Ayurveda is an ancient system of natural healthcare that has been practiced in India for thousands of years; teaching people how to live in harmony with nature and follow natural rhythms. 
This element based holistic system OF NUTRITION, the goal is to provide us the means of MAINTAINING and RESTORING balance of body, mind and spirit via the three humors, known as DOSHA in Ayurveda.

Ayurveda identifies six major tastes we need in our diet every day—sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent

Click one of the Dosha images below to learn more about it

Feeding The Soul With Ayurvedic Nutrition

"When diet is correct, Medicine is of no need, when diet is incorrect, Medicine is of no use." -Ayurveda Proverb

Catabolic type- Tendency to thin or underweight, with small wirey muscles, dry or rough skin
S/he may forget to eat, or eat like a bird, running on prana-life force energy or adrenaline
Imbalanced Vata produces adrenal fatigue, nervous exhaustion, insomnia, constipation, dry skin depletion and aging

FOOD REMEDIES FOR COLD & DRY (VATA)

• Vata reducing or pacifying diet emphasis wet, (salty, sour) warm (pungent) and heavy (sweet) food qualities

• Needs Warm, Nourishing, Unctuous (oily) hydrating and grounding foods

• Salty (hydrating), Sweet (building) tastes support Vata

VATA NEEDS TO EAT 3- 4 REGULAR MEALS PER DAY. DON’T SKIP A PROTEIN BREAKFAST

• Use plenty of good oils and healthy fats, including ghee, bone broth and organic pasture raised poultry and free-range meats.

• Pour 1 -2 Tbls. raw, healthy EFA’s on top of food to keep your joints and tissues lubricated. Eat nuts and seeds raw, soaked and sprouted is best.

• Build flora with probiotics and pre-biotic foods like yogurt or buttermilk, or add 1 -2 Tbls. fermented vegetables like sauerkraut.

• Vata benefits from good quality milk taken warm (never cold), with tri-doshic or warming spices like ginger and cinnamon to nourish the intestinal lining and buffer sensitive nerves.

• Demulcent and adaptogenic herbs like licorice and ashwaganda, chamomile tea, aloe vera juice, marshmallow root, dashamula (10 Root formula), ginger root, and the carminative (gas reducing), digestive herbs like cumin, coriander, fennel.

Most Unbalancing Food Choices for COLD:

• Eating all raw food

• Lack of protein

• Ice cream, iced drinks

• Cream cheese, bread

• Stimulants, too much caffeine

• Forgetting to eat, irregular meals

Most Unbalancing Food Choices for DRY: 

• Binges on munchy, crunchy chips, crackers

• Too much fermented or raw food

Mantra for Vata Dosha: 
Stay hydrated, stay nourished, breathe into your belly and meditate for grounding to release anxiety and promote calmness

Metabolic or digestive transformation, controller of the other two dosha’s
Average, athletic bodytype with well developed musculature
Tends to be more physically active than the other types
Correlates to Summer Season and Adulthood Stage of Life

FOOD REMEDIES FOR HOT (PITTA)

• Pitta does well with a diet of 50% cooked and 50% raw foods

• More raw foods in the warm summer months and more cooked foods in the winter

• Pitta reducing diet emphasis’s: cool, (bitter) dry (astringent), and heavy (sweet)foods

• Cooling, hydrating, alkaline and anti-inflammatory

• Greens, Bitters, Vegetables, Fish, Eggs, Legumes and Beans

• Mineralizing seaweeds, sprouts, superfood like blue-green algae and chlorophyl help alkalinize Pitta

• Coconut oil, flaxseed, hempseed oil, avocado oil

For Hot Digestive Symptoms: 

• Use Turmeric Root, Tulsi (Holy Basil), Cumin, Coriander, fennel, chia seeds Fresh JUICE with celery, fennel root, and cucumber Drink Aloe Vera juice, Demulcent herbs like marshmallow, licorice

• Cooling herbs- mints, hibiscus, cilantro

• Eat in a calm environment

• Need to address emotional status in relationship to food

Most Unbalancing Choices for Pitta:

• Eating on the go

• The late meal being the largest

• Too much hot, oily, spicy food or alcohol

• They may be prone to digestive issues due to pitta dosha producing acid indigestion, ulcers, IBS or diarrhea

Mantra for Pitta Dosha: 
Chill Out. Balance your drive and focus on work with play and relaxation.

Kaphas are natural caregivers. They give the best bear hugs!
Correlates with spring season and the childhood stage of life
Balance by emphasizing light, hot (pungent), and dry (astringent)

 This stability of the earth element, coupled with the moistness of water element can lead to the equivalent of mud in the body, mucous congestion and the build up of stagnation, or dams in the rivers of the body and mind. 

FOOD REMEDIES FOR EARTH AND WET (KAPHA)

• WET and Earthy Kapha benefits from 40% raw and 60% cooked foods

• More raw in the summer and more cooked in the winter

• Eat a diet of high fiber from fresh vegetables - leafy greens Leeks, cooked onions, squash, asparagus, beets, carrots, radish daikon garlic, green beans, with whole grains like quinoa, millet and amaranth

• Include lean meats i.e. white poultry meat, buffalo, freshwater fish. Coconut or sunflower oil

• Soaking beans and whole grains before cooking makes them easier to digest, and use enzymatic spices such as ginger, cumin, fennel and coriander. Triphala herb formula for weight loss and digestive regulation, sloughs ama in digestive tract. Use pungent/ heating spices: to stimulate metabolism. Cinnamon regulates blood sugar as does gymnema sylvestra herb

• Cook with savory herbs. Parsley, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, cardamom, anise, asefetida, fenugreek, basil etc.

• Kapha can benefit from the hotter, spicy herbs and chili peppers the best of the 3 types

• Weight gain and water retention can be an issue

• Relax briefly after eating, then go for a walk

• Motivation, exercise and stimulation help keep kapha dosha balanced

MOST UNBALANCING FOOD CHOICES:

• Kapha dosha is increased by the sweet taste, so most sweeteners should be avoided

• Avoid excess bread, pasta, pastries, hard cheese

• Sweet cereals with cold milk and cold creamy dessert increases kapha

Mantra for Kapha Dosha: 
Exercise Your Powerful Body and Honor Self -Care