Understanding how nature is present in our food, starts with connecting to the six tastes or ‘shad rasa’. There are six tastes of sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent that we aim to have present in each meal.
Each of these six tastes is an expression of the five elements and holds certain qualities. Taste can have a significant effect on the body & mind and the misuse of taste can send us out of balance.
When we can create a meal that incorporates all six tastes, we can create balance for the doshas and feel truly satiated. This also stops us moving into further imbalance, helps us to calm cravings and reduce the need for snacking.
For example: raw salads that are bitter, astringent, and pungent have a lightening and stimulating effect and when eaten in excess increase vata and can have us feeling ungrounded (and then often craving sweets as the body seeks balance).
Madhura or Sweet Taste
“When the sweet taste is banned from our lives due to a fad diet, an inconclusive scientific theory, a sort of self-punishment, or any other reason, we are as if deprived of the very essence of life that nurtures and soothes us.” - Acharya Shunya
Elements: earth + water
Qualities: heavy, cooling, unctuous, wet
Effects on the doshas: decreases vata and pitta, increases kapha.
In balance: the sweet taste is grounding, calming, and nourishing for the body and mind. It builds our tissues, increases ‘ojas’, quenches thirst and helps us to feel supported, comforted and loved.
In Excess: when we have too much of the sweet taste it can cause heaviness in the body, weight gain, create excess mucus and congestion, emotional attachment and make us feel tired and sluggish. It can also lead to issues such as diabetes, stroke paralysis and high cholesterol.
Foods with the sweet taste: fruit, ghee, honey, dates, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and most whole grains.
Amla or Sour Taste
Elements: fire + earth
Qualities: sharp, light, heating, wet.
Effects on the doshas: decreases vata, increases pitta, decreases kapha in balanced amount but in excess increases.
In balance: the sour taste in stimulating & refreshing for the body and mind in small amounts. It supports digestion and elimination, stimulates appetite, brings out taste in meals and enlivens the mind.
In Excess: when we have too much of the sour taste it can cause aggravation in the body such as excess thirst, sensitive teeth, heartburn or burning sensations, skin inflammation, loose stools as well as, agitation or anger.
Foods with the sour taste: lemon, lime, yoghurt, cheese, grapefruit and fermented foods.
Lavana or Salty Taste
“If you remove salt from your diet you will feel tired, fatigued, lack interest, and your whole life will become bland.” - Dr. Vasant Lad
Elements: fire + water
Qualities: heating, heavy, oily, nourishing
Effects on the doshas: decreases vata and pitta, increases kapha, in excess can increase pitta
In balance: in small amounts the salty taste is stimulating and nourishing for the natural functions of the body. It aids digestion, improves elimination, maintains electrolyte balance, and provides energy & strength. It also enhances the tastes of our food.
In Excess: the salty taste can be the overpowering and many people have too much salt in their food. When we have too much salt it can cause skin conditions, high blood pressure, hair loss, anger, and agitation.
Foods with the salt taste: mineral salt and sea vegetables
Katu or Pungent Taste
Elements: fire + air
Qualities: heating, drying, light, sharp
Effects on the doshas: decreases kapha, increases pitta and vata in excess.
In balance: the pungent taste is stimulating, invigorating, and reducing to the body. In moderation it kindles our agni and supports digestion, elimination, appetite and helps to burn ama. It also helps to clear the sinuses, improves circulation, and stimulates the mind.
In Excess: when we have too much of the pungent taste it can aggravate pitta and vata dosha and can cause loose stools, heartburn, skin irritation, insomnia, anxiety, or aggression.
Foods with the pungent taste: most spices, chilli, garlic & onion (when raw), ginger, radishes, rocket, and some spicy greens.
Tikta or Bitter Taste
Elements: air + ether
Qualities: light, drying, cool, reducing
Effects on the doshas: decreases kapha and pitta, increases vata
In balance: in conscious moderation the bitter taste is a powerful cleansing tool. It kindles agni, reduces ama and kills pathogens & parasites in the body. Helpful in clearing excess kapha dosha.
In Excess: when we have too much of the bitter taste it increases vata dosha and dry out the digestive tract. It can cause emaciation, dry skin, anxiety, nausea, fatigue and low libido.
Foods with the bitter taste: leafy greens, coffee, black tea, dandelion root, bitter melon, fenugreek, turmeric.
Kashaya or Astringent Taste
Elements: air + earth
Qualities: light, cooling, drying, reducing
Effects on the doshas: increases vata, decreases kapha and pitta
In balance: similar to the bitter taste, in moderation the astringent taste is a helpful digestive tonic. It helps draw toxins out of the body, improves absorption and binds the stool.
In Excess: in excess the astringent taste can aggravate vata dosha and cause bloating, constipation, insomnia, anxiety, dryness in the mouth and low libido.
Foods with the bitter taste: most legumes and beans, pomegranates, unripe bananas, sprouts and most raw vegetables.
Bringing The Six Tastes Into Your Diet:
Ayurveda generally recommends to have all six tastes present within each meal in order for us to feel truely satiated and balanced. Whilst this may sound daunting at first, it dosen’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as adding a squeeze of lime or a handful of bitter greens to your meal.
We can also understand how to use the six tastes to bring us back into balance. Remember in Ayurveda we say, ‘like increases like and opposites bring balance’ and this applies to the tastes.
When we are in balance, we naturally gravitate foods and tastes that will nourish us and when we are out of balance, we can move towards tastes that will further tip us over the edge.
For example, when kapha is out of balance and maybe we feel low, heavy, or sad – we tend to crave sweet foods for comfort. Whereas what would truly balance us in these moments is to have more stimulation and vibrancy, which are found in more pungent, bitter, and astringent foods.
To learn more about the shad rasa and how to eat in alignment with Ayurvedic principles, join my 6 week online course Foundations of Ayurvedic Nutrition & Cooking. This immersive course goes far beyond using spices or cooking with ghee and truely teaches you what it means to eat, cook and live ‘Ayurvedic’. Available now as a self-paced program and currently on sale till the end of November!