and oleaginous, substantial and agreeable, are dear to the sattvic people.<\/em><br \/>\n&#8211; Bhagavad Gita Ch. XVII.9<\/p>\n<p>In Ayurveda, the ancient medical science of India, one way of assessing a balanced diet is through the six tastes. Each taste (rasa in Sanskrit) affects both the mind and body and a meal is only considered fully nutritional and satisfying when all six tastes are present. Rasa has many additional meanings\u2014essence, enthusiasm, juice, among others\u2014all conveying the sense of fullness and joy necessary for life; rasa has a deep significance for mental and physical health.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>SWEET\u2014in carbohydrates, protein, fats<br \/>\ngrains, rice, all sweeteners, dairy, starchy vegetables, sweet fruits<br \/>\ncoriander, fennel, mint, nutmeg, tarragon, vanilla, basil<br \/>\nPhysical effects: Nourishes, builds and strengthens body tissues; in excess causes obesity, diabetes.<br \/>\nMental effects: Soothing, calming, satisfying; in excess causes lethargy and anxiety.<\/li>\n<li>BITTER\u2014in alkaloids or glycosides<br \/>\nleafy greens, green and yellow vegetables, coffee, dark chocolate<br \/>\ncumin, dill, fenugreek, saffron, turmeric<br \/>\nPhysical effects: Cleanses and detoxifies, reduces fat and water excess, antibiotic; in excess creates gas, upset stomach, tissue depletion.<br \/>\nMental effects: Diminishes food cravings, clears senses and emotions; in excess increases anxiety, fear and insomnia.<\/li>\n<li>PUNGENT\u2014in volatile oils<br \/>\nall peppers, chilli, garlic, leek, onion, radish<br \/>\nmustard, cardamom, cloves, ginger, hing<br \/>\nPhysical effects: Warms body, stimulates metabolism and digestion, relieves nerve pain; in excess causes thirst, depletion of reproductive fluid, back pain.<br \/>\nMental effects: Opens the mind and senses; in excess causes irritability, anger and impatience.<\/li>\n<li>SALTY\u2014in mineral salts<br \/>\ncelery, sea vegetables<br \/>\nnatural salts, soy sauce, tamari<br \/>\nPhysical effects: Maintains mineral balance, lubricates tissues, stimulates digestion; in excess causes wrinkles, baldness, loss of strength and thirst.<br \/>\nMental effects: Enthusiasm, calms nerves, stops anxiety; in excess generates cravings, anger, impatience and lethargy.<\/li>\n<li>ASTRINGENT\u2014in tannins<br \/>\napples, pears, pomegranate, cruciferous vegetables, potato, lentils, dried beans, tea<br \/>\nbay, caraway, coriander, dill, fennel, oregano, parsley, turmeric<br \/>\nPhysical effects: Cleanses blood, maintains blood sugar levels, dries moisture and fat; in excess causes gas or constipation, heart pain and thirst.<br \/>\nMental effects: cools hot-headedness, clears senses and emotions, increases energy. In excess creates anxiety, fear and insomnia.<\/li>\n<li>SOUR\u2014in organic acids<br \/>\ncitrus fruits, berries, tamarind, tomato, pickled and fermented food, yoghurt<br \/>\nPhysical effects: Stimulates appetite and digestion, strengthens heart, relieves thirst; in excess engenders loss of strength, fever, thirst.<br \/>\nMental effects: Enhances intellectual activity; in excess creates resentment, jealousy, anger and impatience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cAs is the food, so is the mind\u201d, so goes a Hindi proverb. Our lives are shaped by our diet. In many of the ancient scriptures of yoga we are directed to take proper care of our diet. The following unhealthy food items should be avoided: stale and reheated, very dry and very sour food; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":517,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[11],"class_list":{"0":"post-116","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-proper-diet","8":"tag-swami-vishnudevananda"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandesha.sivanandayoga.org\/teachings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandesha.sivanandayoga.org\/teachings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandesha.sivanandayoga.org\/teachings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandesha.sivanandayoga.org\/teachings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandesha.sivanandayoga.org\/teachings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sandesha.sivanandayoga.org\/teachings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":519,"href":"https:\/\/sandesha.sivanandayoga.org\/teachings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116\/revisions\/519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandesha.sivanandayoga.org\/teachings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandesha.sivanandayoga.org\/teachings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandesha.sivanandayoga.org\/teachings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandesha.sivanandayoga.org\/teachings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}