DIET & LIFESTYLE

DISCOVER HOW TO HEAL

An Easy Introduction To An Ayurvedic Diet

Written by John Immel, Asheville, NC
SEE ALL REVIEWS & COMMENTS
Print An Easy Introduction to an Ayurvedic Diet
Share on Social Media
Share Content with Friends & Clients

Click one of the buttons above, or cut and paste the following link to share this page with your network. This link will automatically track your referrals to Joyful Belly:

Share URL for An Easy Introduction to an Ayurvedic Diet

Copy Link

About Sharing Content & Referrals.

Ayurveda offers you simple, practical ways to manage your health using the biocharacteristics theory of medicine. This method can help you understand your body and how to prevent or minimize disease. Ayurveda helps you experience the medicine of food, understand its effects on your body, and naturally crave and choose the foods that are right for you. We've organized Ayurveda's approach to food on this website for your convenience. The practice of biocharacteristics medicine was ubiquitous throughout the ancient and medieval world until the 1650s.

Need Help Getting Started?

What are Biocharacteristics?

Where modern medicine focuses on the biochemistry of disease, biocharacteristics medicine categorizes and treats the qualities of disease (i.e. its heat, cold, wetness, dryness, fluid thickness, thinness, etc.). Ayurveda uses 20 biocharacteristics (called gunas in Ayurveda).

This classification gives clinicians a whole body perspective on imbalance that is user friendly, enabling clients to better manage their health at home.

Biocharacteristics are experiential - they are used to classify your experiences of 1) disease & dysfunction, 2) environment, food & herbs, 3) mental state. Biocharacteristics classify your most basic experiences of being alive. The best way to get started in Ayurveda is by knowing these biocharacteristics.

The first 8 are heavy and light, sharp and dull, hot and cold, oily and dry. For example bread makes you feel heavy but salads feel light. Black pepper is sharp on your tongue but cheese is dull. Chilies heat up your body but cucumbers cool your body down. Butter is oily but popcorn is drying. On Joyful Belly we've selected only those gunas that are most useful in cooking. The study of Ayurvedic Pharmacology details all the ways Ayurveda classifies food, herbs, and diseases.

The Three Body Types (Doshas)

Ayurveda groups people into three general body types called Dosha. The three doshas are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. The doshas are three basic metabolic patterns of how you use energy. Vata spends energy. Pitta manages it. Kapha stores it. Dosha predicts the symptoms and diseases you are most vulnerable to, and gives you a means to restore balance. Vata tends to suffer from deficiency. Pitta from heat disorders. And Kapha tends to suffer from stagnancy and conditions of excess.

The Six Tastes

In Ayurveda, nutrition is based on the six tastes (western nutrition identifies only four tastes). Each taste affects your body in a unique way that can make you feel better, or worse, depending upon the person. Bitter is light and drying. Astringent is tightening and drying. Pungent is sharp and dry. Salty taste is liquefying and hot. Sour is hot, liquefying, and heavy. Sweet taste is heavy, gooey, and cold. Every season has a different taste and diet.

Digestion

Good circulation, good digestion and well nourished tissue are three cornerstones of good health. By the process of digestion, when you eat an apple it becomes a part of your body. Whether the food you eat is heating or cooling, acidic or basic, sugary or bitter, your body has to transform these qualities into the qualities of a human being. This processing takes work. That's why digestion is often used to measure the resilience of a person in Ayurveda. Some signs of indigestion include gas, burping, acid reflux, diarrhea and constipation.

READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC
The 3 Ayurvedic Body Types (Doshas): Vata, Pitta, & Kapha
Food Types in Ayurveda
What is Ayurveda?
History of the Biocharacteristic Theory of Medicine
How Does The Biocharacteristic Theory of Medicine Work?
Natural Weight Loss with Ayurveda
How to Listen to Your Body and Find Hidden Symptoms
Meal Times
How to Choose an Ayurvedic Diet: Exploring Your Biocharacteristics
The Five Elements of Ayurveda
How to Restore Gut Health After an Eating Disorder
Pooping and Regular Elimination
How to Improve Digestion Naturally with Ayurveda
Cooking
How to Make Good Food Choices
Fertility, Pregnancy & Postpartum Care
Happiness, Ayurveda & the Virtues
Ayurveda's 6 Tastes: Natural Remedies for Holistic Wellness
Eating for the Season
The 10 Ways Ayurveda Improves Your Yoga Practice
The Heart of Preventative Medicine
Building Your Ayurveda Career
Novel Ayurveda Research at Joyful Belly
Help with Joyful Belly
Press Releases
 

BROWSE SIMILAR ARTICLES BY TOPIC

LikesMy Saved Articles | Most Popular

About John Joseph Immel

About the Author

John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, teaches people how to have a healthy diet and lifestyle with Ayurveda biocharacteristics. His approach to Ayurveda is clinical, yet exudes an ease which many find enjoyable and insightful. John also directs Joyful Belly's School of Ayurveda, offering professional clinical training in Ayurveda for over 15 years.

John's interest in Ayurveda and specialization in digestive tract pathology was inspired by a complex digestive disorder acquired from years of international travel, as well as public service work in South Asia. John's commitment to the detailed study of digestive disorders reflects his zeal to get down to the roots of the problem. His hope and belief in the capacity of each & every client to improve their quality of life is nothing short of a personal passion. John's creativity in the kitchen and delight in cooking for others comes from his family oriented upbringing. In addition to his certification in Ayurveda, John holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University.

John enjoys sharing Ayurveda within the context of his Catholic roots, and finds Ayurveda gives him an opportunity to participate in the healing mission of the Church. Jesus expressed God's love by feeding and healing the sick. That kindness is the fundamental ministry of Ayurveda as well. Outside of work, John enjoys spending time with his wife and 7 kids, and pursuing his love of theology, philosophy, and language.

Read more

STUDY AYURVEDA
MASTER AYURVEDIC DIGESTION & NUTRITION 500 HOUR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
This 1 year online program starts Oct 8th, 2024
Last Chance to Register

Questions, Comments & Impressions of 'an easy introduction to an ayurvedic diet'?

Is there something else you'd like to know about 'an easy introduction to an ayurvedic diet'?

full start reviewfull start reviewfull start reviewfull start reviewhalf start review(4.67 out of 5 stars) 3 ratings, 221 likes
blank start reviewblank start reviewblank start reviewblank start reviewblank start reviewSign in to review this article

Generally, time and illness change the imbalanced dosha but not a person's constitution. Best, -John
Dear Elma, You can search on 'ojas' building foods to find the foods with the most calories. Best, -John
Hi John. I log onto Joyful Belly at least once a week for ideas and info. Thanks for all you provide! Best, Jen
- jen, Marietta, GA , 08-13-13 (Reply)
Hi John, I just received digestive bitters and weight away, can I take the weight away and sip on the digestive bitters at the same time? Debbie
- Debra Mortimer, Stamford, CT , 07-02-14 (Reply)
Hello. I wonder if I can order the personal diet book for Kapha. I'm an overweight vata looking for a comprehensive program. What do you recommend? I already have your weight loss recording in my library and really appreciate all it offers. Pattie Texas
- mary hollenstein, Bonham, TX , 09-26-14 (Reply)
I have had 3 surgeries in the past 10 months. I really need to lose some weight, but I wonder if this is the right time? I also have RA, one kidney, and a rather complex medical history. However, I am essentially healthy and strong and feeling better each day. THe last surgery was on Sept. 23, and I signed up for the next workshop beginning Oct. 6. Diana Mrotek, Westport, CT 10-01-14
- dianamrotek@gmail.com, Westport, CT , 10-01-14 (Reply)
I am a vata, thin and dry and my Pitta/Kaffa are the same (2 each). Vata is supposed to have sweet, but my central nervous system cannot handle sugar/caffene/alcohol. How do you recommend I begin this process?
- Jane, Gloucester, MA , 10-02-14 (Reply)
Jane, because of your in depth medical history, it is very difficult to make any specific recommendations through comments. We recommend signing up for a consultation. You can do that here: https://www.joyfulbelly.com/Ayurveda/consultation
- Natalie Immel, Asheville, NC , 10-02-14 (Reply)
Hi, Today I started the 3 day cleanse and detox recommended in my body book. I made the Kapha pacifying Kitchari according to the recipe. I don't want to hurt any feelings but I can't eat it with all those spices. The beans and rice and salt I could handle, but I'm not used to spicy food. I just can't eat it like that. If I made it plainer with just salt and maybe a little of one spice would it still work? If so, which spice and how much.
- Angela Duck, Lincoln, AL , 04-24-15 (Reply)
Peanuts generally aggravate Vata because they are a legume and legumes are often challenging for Vata individuals to digest. That being said, every body is different. The foods that are said to aggravate each dosha are similar in quality to the dosha. For example, Vata is dry and legumes are dry in nature - hence legumes often aggravate Vata.
- Kimberly Kubicke, Asbury park, NJ
full start reviewfull start reviewfull start reviewfull start reviewfull start review
, 03-02-16 (Reply)
You could certainly create an account for your daughter or use the questions from your quizzes to support better understanding of her.
- Kimberly Kubicke, Asbury park, NJ , 04-14-16 (Reply)
Angela, try cutting the spice amounts in half. You could also just simply use the cumin and cilantro and skip the rest.
- Kimberly Kubicke, Asbury park, NJ
full start reviewfull start reviewfull start reviewfull start reviewfull start review
, 07-21-16 (Reply)
This is a tremendously generous website, thank you. I bought my recipes, my body map, and personal ayurvedic chart. Just a sample question I have is, for my current state I am to avoid sesame seeds yet there is a sesame seed recipe. Very aggravating spices: black pepper, thyme, sea salt, and many other spices that are included in my personal recipes. Do these recipes have something in them that buffers the very aggravating ones? Thank you so much! Amazing information on this website. Avis Lyons, Louisiana, USA
- Avis Lyons, Lafayette, LA , 05-18-18 (Reply)
Generally speaking, yes. The combination of food and spices are balancing to the doshas indicated even though some of the ingredients by themselves may be aggravating.
- Kimberly Kubicke, Asbury park, NJ , 05-18-18 (Reply)

Join Joyful Belly.

Want our top Ayurvedic recipes and health tips?
Subscribe to our free newsletter!
If you are already a member please sign in here. Forgot your password?
* 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.

© 2024 Joyful Belly Ayurveda Inc., All rights reserved.
Asheville, North Carolina
1