Ayurvedic Diet For Kapha
Ayurvedic Diet For Kapha
Ayurvedic Diet For Kapha
“Aum Namo Bhagavaté Bhaisajya Guru Vaidurya Prabaha Rajaya Tathagataya Arhaté Samyaksambodhi Tadyata Aum Bhaisajé Bhaisajé Bhaisajya Samudgaté Svaha!” “Om Namo Ratna Trayaya! Namo Avalokiteshvaraya Bodhisattva!”
The food we eat is that unique aspect of our life that we have almost total control over. Because we are what we
eat, according to Ayurveda, it can be a very powerful tool for balancing and for promoting and maintaining
health. One ancient authority says that food is our medicine – a good regimen of diet is worth a hundred drugs
but no amount of drugs can overcome a poor regimen of diet. Generally, one should eat warm, freshly cooked
foods. We can use the tastes in food as a guide to what qualities those foods have. For example, foods which
have bitter, pungent, and astringent tastes have those qualities (especially lightness, dryness, and warmth)
necessary to balance kapha qualities of heavy, cold, oily, etc. We will give below examples of foods with these
tastes common in our culture. This information has been provided by Dr. Lad, in his book: Ayurvedic Cooking
for Self Healing (www.ayurveda.com) and Maya Tiwari in her book A Life of Balance (www.wisearth.org).
These books are good resources of knowledge and recipes. Please note that agreement about the qualities of
foods is not universal. Another important point is that a list of balancing foods is not a blanket proscription for
kapha to totally avoid the foods with tastes of sweet, sour, salty (heavy things). Rather, do eat foods having
these other qualities to help promote balance in the emotions and in the physiology but eat them less often and
in smaller quantities. The foods to favor (everyday foods below) will provide a theme of influence but in a
gentle and sustained way. Please refer to our article “Incompatible Food Combinations” for important
information about what foods are toxic (ama-producing) when eaten together in the same meal. Also, refer to
the article "How to Eat" for more important points about eating. Finally, refer to our article “Cooking—Some
Ayurvedic Strategies” for thoughts about how to address family meal planning with different body types and
imbalances.
Everyday Vegetables: Use seasonal vegetables. In general use primarily bitter, pungent-spicy, or astringent-
dry vegetables. Arugula, asparagus, beets, bell pepper, bitter melon, bok choy, broccoli (rajasic stimulating),
Brussels sprouts, burdock root, cabbage, carrots, carrot tops, cauliflower (rajasic stimulating), celery, chili
peppers, chives (tamasic dull mind), cilantro, collards, corn, daikon radish, dandelion greens, eggplant (rajasic
stimulating), endive, fennel (anise), garlic (tamasic dull mind), green beans, green chills, horseradish,
Jerusalem artichoke, jicama, kale, Indian karela (bitter melon), kohlrabi, Chinese ku gua (bitter melon),
landcress, leafy greens, all lettuces, leeks (tamasic dull mind), mushrooms (tamasic dull mind), mustard greens,
okra, onions (tamasic dull mind), parsley, green peas (especially dried ones), peppers hot, pokeroot, prickly
pear, potato (white – rajasic stimulating), radish, rutabaga, scallions (tamasic dull mind), shallots (tamasic dull
mind), sprouts (sattvic clear mind), turnips, turnip greens, watercress, wheat grass. Best fresh or dried, not
frozen, canned or left over.
Vegetables to Eat Occasionally: Artichoke, cassava, gourd squash, parsnips, pickles (rajasic stimulating),
plantain, spinach (rajasic stimulating), winter squash (buttercup, butternut, acorn, spaghetti are OK
infrequently but are rajasic stimulating), tomatoes – cooked (rajasic stimulating)
Vegetables to Cut Back On: In general use less sweet and juicy vegetables, beet greens, cucumber, olives
(black or green), pumpkin (tamasic dull mind), parsnips (OK occasionally), rutabaga, summer squash (yellow
crookneck, zucchini), sweet potato (sattvic clear mind), taro root, tomato – raw (rajasic stimulating), tomato
sauce, Campbell’s tomato soup, zucchini
Everyday Fruits: Use seasonal fruits, ideally organic. Overall, fruit is sattvic. Apples (rajasic stimulating),
applesauce, apricots (tamasic dull mind), cherries, dried fruit, guava (rajasic stimulating), peaches (sattvic clear
mind), pears (sattvic clear mind), persimmon, pomegranate (sattvic clear mind), prunes, quince, raisin
Fruits to Eat Occasionally: Limited berries, grapes, figs (dried), lemons, limes, peaches, pears, mango
(sattvic clear mind), strawberries, tangerine (OK infrequently), tamarind (rajasic stimulating)
Fruits to Cut Back On: Out of season fruits, high pesticide fruits like grapes and berries. In general avoid
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Source: Licensed and Adapted from Dick, Michael S., M.A., Ayurvedic Practitioner Handouts, Albuquerque, NM: Ayurveda Education Programs, ©2001
Use under the "fair use" provision (17 USC §107) of the U.S. Copyright Act for non-profit educational purposes only.
Offered by Ven. Losang Jinpa, D.Ayur, Ph. D 510-292-6696 www.Ayurveda-Berkeley.com www.Ayurveda-Institute.org