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College of Ayurvedic Diet & Digestion


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Chard Benefits (According to Ayurveda)
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Is Chard Good for My Ayurvedic Diet?

Find out by taking this free, easy quiz. You'll learn your body type, and whether 'Chard' is a good fit. Complete the basic quiz in 1 minute, or go deeper with additional quizzes at your own leisure to learn more about your body.

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AYURVEDA'S GUIDE TO VITALITY & WHOLESOME NOURISHMENT

Your Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body and your specific imbalances. With an Ayurvedic diet you feel joy and satisfaction because what you are eating truly nourishes and balances you. Disease results from diets and lifestyles that are incompatible with your nature. By eating a personalized diet matched to your body, you experience optimal health. See How it Works.

Metabolic Nature of Chard

See a complete list of all biocharacteristics.

METABOLIC NATURE

Metabolic Nature

Ayurveda assesses metabolic imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics (gunas). Aggravating them weakens your body and causes imbalance. By knowing which biocharacteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct metabolic imbalances before you get sick. Every biocharacteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold). You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite biocharacteristic.

Find Out More

COLD

ABOUT COLD BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Cold refers to anything that reduces body temperature, metabolism, and blood flow.

LEARN MORE ABOUT COLD

DRY

ABOUT DRY BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Dry is identified by lack of moisture, lack of fat, or anything that causes diuresis.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DRY

LIGHT

ABOUT LIGHT BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Lightness is identified by reduced weight.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LIGHT

LIQUEFIED

ABOUT LIQUEFIED BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Substances that thin fluids (lower viscosity of blood plasma). These may include blood thinners or mucolytic herbs.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LIQUEFIED

CLEAR

ABOUT CLEAR BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Clear refers to anything that cleanses or flushes out wastes, or that digests ama.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CLEAR

TASTES

The 6 Tastes

Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food. Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body. Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food. Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods. Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion. Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste. One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes. The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below?

Find Out More

BITTER

ABOUT BITTER BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Bitter taste has cholagogue action - it is cold, clear, light, and stimulating. It increases digestive enzymes and is laxative, and drying.

LEARN MORE ABOUT BITTER

ASTRINGENT

ABOUT ASTRINGENT BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Astringency is characterized by constriction, drawing together, or drying.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ASTRINGENT

DOSHAS

The Three Doshas / Body Types

Ayurveda is a metabolic theory of medicine that explains individual health, tendencies, and disease patterns through the concept of doshas, which can be understood as your metabolic patterns and tendencies.

Each dosha reflects a distinct metabolic nature and describes strengths & weaknesses in bodily function, and how these affect energy levels, digestion, susceptibility to disease, and many other tendencies.

Your metabolic nature not only affects your physical characteristics, but also influences your mental thought patterns, confidence, and enthusiasm.

Ayurveda balances these metabolic strengths & weaknesses to support your body's vitality and prevent recurrent disease cycles. This support is a critical aid, especially in chronic or incurable disease conditions.

The 3 metabolic body types (doshas), are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha).

Through dosha, Ayurveda empowers people to identify metabolic imbalances early, break repetitive patterns of disease, and cultivate habits that support long-term vitality and well-being.

Ultimately, these metabolic patterns also provide a framework for understanding yourself, including body, mind, and spiritual tendencies.

Find Out More

PACIFIES
Kapha pacifying Pitta pacifying
AGGRAVATES
Vata aggravating

GREEK MEDICINE / TEMPERAMENTS

The Four Temperaments / Humors

Ayurveda & Greek Medicine were the dominant form of medicine along the Silk Road from England to China and South Asia. They work by assessing your metabolic type, patterns, and nature. Greek medicine recognizes 4 metabolic temperaments, Melancholic, Choleric, Sanguine, and Phlegmatic.

Find Out More

PACIFIES
CHOLERIC

ABOUT CHOLERIC BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Has a hot and dry metabolic nature. Enthusiastic, vibrant and bright. In excess burns up fluids and ojas, irritable. Corresponds to high bilirubin in the blood that irritates and heats up the body and liver.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CHOLERIC

PHLEGMATIC

ABOUT PHLEGMATIC BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Wet & cold. When out of balance becomes congested, stagnant, and overweight. Loving, trusting, and patient.

LEARN MORE ABOUT PHLEGMATIC

SANGUINE

ABOUT SANGUINE BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Hot & moist. Full-blooded, vigorous. Vivacious, social, and epicurean. Bullish.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SANGUINE

AGGRAVATES
MELANCHOLIC

ABOUT MELANCHOLIC BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Cold and dry with a slow, variable or erratic metabolism. Colicky, tense. Withdrawn, pensive, anxious, and hesitant. Analytical, intelligent, detail oriented and creative. Prone to ojas depletion, dehydration, an overactive nervous system, and depression.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MELANCHOLIC

Other

Subtaste:
Bland
Affinity:
Bone Joint, Weight Loss
Family:
Amaranthaceae

Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Chard
Experiences are Personal
Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of herbal-actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition.

(see all)
Digestion:
Stimulates Peristalsis

STIMULATES-PERISTALSIS

An herb that promotes involuntary smooth muscle contractions to facilitate the movement of food and waste through the digestive tract.

SEE ALL 'STIMULATES-PERISTALSIS' FOODS / HERBS

Kidney & Urinary:
Diuretic

DIURETIC

Herbs that promote urine formation, thereby flushing the kidneys and urinary tract while eliminating any excess water retention. As diuretics reduce water retention, they are often used to reduce blood pressure.

SEE ALL 'DIURETIC' FOODS / HERBS

Weight Loss:
Lowers Blood Sugar

LOWERS-BLOOD-SUGAR

An herb that lowers blood sugar.

SEE ALL 'LOWERS-BLOOD-SUGAR' FOODS / HERBS

Constituents:
Nitric Oxide

STRONG NITRIC-OXIDE

Improves circulation by dilating blood vessels. Protects blood vessels from damage. Improves athletic performance, libido, immunity, and brain health.

SEE ALL 'NITRIC-OXIDE' FOODS / HERBS

,
Calcium

CALCIUM

Calcium nourishes bones and muscles. A muscle cell is activated when calcium enters the cell. It relaxes when the calcium is secreted.

SEE ALL 'CALCIUM' FOODS / HERBS

,
Iron

IRON

Iron is necessary for the transport of oxygen in red blood cells.

SEE ALL 'IRON' FOODS / HERBS

,
Magnesium

MAGNESIUM

Helps muscles relax. Laxative.

SEE ALL 'MAGNESIUM' FOODS / HERBS

, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E

Foods with a Similar Nature to Chard

  • Beet Greens

    Beet Greens has these Actions in Common

    Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar, Stimulates-peristalsis

    LEARN MORE

  • Artichoke Hearts

    Artichoke Hearts has these Actions in Common

    Lowers-blood-sugar, Stimulates-peristalsis, Diuretic

    LEARN MORE

  • Artichoke

    Artichoke has these Actions in Common

    Stimulates-peristalsis, Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar

    LEARN MORE

  • Dandelion Leaves

    Dandelion Leaves has these Actions in Common

    Lowers-blood-sugar, Stimulates-peristalsis, Diuretic

    LEARN MORE

  • Collard Greens

    Collard Greens has these Actions in Common

    Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar

    LEARN MORE

  • Rye

    Rye has these Actions in Common

    Lowers-blood-sugar, Diuretic

    LEARN MORE

  • Pumpkin Seeds

    Pumpkin Seeds has these Actions in Common

    Lowers-blood-sugar, Diuretic

    LEARN MORE

  • Romaine Lettuce

    Romaine Lettuce has these Actions in Common

    Lowers-blood-sugar, Stimulates-peristalsis

    LEARN MORE

  • Watermelon

    Watermelon has these Actions in Common

    Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar

    LEARN MORE

  • Barley

    Barley has these Actions in Common

    Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar

    LEARN MORE

Herbs & Supplements with a Similar Nature to Chard

  • Vidanga

    Vidanga has these Actions in Common

    Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar

    LEARN MORE

  • Triphala Guggulu

    Triphala Guggulu has these Actions in Common

    Lowers-blood-sugar, Diuretic

    LEARN MORE

  • Guduchi

    Guduchi has these Actions in Common

    Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar

    LEARN MORE

  • Chandraprabha Vati

    Chandraprabha Vati has these Actions in Common

    Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar

    LEARN MORE

  • Vasaka / Vasa

    Vasaka / Vasa has these Actions in Common

    Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar

    LEARN MORE

  • Ashoka

    Ashoka has these Actions in Common

    Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar

    LEARN MORE

  • Dandelion Root

    Dandelion Root has these Actions in Common

    Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar

    LEARN MORE

  • Shilajit Tonic

    Shilajit Tonic has these Actions in Common

    Lowers-blood-sugar, Diuretic

    LEARN MORE

  • Neem Leaf

    Neem Leaf has these Actions in Common

    Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar

    LEARN MORE

  • Bhringaraj

    Bhringaraj has these Actions in Common

    Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar

    LEARN MORE

  • Vidari

    Vidari has these Actions in Common

    Diuretic, Lowers-blood-sugar

    LEARN MORE


Joyful Belly is a recognized college of biocharacteristics medicine.

TRADITIONALLY INDICATED FOR
THESE SYMPTOMS

Chard may be beneficial for these symptoms. The suitability of any food for a condition is highly dependent on the individual. Please see your doctor before using this food to treat a medical condition.

CONTRAINDICATED FOR
THESE SYMPTOMS

Chard may be harmful or contraindicated for these symptoms. Note this is not a complete list of all possible contraindications. Please see your doctor before using this food to treat a medical condition.

Herb Drug Interaction Risk

Here are some potential herb drug interactions with Chard. Please see your health care provider for more information.

View other ingredients
for Spring

Chard is recommended for Spring. Check out these other Spring foods here.
VIEW ALL SPRING FOODS MORE FOODS FOR PITTA / KAPHA MAIN INGREDIENT PAGE

HOW DOES EATING AYURVEDICALLY MAKE YOU FEEL?

Eating Ayurvedically makes you feel nourished and energized. Food digests with ease when right for your body type (dosha). Healthy digestion is seen as the cornerstone of well-being in Ayurveda. Healthy digestion generally prevents illness. If you do get sick, a strong digestive fire reduces the severity of illness and increases your resilience. It also improves your mood. Once you begin eating Ayurvedically, you will feel refreshed, vital and strong.
CONTINUE READING

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About the Author

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

John's hobbies & specialties include advanced digestive disorders, medieval Catholic philosophy, & botany. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University. His wife and family of 7 kids live in Asheville, NC.

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