AYURVEDIC PERSPECTIVE ON ASTRINGENT
Astringency is characterized by constriction, drawing together, or drying.
You feel the power of astringent taste when you bite into astringent foods like a green banana or cranberries, or when you sip strong black or green tea.
Astringent foods make the mouth feel rough or dry. That dry, puckering sensation you feel tells you astringent taste is at work.
Foods with astringent taste cause constriction, drawing together, and dryness.
Their constriction power tones your body's tissues and cleanses your mouth. It also reduces blood flow and can help stop bleeding.
The reduced blood flow also makes most astringents very cold and dry.
Astringent's dryness also comes from its ability to chemically break up mucus in the digestive tract or lungs. Astringent foods are hard to swallow because they dry the mucous membranes in your mouth.
Astringent's drying power is helpful if you suffer from fluid retention or diarrhea, but use with care if you have dry skin or chronic constipation.
The tightening, constricting, and mineral rich nature of astringents makes them earthy, solid and dense.
Foods with Salty, Sour, or Sweet tastes can help balance astringent's dryness.
Let's explore further.
Astringent Taste & Dosha
Astringent is one of
six tastes recognized by Ayurveda, the other five being sweet, sour, salty, pungent and bitter.
Astringent's dryness promotes excess Vata.
In the colon, Vata's home, astringency soaks up fluid and binds the stools, which (in excess) can lead to constipation especially if your digestive tract is already dry.
On the other hand, the airiness in astringent foods reduces excess water and mucus in Kapha constitutions by both drying up secretions and breaking down excess mucus.
Astringent tastes' cool quality helps balance and pacify Pitta related heat and inflammation, like skin eruptions.
Astringent foods are also helpful for Pitta related inflammation in the gastro-intestinal tract like IBS or Crohn's Disease.
And its stool binding function may be a source of relief for someone suffering from the diarrhea often associated with Pitta types.
However, if Vata dryness is the source of the inflammation, exercise caution when eating astringent foods, which can make the problem worse.
Minerals & Astringency
Foods high in minerals tend to have astringent qualities reflecting the earth element of astringent taste. You know this by the rough feel they have in the mouth. For example, stinging nettles.
Mineral rich foods include salt and foods high in potassium, calcium, magnesium and many others.
Some examples of foods high in potassium and magnesium include leafy greens like kale, collards and spinach. Beans and lentils are another good source. Pickles and olives are examples of mineral rich salty foods.
Pica is a medical disorder characterized by people eating non-foods such as clay, soil, paint, or wood. It results from a strong craving for astringent taste. This unusual craving can often be satisfied with vitamin and mineral substances, which supply the missing nutrient.
Astringent Taste & Elimination of Waste
If you've ever noticed a tendency towards constipation after drinking too much cranberry juice or eating lentil soup, you have experienced the drying power of astringent foods.
Astringent taste tones and tightens tissues which blocks or obstructs lymphatic flow and sweat. The dryness of astringents generally slows elimination of feces.
This can be a good thing if you have diarrhea or a tendency to sweat profusely.
However, many astringents are diuretics, such as dandelion and raspberry leaf, and enhance elimination in this area.
Astringent Foods
Leafy greens are generally astringent, including green and black tea, and beet greens.
Pomegranates and cranberries are all astringent, along with most sour fruits like apples.
Astringent taste makes an apple crunchy. Generally, crisp foods have some astringency.
Astringency makes slices of green banana, lentils and peeled potatoes stick to each other.
See below for a comprehensive list of astringent food and herbs by dosha, biocharacteristics (qualities) and other critical variables. You will also find a link to recipes that use astringent ingredients.
Emotions & Astringent Taste
The concept of astringent taste can be used to describe emotions as well as conditions in the physical body.
Astringent taste's cooling quality can calm an angry and irritated person and help them feel less riled, emotionally as well as physically.
Emotionally, the "pulling together" impact of astringent taste helps someone cool off and collect scattered thoughts.
In the physical body, astringent taste causes the cells of the body to withdraw, tone and tighten - creating a barrier to astringency.
Emotionally, your body's reaction to astringents is similar to the mind's response to fear - something from which you naturally withdraw or erect barriers around yourself.
Herbs with Astringent Quality for Ayurvedic Treatment
- Triphala combines the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial benefits of three traditional herbs. It is Pitta and Kapha balancing and can support digestive, oral and skin health. Triphala aggravates Vata.
- Amalaki, a tri-doshic herb, is primarily sour with astringent qualities. It supports digestive health, clears excess Pitta from the digestive tract and builds ojas.
- Haritaki cleanses, detoxifies and aids digestive and respiratory health. It has been used for centuries to balance Vata.
- Arjuna is dominantly astringent and used as a rejuvenative and tonic that regulates blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle tone.
- Manjistha is a cleansing and detoxifying herb that pacifies both Pitta and Kapha and removes natural toxins and excess heat from the blood.
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