SIX TASTE AS PER AYURVEDA

Ayurveda places a great emphasis on the sensations and pleasures of eating nutritious food and a balanced diet.

We place a lot of interest in getting a right amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins in our daily diet,but as per Ayurvedic perspective, a balanced diet isn’t just about getting these in right proportion but is also about another extremely important quality: taste.

Ayurveda recognizes six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent.

Including all six tastes in every meal not only ensures that all major food groups and nutrients are represented, but it also provides us with the feeling of satisfaction in eating.

THE SEQUENCE OF EATING FOOD

According to Ayurveda, it is advisable to eat foods with madhura rasa( sweetTaste ) in the beginning of the meal, as these foods are heavy and dense in nature and take more time to digest. When we are hungry our digestive fire is powerful and it takes less time to digest these heavy food then. So,start off with kheer, Mithai,halwa,rice, roti ,bread....

Then, move on to the foods that have the sour and salty tastes. Sour and salty tastes taken in the middle of the meal stimulate digestive fire in the small intestines. When you eat these food group,it secrets more enzymes which is essential in the second phase of digestion.
You can have cheese,yoghurt,curd or vegetable in the middle of your meal.

The pungent, bitter and astringent foods such as salad, pickle or chutney can be consumed next. It improves digestion, absorption and elimination, stimulates circulation.

The very important tip here is to eat a very small piece of sweet (preferably jaggery) at the end of your meal in order to satiate your senses.It also helps to overcome cravings for sweet food. ( dessert may be )

QUICK GUIDE TO SIX TASTE FOOD

Sweet ~ whole grains, starchy vegetables, dairy, meat, chicken, fish, sugar, honey, molasses

( Carbohydrates, protein, fat )

Sour ~ citrus fruits, berries, plums, tomatoes, pickled foods, vinegar, alcohol, cheese, and yogurt

(Organic acids: ascorbic acid, citric acid, acetic acid)

Salty ~ soy sauce, seaweed, salted meats, fish, and any food to which table salt has been added

(Mineral salts )

Bitter ~ bitter greens, endive, chicory, spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, leafy greens, celery, broccoli, sprouts, beets, tonic water,bitter melon, turmeric, dandelion, aloe vera, rhubarb and coffee

(Alkaloids or glycosides)

Pungent ~ peppers, chilies, onions, garlic, cayenne, black pepper, cloves, ginger, mustard,

(Essential oils)

Astringent ~ lentils, dried beans, green apples, grape skins, cauliflower, figs,tea,Unripe bananas, pomegranate, chickpeas, yellow split peas, okra, turmeric, alfalfa sprouts .

(Tannins)

So try to add all six taste in your every meal to be happy, healthy and satisfied......