The Six Tastes

About Sweet

Elements: Water, Earth
Treat 'Sweet' with 'Bitter', ''Astringent', ''Light'.
Show me 'Sweet' ingredients.

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, becase 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 thumbprint on your arm. A white thumbprint 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

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.