Life presents us with many challenges and opportunities. Although there is much over which we have little control, we do have the power to decide about some things, such as diet and lifestyle. To maintain balance and health, it is important to pay attention to these decisions. Diet and lifestyle appropriate to one’s individual constitution strengthen the body, mind and consciousness. Ayurveda maintains that all life must be supported by energy in balance. When there is minimal stress and the flow of energy within a person is balanced, the body’s natural defense systems will be strong and can more easily defend against disease. It must be emphasized that Ayurveda should be used in conjunction with Western medicine to make a person stronger and less likely to be afflicted with disease and/or to rebuild the body after being treated with drugs or surgery.
We all have times when we don’t feel well and recognize that we’re out of balance. Sometimes we go to the doctor only to be told there is nothing wrong. What is actually occurring is that this imbalance has not yet become recognizable as a disease. Yet it is serious enough to make us notice our discomfort. We may start to wonder whether it is just our imagination. We may also begin to consider alternative measures and actively seek to create balance in our body, mind and consciousness.
Ayurveda is not only an ancient Indian science of preventative health and healing but also a philosophy of living. Its focus is to remove the causes of disease rather than trying to prevent them (although it can do this when the body is out of balance.) Physical diseases are due to engaging in excessive use of our senses, improper eating, sleeping, and exercise habits. Food, which contains the memory of all time, is an extremely potent medium for restoring balance to our being. Foods are not static. The depth and density of their energy invariably correspond to the level of our internal energy. Canned, processed, frozen, and fast foods are dead foods. They are toxic to our health. Foods that are grown naturally and without chemicals are best.
3. The Three Doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha
General Description of Vata
Vata corresponds to air/ether. Physically, vatas tend to be thin, with delicate bone structure and low body fat. They usually have quick metabolisms. Vata provides the essential motion for all bodily processes and is extremely vital for health. Routine is also very useful in assisting the vata individual to effectively ground all this moving energy. A person with vata is blessed with a quick mind, flexibility and creativity. Alert, restless and very active, vata people walk, talk and think fast, but are easily fatigued. They tend to have less willpower, confidence, boldness and tolerance for fluctuation than other types and often feel unstable and ungrounded. When unbalanced, vata types may become fearful, nervous and anxious.
Vata types have variable appetite and digestion. They are often attracted to astringent foods like salad and raw vegetables, but their constitution is balanced by warm, cooked foods and sweet, sour and salty tastes. Vata resides in the colon, as well as the brain, ears, bones, joints, skin and thighs. Vata people are more susceptible to diseases involving the air principle, such as emphysema, pneumonia and arthritis. Other common vata disorders include aching joints, dry skin and hair, nerve disorders, constipation, and mental confusion. Vata in the body tends to increase with age as exhibited by the drying and wrinkling of the skin.
Since the attributes of vata are dry, light, cold, rough, subtle, mobile and clear, any of these qualities in excess can cause imbalance. Frequent travel, especially by plane, loud noises, continual stimulation, drugs, sugar and alcohol all disturb vata, as does exposure to cold, and cold liquids and foods. Routine is essential if vata is to be lowered and controlled. It is best for vata types to go to bed by 10 pm, as they need more rest than the other types. Steam baths, humidifiers and moisture in general are helpful. Daily oil massage before bath or shower is also recommended.
In Ayurveda, the time of the year that correlates to vata is fall into winter, when it is cold, dry, and windy The leaves dry up, falling off the trees, and soon enough light, dry, fluffy snow will begin to fall. This is the most important time to be careful of diet and lifestyle. The time of life associated with vata is age sixty plus, when our skin and bodies become dry, brittle and wrinkled. Hence, it is important to maintain careful diet and lifestyle. The time of day that vatas are most creative is between 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
Dietary Considerations for Vata
General food guidelines for decreasing vata include warm, well-cooked, oily foods. One should have small meals three or four times a day and may snack as needed while maintaining a two-hour gap between each meal. Regularity in meal times is important for vata. Those with vata-dominant constitutions do well with one-pot meals such as soups, stews and casseroles. They can use more oil in cooking their foods than the other two doshas and experience better digestion if they limit their intake of raw foods.
Well-cooked oats and rice are good for vata because they are not too drying when cooked with plenty of water and butter. While cooked vegetables are best for vata, the occasional salad with a good oily or creamy dressing is all right. Tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers as well as spinach should be avoided if the vata person has stiff, aching joints or muscles. Sweet, ripe and juicy fruits are good for vata. The astringent and drying fruits, such as cranberries, pomegranates and raw apples, should be avoided. Fruit should always be eaten by itself on an empty stomach.
Many vata people can satisfy their need for protein by judicious use of dairy products, but can also use eggs, chicken, turkey, fresh fish and venison if they wish. Legumes are difficult to digest and should be consumed in limited quantity by those trying to pacify vata. The legumes should be the split type and soaked before cooking. Cooking them with a little oil and spices, such as turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, and garlic will help prevent vata from being disturbed.
All nuts and seeds are good for vata, but are best used as butters or milks. Ten almonds, soaked in water overnight with skins removed the next morning, are a satisfying early morning food. All dairy products are good for vata except hard cheese, which should be eaten sparingly. All spices are good, but in moderation. Vatas can have half a glass of wine, diluted with water, during or after a meal. Since vata people tend to be prone to addiction, they should avoid sugar, caffeine and tobacco. Intensity itself can be intoxicating to vata, so one should seek relaxation and meditation to reduce vata.
General Description of Pitta
Pitta corresponds to fire/water. Pitta types generally have a medium frame and good genetics for muscularity. Energy, ambition and aggression are the primary characteristics of pita. Their constitution has a strong metabolism, good digestion and strong appetites. They like plenty of food and liquids, they and tend to love hot spices and cold drinks. However, their constitution is balanced by sweet, bitter and astringent tastes. Pitta people’s sleep is sound and of medium duration. Pitta people have a lower tolerance for sunlight, heat and hard physical work. They perspire easily and their hands and feet stay warm. They tend to get easily overheated and can retain water. So, they don’t do well in hot and humid climates. When out of balance, they can become very agitated and short-tempered. Since summer is the time for heat, pitta types have to be careful of sunburn, poison ivy and excessive heat, all of which shorten the temper.
Pitta types are intelligent, productive, organized and focused people who have sharp minds, penetrating ideas, and want to work until they drop. However, when they get stressed out they are easily agitated and aggressive and tend to be overly competitive and irritable. Since the attributes of pitta are oily, hot, light and liquid, an excess of any one of these aggravates pitta. Pitta people tend to have diseases involving the fire principle such as fevers, inflammatory diseases and jaundice. Common symptoms include skin rashes, burning sensation, ulceration, fever, inflammations or irritations such as conjunctivitis, colitis or sore throats. Pitta imbalance physically affects the liver, gallbladder, spleen, blood and eyes.
The pitta time of year is spring going into summer when the days are longest and the climate is hot and/or wet. The pitta time of life is between 20 to 60 years of age when they are the most fired up to get things accomplished. The pitta time of day is from 10:00am to 2:00 pm, when the digestive system is strongest. That is why pittas should eat their heavier meal for lunch and allow the liver to do its cleansing from 10:00 pm to 2:00 am. People with excessive pitta need to exercise at the coolest part of the day.
Dietary Considerations for Pitta
General food guidelines for pacifying pitta include avoiding sour, salty and pungent foods. Vegetarianism is best for pitta people and they should refrain from eating meat, eggs, alcohol and salt. To help calm their natural aggressiveness and compulsiveness, it is beneficial to incorporate sweet, cooling and bitter foods and tastes into their diets.
Barley, rice, oats and wheat are good grains for pitta dominant individuals. Vegetables other than tomatoes, radishes, chilies, garlic and raw onions should form a substantial part of their diet. Any vegetable that is too sour or hot will aggravate pitta, but most other vegetables will help to calm it. Salads and raw vegetables are good for pitta types in the spring and summer as are any sweet fruits. Sour fruits should be avoided with the exception of limes, used sparingly.
Pitta types should eat animal foods in moderation, especially seafood and eggs. Chicken, turkey, rabbit and venison are all right. All legumes except red and yellow lentils are good in small amounts. Sweet dairy products, which include milk, unsalted butter, ghee and soft, unsalted cheeses are good. Yogurt can be used if it is blended with spices, a little sweetener and water. In fact, pitta people can use a sweetener more than the other two doshas because it relieves pitta. However, they should avoid hot spices, and use cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, fennel and turmeric predominantly, with small amounts of cumin and black pepper.
Most nuts and seeds have too much oil and are heating for pitta. However, coconut is cooling and sunflower and pumpkin seeds are all right occasionally. Small amounts of sunflower oils and olive oil are also good for pitta. Coffee, alcohol and tobacco should be completely avoided, although an occasional beer may be relaxing for a pitta person. Black tea may also be used occasionally with a little milk and a pinch of cardamom.
General Description of Kapha
Kapha corresponds to earth/water. Kaphas generally have larger body frames, not that they are overweight, but they tend to gain weight more easily that they can lose it. Their metabolism tends to be slower and more sluggish. Kapha types are blessed with physical strength, endurance and stamina. They tend to shun exercise. They have thick skin and their bodies and muscles are well developed. Their skin is oily and smooth. Perspiration is moderate. Sleep is deep and prolonged.
In balance, kapha types tend to have sweet, loving dispositions. They are stable and grounded. Psychologically, kapha types tend to be calm, tolerant, reliable, dependable and forgiving. When in balance and things are going well, they are compassionate and loving. They can be the peacemakers of the world. However, when out of balance, they can become unenthusiastic, depressed and lethargic. While they may be slow to comprehend, their long-term memory is excellent. When out of balance, kaphas tend to experience greed, envy, attachment and possessiveness.
They are more likely to have diseases connected to the water principle such as flu, sinus congestion, and other diseases involving mucous. Sluggishness, excess weight, diabetes, water retention, and headaches are also common. As the moon gets full, kapha can become more aggravated because there is a tendency for water retention at that time. Winter is the time of greatest kapha accumulation. Hence, following the kapha-balancing diet and lifestyle are most important during this season. The kapha time of year is winter into spring when it is cold and our bodies need that extra fat and mucus for insulation. The kapha time of life is from birth to about 20 years of age, the time when the body is growing and developing. The time of day that is most productive for kaphas is 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm and 6:00 am to 10:00 am. The morning time slot is best used for meditation and quiet exercise to help get rid of the sluggish feelings.
Dietary Considerations for Kapha
Dietary guidelines for kapha people, who are easily attracted to sweet, salty and oily foods, stress bitter, astringent and pungent tastes. They actually need foods that will invigorate their minds while limiting their overall consumption of food. They should avoid dairy products and fats of any kind, especially fried or greasy foods.
Those with kapha dominant constitutions need less grain than pitta or vata constitutions with buckwheat and millet (more heating) being optimal grains for them followed by barley, rice and corn. Roasted or dry cooked grains are best. All vegetables are good for kapha but one should emphasize leafy greens and vegetables grown above ground more than root vegetables while avoiding very sweet, sour or juicy vegetables. Generally kapha people can eat raw vegetables although steamed or stir-fried are easier to digest. Very sweet or sour fruits should be avoided with the more astringent and drying fruits being preferable such as apples, apricots, cranberries, mangoes, peaches and pears.
Only rarely do kapha people need animal foods and, when they do, it should be dry cooked—baked, roasted, broiled—never fried. They can eat chicken, eggs, rabbit, seafood and venison. As their bodies do not require large amounts of protein, they also should not consume too many legumes although these are better for them than meat because of the lack of fat. Black beans, pinto beans and red lentils are best for kapha types.
The heavy qualities of nuts and seeds aggravate kapha, as does the oil in them. Occasional sunflower and pumpkin seeds are all right. Almond, corn, safflower or sunflower oils can be used in small amounts as well. The same holds true for dairy products: in general, kapha people should avoid the heavy, cooling, sweet qualities of dairy. These tend to cause congestion.
Since kapha people should avoid sweets, the only sweetener they should use is raw honey, which is heating. However, except for salt, they can use all spices, with ginger and garlic being best for them. A person whose dominant dosha is kapha and who has very little influence from the other two doshas can benefit from the occasional use of stimulants such as coffee and tea. They are also not as harmed by tobacco and hard liquor. However, they really do not need alcohol at all. If they elect to use alcohol, wine is their best choice.
4. Conclusion
Since we are what we eat, Ayruveda considers digestion to be the key to balance. If we eat according to our dosha we will feel better, have more energy, and work at optimum level. It is not a case of any food being good or bad. What is important is whether our system can digest it. A car works best when given the proper fuel. The same applies to the digestive system. Each of us is constituted differently in terms of vata, pitta and kapha. Through knowledge of our body type and the practice of Ayurveda we can make better choices as regards diet, exercise and stress management. We can improve out sleep, anxiety level and productivity. It is also a good way to maintain proper weight Ayurveda provides insights into how to determine your genetic constitutional type, how to listen to your body to determine its responses to different foods, stress, sleep patterns, weather conditions, and other internal and external conditions that can cause your system to go out of balance. Ayurveda can help you recognize when it is necessary to change or modify your diet in order to adjust to your own changing physical and emotional needs. It is a gentle and nurturing medical technique that can work in conjunction with Western medicine and sports nutrition to individualize virtually any fitness program or medical treatment plan.
Bibliography
Atreya. Perfect Balance (New York, NY.: Avery, A Member of Penguin Putnam, Inc., 2001).
Chopra, Deepak, M. D. Restful Sleep (New York, NY.: Harmony Books, 1994).
Simon, David, M.D. Return to Wholeness (New York, NY.: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999).
Sokoloff, Arthur, M.D. Life Without Stress (New York, NY.: Broadway Books, 1998).
Tiwari, Maya. A Life of Balance (Rochester, VT.: Healing Arts Press, 1995).
Workman, Jennifer, M.S., R.D. Stop Your Cravings (New York, NY.: The Free Press, 2002).
