The Six Tastes
The Role of Taste
Food is such a dominant part of our lives, it is essential not only for survival but for our health, well-being and longevity. The sense of taste is not only there for pleasure and satisfaction, it also plays a prominent role in balancing the mind and body. The tongue is intricate and has the ability to identify if and which foods will be beneficial to us. In Ayurveda, there are six primary tastes (rasas) that are classifies as such; sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Each of the tastes in associated with one of the elements. Taste is so import, as it can be trained to identify what foods you should gravitate towards to find a more balanced state of mind and body. For example, sweet foods are naturally cooling and grounding, so it is best to eat fruit and honey in the summer season to pacify pitta dosha. When we understand that root vegetables are light and grounding, we can learn to eat those when we feel excess vata in the body. Over time, we can begin to respond intuitively to imbalances with foods that support rather than aggravate, and that begins with the awareness of the taste sensory.
Consciousness Around Food
Above we covered how food directly affects your prakriti or dosha, but it’s important to address that food directly affects your state of mind. How your food is processed, digested, and eliminated has a direct affect on your consciousness. For example, salty, sour, and pungent foods are associated with the fire element. Too much heat in the body can tip you towards excess rajas. Foods that aggravate pitta include onions, garlic, fermented foods, fried foods, spicy food, vinegar, and alcohol. Consuming too many of these foods can lead to excess heat, anger, agitation, an overactive mind, inability to be alone, violent dreams, and racing thoughts. The sweet taste can help pacify excess heat in the body, however any processed sugar or sweet flavor can have an opposite and aggravating effect on the body.
In a culture of fad diets and trends, I want to emphasize that in Ayurveda, there is no necessarily a ‘bad’ food if it is derived from a natural, organic and unprocessed source. What your body needs is solely based on the experience you may have from the food and its effect on the mind and body. In general, everyone needs all six tastes in their meals throughout the day in order to find balance, but the ratio of which you use them is based on what your body needs to feel nourished.
The Six Tastes of Ayurveda
Food for thought: Take a moment to think of what you have in your fridge and pantry. Which foods do you gravitate towards? do you tend to have cravings, and if so what are they? maybe spicy, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, or pungent. Do you tend to drink your coffee black or with cream and sugar? do you need to have something sweet after dinner?
Becoming aware of these cravings, habits and patterns can teach you so much about yourself and what you need. If you’re craving sweets constantly, maybe you’re experiencing emotional imbalance for love, connection, kindness, and sweet words. Your cravings are telling you so much, what can you observe from your tendencies?
