Embracing Balance: The Nourishing Kapha Ayurvedic Diet

Kapha Ayurvedic Diet: by freepik

There are a total of three doshas in our body: Kapha, Vata, and Pitta. Based on all three Doshas, it is decided what nature a person is. Kaphadosha has the elements of earth and water and it works to keep the cells of the body together.

According to Ayurveda, kapha is heavy, soft, thin, slow, oily, cold, and stagnant. Only Kaphadosha provides physical and mental balance and strength. The structure of the body, immunity against diseases, maintaining the level of fluids in the body, and emotions like love, forgiveness, patience, and honesty are all due to Kaphadosha.

 

Symptoms of Imbalance in Kapha Dosha

If Kaphadosha increases in our body then many problems start occurring due to Kapha in our body. Know how it can be brought under control. Many types of diseases are mentioned in Ayurveda and almost every type of disease is caused by these three doshas – Vata, Kapha, and Pitta. If Kaphadosha increases in the body then problems like weight gain, asthma, weakness, the problem of excessive sleep, laziness, digestion problems, excessive production of sputum, etc. occur.

At the same time, if we talk about the physical symptoms of imbalance in Kaphadosha, these include excessive mucus production, weight gain, white layer on the tongue, accumulation of phlegm in the sinuses, poor digestion, weakness, accumulation of fat in the arteries, pre-diabetes, cough, These include cold, runny nose, hay fever, cold sweat, frequent urination, excess earwax, oily skin and hair, and loss of taste and smell.

If there is excessive deterioration in Kaphadosha, it may cause dryness in the respiratory tract and a burning sensation in the stomach.

There are three types of defects in the body and diseases and health problems are talked about only due to these defects. Most people do not know that according to Ayurveda, there are three types of doshas and 6 types of tastes that make up the entire system.

Do not wait for the problem to increase and try some methods to get rid of it. According to My Health Diet Tips, to eliminate the problem of this defect, you should make some changes in your diet.

Keep In Mind The 6 Tastes Of Ayurveda

According to My Health Diet Tips, eating three of the six tastes of Ayurveda increases Kapha and including the other three in your diet reduces Kaphadosha. However, many times the treatment is decided according to the problem and if any disease is bothering you then you should consult a doctor to find a solution to that problem. Nevertheless, according to Ayurveda, the three important tastes that can increase Kaphadosha are these.

 

The three tastes that increase Kapha dosha by eating are

• Sour – lemon, curd, fermented foods

• Sweet – food with artificial and natural sugar

• Salty – Foods high in salt, natural foods that have a salty taste.

 

Instead of these, these three tastes can be included in your diet

• Spicy – chilies and spicy foods

• Bitter – Eat whatever has a naturally bitter taste.

• Kashaya – (Astringent) Astringent foods also include things like raw banana and cashew nuts.

 

Foods to Avoid for Kaphas

Delicious:

• When taken in excess, the sweet flavor can be kapha-inducing, heavy, damp, and chilly.
• As much as possible, cut back on or give up refined sugar and sugary sweet meals.
• Eating a healthy diet and completely avoiding sweets would be impossible. Reducing the portions of naturally sweet foods such as fruits, grains, root vegetables, yogurt, ghee, eggs, nuts, seeds, oils, and meats is fair.
• The kapha temperament’s propensity for heaviness, fat, lethargy, and excessive sleep is often exacerbated by sweet meals. They may also worsen coughs and colds, produce an overabundance of mucus, and adversely suppress appetite.

Sour

• Reduce your intake of acidic foods such as vinegar, cheese, sour cream, oranges, pineapple, and grapefruit.
• The sour taste aggravates kapha due to its moisturizing and greasy properties.
• The sour flavor might worsen swelling or water retention, make the eyes feel heavy, increase thirst, and loosen the body.
• The greatest approach for Kapha to absorb the sour flavor is to occasionally squeeze in some lemon or lime juice.

Salty

• The flavor of salt is almost exclusively obtained from salt.
• Salt aggravates kapha due to its wet and oily nature, much like its sour flavor.
• When consumed in excess, the salty flavor can impair the sense organs, and induce intestinal inflammation, high blood pressure, grey hair, wrinkles, and water retention. It also tends to pique one’s interest in stronger flavors and can thus arouse feelings of insatiation and greed.

Suggested Meals: Kapha Ayurvedic Diet

You can start incorporating the principles of Ayurveda into your daily practice by trying these kapha-balancing meals. Feel free to try tweaking these recipes to make your own as you get more knowledge about the foods that are good for you.

Breakfast: Kapha Ayurvedic Diet

Breakfast is often optional when Kapha is elevated. Kapha benefits greatly from forced fasting between dinner and breakfast. If your appetite hasn’t returned after waking up, a light breakfast of fresh fruit or tea is probably enough. If breakfast seems important to you, consider:

• A generous serving of fresh fruit: poached apples, fruit salad – choose fruit such as apples, apricots, berries, mangoes, peaches, and strawberries, a fruit smoothie or fresh fruit juice
• A ripe apple is also satisfying.
• Do you need anything else? Warm cereals such as seasoned barley or rice porridge are excellent choices. If you wish, you can also add some dried fruit or a little honey.
• Another option would be muesli with warm rice milk and rye toast.
• Add herbal, green, or black tea to these breakfasts, but be careful not to over-dress them. a touch of honey and/or rice milk is probably fine.

Lunch: Kapha Ayurvedic Diet

Ideally, lunch is the main meal of the day, which means it is the largest and most nutritious. Build your lunch around eating plenty of steamed and roasted vegetables and complement them with beans, suitable grains, unleavened bread, suitable meats, or the occasional egg. Try something:

• Red lentil-lemongrass soup with steamed kale. Garnish kale with lemon juice, black pepper, and olive oil.
• A simple vegetable soup made with vegetables such as onion, garlic, broccoli, celery, carrots, green beans asparagus, and rye toast.
• Saffron asparagus kitchari and roasted dandelion greens with lemon and mint as a side dish
• Green chili (without milk) with black beans. Serve on heated corn tortillas with black beans, salsa, fried onions and peppers, shredded romaine lettuce, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice.

Dinner: Kapha Ayurvedic Diet

Dinner should always be much smaller and lighter than lunch. Soups and stews are often a great choice because they are warm light and nutritious. Even a smaller lunch can often work. For some, especially if weight loss is an issue, it is better to skip dinner altogether, choose a healthy breakfast and lunch, or eat a larger breakfast and make dinner over a light meal of the day. Try:

• Minced Raw dal and a small serving of quinoa.
• Red lentils with basil and a small portion of basmati rice.
• Potato leek soup with a small salad and a refreshing lemon-ginger sauce.

How to Eat

When it comes to calming kapha, what we eat can have a huge impact on our success rate, so it’s an especially useful place to focus when the prospect of a drastic dietary change seems overwhelming right now.

As most people with kapha digestion know, kapha’s love of food and tendency toward emotional eating can easily lead to overindulgence. This is why Kapha does well to follow three meals a day and sometimes two meals are enough. Eating at regular intervals day after day also helps to strengthen digestion and regulate appetite.

You can further prevent slower digestion by chewing fresh ginger (about the size of a nickel), a pinch of sea salt, a few drops of lime juice, and about 1/4 teaspoon of honey about 30 minutes before each slice. lunches and dinner. It helps prepare the digestive system to receive food and process it efficiently.

During meals, it is very important to eat in a quiet environment and pay full attention to the food, so that the body feels full. It helps reduce overeating and emotional eating.

Fast foods, sweets, and too much bread and other comfort foods can be particularly kapha arousing. Although you probably can’t avoid all kapha-aggravating foods, their harmful potential can be minimized by making sure they’re served warm, in small amounts, and with the support of warming herbs.

Finally, since Kapha digestion tends to be a bit messy, regular fasts or cleanses can be very helpful – especially if you can conserve your energy during long breaks between meals. A short fruit or juice fast (think apple or pomegranate) or a longer mono-diet kitchari can be very helpful.

 

Due To An Imbalance In Kapha dosha

• Due to eating foods that increase phlegm like milk products, fatty and oily foods, cold drinks, salty and sweet things, and very sweet and sour fruits.

• Due to overeating and eating heavy food.

• Spending more time in cold and rainy weather.

• Reducing physical activity and sleeping during the day.

 

Ways to Balancing Kapha Dosha

• Before bathing, massage the body with half a cup of warm sesame oil for 10 to 20 minutes every day.

• Do at least five minutes of vigorous exercise a week including jogging, hiking, and biking.

• Eat spicy, bitter or astringent-tasting things. Consume red chili, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon and cumin.

• Eat whole and freshly cooked vegetables. Eat light, dry, and warm things.

• Include honey, moong dal, hot soya milk, and green vegetables in your diet.

• Wake up early in the morning and sleep on time at night.

• To balance Kaphadosha, consume herbs and Ayurvedic medicines like Triphala, Vyaghrayadi, KanchanarGuggulu, LavangadiVati, Nishamalki, Amrit.

• For this you can also take the help of yoga. Do Surya Namaskar, ArdhaChandrasana, Veerbhadrasana, Trikonasana, Vrikshasana, Dhanurasana, Shirasana, Purvottanasana and Shavasana.

 

Nutritious Food To Balance Kapha

The Kapha Ayurvedic diet emphasizes the consumption of foods that balance the inherent qualities of Kapha. Including a variety of cooked, non-starchy vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, and leafy vegetables can help reduce the heaviness of phlegm. Light grains like quinoa, amaranth, and barley provide nutrition without aggravating kapha, promoting a feeling of lightness and vitality.

Energizing spices like ginger, black pepper, and cayenne ignite the digestive fire and counteract the tendency of phlegm stagnation. Choosing relatively astringent and less sweet fruits such as apples, pears, and pomegranates can help balance kapha’s tendency towards excess moisture and heaviness.

 

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