Ayurveda Peach
Joyful Belly Ayurveda
Better Health through Digestion with an Ayurvedic Diet
 
Edit
About Sweet
Kapha aggravating

Elements: Water, Earth
Balanced by 'Bitter', 'Astringent', 'Light'.
View recipes, ingredients & products
Sweet taste includes nourishing foods like carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Sweet taste doesn't necessarily mean sugary but also includes anything that tastes nourishing (i.e. builds muscle or fat tissue). Before refined sugars, bread tasted naturally sweet. Sweet taste is life giving. It builds ojas, because it nourishes the sap or blood plasma of the body.

Sweet taste is rare in nature and desirable. We need sweet taste to survive. After the agricultural revolution sweet taste became abundant. It dominates the modern grocery store, probably because this is the taste that humans are most attracted to.

Sweet Taste & Circulation

Excess use of sweet taste, especially refined grains and refined sugars, thicken blood plasma. Thick, sticky blood plasma bogs circulation causing stagnation and high blood pressure. Poor circulation also causes swelling in the hands and feet.

Sweet Taste in the Skin

When circulation is excessively boggy, metabolic byproducts (cellular poop) get trapped in the lymphatic system causing inflammation. To see this effect more clearly, make a thumb print on your arm. A white thumb print surrounded by red skin could mean the lymphatic system is stagnant and inflamed. Note: This effect is usually prominent on the arms and legs.

Sweet Taste, the Lungs & the Thyroid

Healthy lungs depend on good circulation to keep them hollow. Otherwise, the lungs fill up with mucous and water. Excess sweet taste causes mucous buildup in the lungs and back of throat. Boggy circulation and a thick layer of mucous covering the lungs reduces circulation of oxygen (prana). The thyroid compensates by lowering metabolism. Many people have low thyroid activity without being aware of it. Symptoms of low thyroid include being overweight, cold body temperature, dry skin, and constipation.

Sweet Taste and the Kidneys

Dense, gooey, sticky blood plasma causes water retention in the kidneys and may lead to edema. While Kapha types are prone to and should discourage water retention, dry Vata types can use the sweet taste to help retain fluids.

Ayurvedic Classifications

Sweet taste is cooling, heavy, oily, and sticky. It brings softness and stability. Sweet taste coats the tongue and throat. It facilitates elimination of bowels. It is beneficial to children, in old age, and in debilitated persons. Sweet taste alleviates thirst, pacifies Pitta and Vata, and nourishes the mind. Sweet taste helps in wound healing as long as the wound is not infected.

Remedies for Excess Sweet Taste

Avoid refined sugar, candy, soda, ice-cream and other processed foods with sugars. These foods confuse your 'appestat' - your body's natural appetite control mechanisms. Honey and fruits may be a safe way to satisfy your sweet cravings without weight gain. Fruits and honey are also much less addictive. Raw honey is a great natural fat metabolizer and stabilizes your blood sugar. Its warming quality boosts your energy. Raw honey is known to help reduce the toxins off of the intestinal wall.Try date sugar, bananas or raisins as sugar substitutes in your cooking.

Bitters like Kale and Dandelion leaves directly oppose sweet taste. They are drying, regulate blood sugar levels, reduce cholesterol and thin the blood. Pungent taste, including black pepper and ginger, stimulates circulation and heat.

What do customers buy after viewing this article?

questions, comments & reviews
Write a review!

As a Vata dosha I love almost all kinds of fruits. However, Andreas Moritz writes not to have fruit during, before or after a meal but only on an empty stomach, also not in the evening time, and to have a light,warming breakfast (ie: porridge, and no citrus 1st thing in a.m.). So,when does one eat all this sweet fruit? Thank You; Arthur

- john lunney, Wisconsin dells, WI, 02-09-12
 

Contact info@joyfulbelly.com if you would like to 1) republish this article in another journal; 2) send comments and edits; 3) submit your own articles on Joyful Belly; or 4) request additional topics!

Mailing List Button Joyful Belly Facebook Joyful Belly Twitter

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The information and products on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Home | Ayurvedic Diet | Doshas | Gunas | Tastes | Our Favorite Recipes | Ayurveda Consultation | Ayurvedic Herbs & Products
About Us | My Account | Login/Register | Logout | Help | Privacy Policy | Site Assistance | Diet Help | Request Help

© 2012 Joyful Belly, All rights reserved. john@joyfulbelly.com Asheville, North Carolina