Pitta Pacifying Diet

Is your pitta out of balance?
Here's what you can do to pacify Pitta.

Favor the following foods -

General - Food not too hot.  Cool or luke warm drinks according to preference.  Sweet, bitter and astringent tastes.

Grains - wheat, rice, barley, oats.

Beans - yellow mung daal, small kidney beans, soy bean products

Vegetables - asparagus, artichokes, white pumpkin, okra (lady fingers), zucchini, spinach, chard, kale, chicory (bitter vegetable), cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, green beans, celery, potatoes, peas, green sweet pepper, green papaya, sprouts, lettuce, daikon (white carrot), tender eggplant.

Dairy - ghee, milk, butter, sweet buttermilk, sweet lassi, cream, cream cheese

Sweeteners - white or semi-refined sugar, honey in small amounts when person is not afflicted with heat.

Oils - coconut, olive, sunflower

Spices & condiments - coriander, cumin, ginger (in small amounts), turmeric, saffron, fennel, cinnamon, cardamom, lemon juice

Fruits - grapes, pomegranate, cashew, banana, avocado, mango, coconut, melons, apples, pears, raisins, dates figs, apricot, sweet orange, sweet pineapple, persimmon, papaya (small amounts), kiwi fruit.

Avoid or reduce the following -

General - pungent, sour and salty tastes

Grains - millet, corn, buckwheat, rye.

Beans - adzuki beans

Vegetables - tomatoes, beet root, carrots, radish, hot peppers, raw onions.

Dairy - sour milk products, yogurt, cheese (especially old and salty), salty butter, quark, sour cream.

Sweeteners - molasses, brown sugar.

Oils - almond, corn, safflower, sesame.

Nuts - all (except coconut)

Seeds - all except sunflower and pumpkin

Spices & condiments - chili pepper, cayenne, black pepper, mustard seeds, cloves, celery seeds fenugreek

Fruits - papaya, grapefruit, olive, sour orange, peach, sour grape, sour pineapple, berries, cranberries, prunes

Vata Pacifying Diet

Is your vata of balance?
Here's what you can do to pacify Vata.

Favor the following foods -  

General - sufficient quantity, unctuous food, warm food and drinks.  Sweet, sour and salty tastes.

Grains - wheat products, rice (whole rice is best), cooked oat flakes in small amounts.

Beans/Daal - yellow mung beans (green skin removed)

Vegetables - white pumpkin, zucchini, okra (lady fingers), artichokes, asparagus, tender eggplant, carrot, beet root, sweet potatoes with fat, tomato, cucumber, tender radish, celery, green papaya spinach in small amounts.

Dairy - All dairy products, cheese should be soft and fresh.

Oils - All

Nuts & Seeds - All except peanuts, seeds in small amounts.

Spices & condiments - cumin, ginger, mustard seeds, fenugreek, hinge (asafoetida), cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, anise, fennel, black pepper (small amounts), salt, lemon juice, tamarind.  All others in small amounts.

Fruits - ripe, sweet and juicy fruits.  Dried fruit is better soaked.  Sweet grapes, pomegranate (sweet and sour), mango, papaya, sweet pineapple, banana, avocado, sweet and juicy apples and pears, sweet oranges, melons, plums, cherries, raisins, dates, prunes, figs, kiwi fruit, peach, apricot.

Avoid or reduce the following foods -

General - light and dry foods.  Cold foods and drinks.  Pungent, bitter and astringent tastes.

Grains - barley, corn, millet, rye, buckwheat, raw oats.

Beans - all except yellow mung beans and red lentils

Vegetables - large quantity of green leafy vegetables, orange pumpkin and squash, peas, potato, sprouts, mature eggplants, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, celery.

Fruits - unripe, dry sour fruits.  guava, jambu, cashew, cranberries, persimmon (dried), chicory.

Tip of the day!

The only two fruits that can be eaten on an empty stomach or with other foods are mangos and coconuts.  Coconut is nature's energy drink.  It helps flush out the system and is a sacred fruit in the Vedic tradition.  Mangos support all the seven tissues, helps with digestion, acts as an energizer and balances all three doshas.

Special Foods

Maharishi Ayurveda discusses some special foods that are considered to be extremely revitalizing to the body.  Although, it is recommended that each individual consume the specific foods and maintain the proper diet suitable to your dosha, or body type.

• Whole milk - should be organic, the cows should be well treated, this is important in the Vedic tradition
• Ghee (clarified butter) 
• Fresh mangos
• Fresh oranges 
• Almonds - best eaten in the morning
• Hot water - although technically this isn't a food :)