Are You Sanguine? The Bold, Warm, and Wild Type Explained (Temperament Greek)CLASSIFICATION OF FOOD, HERBS, & LIFESTYLE

AYURVEDIC PERSPECTIVE ON SANGUINE

A hot and oily nature with a moderate metabolism and a well nourished body makes Sanguine individuals vigorous, vivacious, outgoing and generous, and prone to impulsivity and self indulgence. Bullish and intense when out of balance.

Heat and moisture (oiliness) give a person a Sanguine temperament or constitution.

When in balance the heat makes a person vibrant and energetic, and gives them focus and passion, while oiliness adds stability, grounding and lubrication.

A healthy appetite for gourmet food, fun or the arts is expected if you have a Sanguine temperament.

Heat and moisture impart a generous, outgoing and strong nature. A Sanguine's enthusiasm and charisma make them an effective leader, similar to a Pitta-Kapha constitution in Ayurveda.

However, an imbalanced Sanguine tends towards self indulgence, intensity, and impulsivity, which can push them into addictive behaviors.

If you are a Sanguine, your key to good physical, emotional and mental health, then, is to find ways to balance your oily, wet heat.

Fortunately, the biocharacteristics theory of medicine can help.

Balance & The Biocharacteristics Theory of Medicine

Greek Medicine is one of several traditional, holistic healing systems that utilize biocharacteristics to understand and treat the metabolic nature of disease. Others include Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine. In Arab cultures, modern Greek medicine is called Unani Tibb.

Biocharacteristics are terms to describe the metabolic nature of things, including:

• Qualities such as hot and cold, wet and dry, heavy and light
• Tastes such as sweet and sour
• See all the biocharacteristics here.

Living things, such as people, food, herbs, and infectious diseases, all have a unique metabolic nature. Lifestyle habits also have a metabolic nature, because they change your metabolism.

At its simplest, the biocharacteristics theory of medicine first uncovers the imbalanced qualities in an individual. It then applies the opposite biocharacteristics to correct the imbalances.

If you're too hot, biocharacteristic theory would recommend you enjoy a cool drink, sit in the cool shade, or eat cooling bitters.

If you're too oily or wet, favor foods that dry and tone like those with bitter and astringent tastes.

The simple, but powerful, adjustments to your metabolic habits form the basis for natural healing systems that have kept people well for thousands of years.

Greek Medicine's 4 Temperaments

You may have encountered Greek Medicine's temperaments (Choleric, Melancholic, Phlegmatic, and Sanguine), which describe your metabolic nature.

Your temperament cum metabolic nature influences physical, mental, and emotional tendencies.

As with Ayurveda, knowledge of these help you heal and understand your body, as well as others, and even improve communication with others.

The Greeks associated each temperament with an excess of a humor, a substance in the body having the characteristics of the temperament: yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood, respectively.

However, each humor is just one part of your body's systemic metabolic nature, which incorporates many different biochemicals.

Recognizing the connections between your body's metabolism, humors, constitution, and personality can help you correct physical, emotional and mental imbalances in yourself.

Sanguine & Blood Humor

A Sanguine's predominant humor is blood because blood moistens and heats the tissues.

The word sanguine means blood in Latin (haemos in Greek). This is where we get the terms hematology and hemophilia.

Blood makes a person vibrant and energetic. The Greeks considered blood to be the source of Sanguine's generous, optimistic, friendly and energetic nature.

Blood, heat, and moisture are associated with the liver, because the liver is prone to fattiness, helps regulate sugar metabolism, and produces bile, a hot, oily substance.

Sanguines, out of balance, tend to liver congestion, stagnation, and a fatty liver.

Sanguine Temperament's Physical Traits

Sanguine bodies typically have a medium to plump build — robust, strong, and well-nourished, but not necessarily obese.

And look for luminous, glowing skin thanks to their unique combination of heat and moisture.

On the other hand, their love of good food can cause them to overeat, causing weight gain (especially after age 40) as metabolism slows.

Their hefty appetite can also promote blood related conditions like high cholesterol, plaque formation leading to heart disease, fatty liver disease, as well as adult onset diabetes and gout. Heat, when mixed with oiliness, can also cause acne.

Too much oiliness can also cause thick stagnant blood, triggering lymphatic obstruction that blocks release of cellular waste products, and causing red, flushed skin.

Sanguine & Emotional Balance

Blood is associated with personality traits such as empathic, generous, happy and optimistic.

These positive emotions along with Sanguine's extroverted and enthusiastic personality can make them the life of any party.

Don't count on them to be on time, however, because, just like they over eat, they often bite off more than they can chew of obligations and commitments.

Once they arrive, expect them to stay late and be a continuing source of entertainment.

A Sanguine who is overheated can be impulsive, unfocused and easily distracted (ADHD). They may move quickly from one experience or choice to another.

Sanguines, when congested and oily, can become frustrated and prone to anger.

Sanguine & Mental Balance

If your temperament is Sanguine, you enjoy a keen and creative mind that is also grounded and earthy.

The result is a broad perspective on issues that can make you an excellent problem solver and leader.

At the same time, your tendency to act impulsively and without self discipline can cause addictive behaviors that trap you in limiting patterns.

When in balance, your outgoing Sanguine temperament makes you a good prospect for jobs in sales, marketing, entertainment, coaching, customer service and PR.

Sanguine Temperament's Relation to Ayurvedic Doshas

Ayurveda defines three body types or constitutions. Vata is dry and cold. Pitta is hot with some moisture. Moisture and stagnancy predominate in Kapha.

Vata is most similar to the cold, dry Melancholic temperament of Greek medicine. Kapha is most similar to the Phlegmatic type, which is associated with water and the body's fluids.

Of the other two temperaments, Choleric is hot and dry and resembles a Pitta-Vata constitution.

The Sanguine temperament with its hot, oily wetness is similar to the Pitta-Kapha constitution.

Greek medicine, in other words, splits Pitta into two body types - hot and dry, and hot and moist. Thus Greek medicine has 4 doshas, not 3.

Greek medicine portrays Sanguine as more hyperactive than Ayurveda. Sanguines are hot, athletic, focused, extroverted and over committed with a fast metabolism.

Ayurveda associates moisture and heaviness with slowness. Kaphas tend to be cold, grounded and stubborn with a slow, lethargic metabolism.

In our experience, there are many Kapha individuals with a hyperactive Vata tendency. These individuals would be called Sanguine in Greek Medicine.

The Challenge of a Sanguine Balancing Diet

The typical solution to balance moisture is heat because heat dries out mucus. But adding spices to your foods will aggravate the heat component of Sanguine.

The typical solution to balance heat is cold, but this will depress metabolism and aggravate the moisture component of Sanguine.

Fortunately, there are ways to keep them both balanced.

Both Pitta and Kapha share the oily quality, which means foods that balance oily (those that are dry, astringent or bitter and pacify both Pitta and Kapha) are good choices for Sanguine.

Choose foods such as:

• Beans like adzuki, black beans, brown, red or yellow lentils, black-eyed peas, mung beans, urad dal and chickpeas
• Fruits like cranberries, pears, prunes, raw apples and pomegranate
• Bitter greens like arugula, dandelion leaves, kale, and collard greens beet greens and chard
• Cold, Bitter vegetables and greens like artichokes, asparagus, cauliflower, cabbage (cooked or raw), broccoli, lettuce or aloe
• Cooling and drying teas like rose petal, hibiscus, burdock root, cilantro, fennel, saffron, cardamom or coriander
• Light grains like amaranth, quinoa or barley

Avoid hot, moist foods such as

• Red meat, especially spicy sausage
• Beer and alcohol generally

Lifestyle Practices to Cool & Dry Sanguine Temperaments

Some helpful lifestyle practices for Sanguines include:

• Vigorous exercises including swimming, biking or vigorous walking.
• In cases of hyperactivity, regular cleansing and a daily contemplative practice are ideal
• Austerity as well as humility benefit Sanguine individuals spiritually.

Herbs to Calm & Soothe the Sanguine Temperament

Pitta and Kapha both benefit from astringent and bitter herbs to help balance their moisture and heat:

Bitter tasting herbs have cholagogue action that cleanses the liver and gallbladder. They are drying and increase digestive enzymes. Examples include:

• Dandelion Root and leaf, an alterative and cholagogue that detoxes and protects the liver and cleanses the blood.
• Neem Leaf, effective for dealing with most Pitta and Kapha disorders and traditionally used to purify the blood, cleanse the liver and support the immune system
• Yellow Dock, a cholagogue that can flush the liver and stimulate digestion
• Kalmegh, also known as king of bitters, which is also an immune stimulant used in cases of infection, especially in the lungs
• Aloe vera

Astringent tasting herbs cause constriction, drawing together and dryness. For example:

• Rose petal, witch Hazel and chickpea flour topically can help dry excess oiliness in the skin.
• Arjuna, a traditional heart tonic that can nourish and clear inflammation from the skin
• Bhumyamalaki, an anti-inflammatory herb that can strengthen and cleanse the liver
• Brahmi Gotu Kola known for supporting the brain and nervous system