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Recipes with Walnuts: Brown Rice with Cinnamon & Lentil
Walnuts are warm and stimulating. Nourishing stimulants are desired for cold, deficiency type Vata disorders. Since walnuts are also astringent due to tannins, some Vata individuals may find them constipating. Their oily nature mitigates this constipative effect somehwat.
Walnuts look like brains and they are brain food in Ayurveda. They contain lecithin which is a precursor to acetylcholine, a neuortransmitter. Lecithin is our favorite ingredient for eggless emulsions as in 'Eggless Hollandaise Sauce'.
Protein deficiency causes weak digestion and sweet cravings. Nuts processed with digestive spices and ground into smoothies or sauces are an important protein source for Vata type vegetarians who have trouble digesting beans.
About Walnuts
The country of Georgia is famous for its walnut sauces. Walnuts also exude a golden yellow oil when pressed that is used as a garnish in Georgian dishes. Discover more about walnuts from one of my favorite authors, Paula Wolfert, in "The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean."
Recipes with Walnuts: Raw Zucchini Noodles & Mint Walnut Pesto
Cooking Walnuts
Like many brown colored nuts the brown coating on walnuts is full of tannins. Tannins are astringent, provoking Vata. You can feel this astrigency as a tightening or rough effect on your tongue. For better tasting, less astringent walnuts, soak them in water for a few hours and drain. Or, boil for thirty seconds and strain. Roasting walnuts also destroys their astringency while preserving crunchiness.
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Are Walnuts Good for My Ayurvedic Diet?
Find out by taking this free, easy quiz.
You'll learn your body type, and whether 'Walnuts' 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.
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.
Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics
(gunas).
Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance.
By knowing which characteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick.
Every characteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold).
You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite characteristic.
In Ayurveda, oily refers to anything moistening. More specifically, oily refers to building substances that increases fat, or are themselves fatty. For example, sugar is Oily.
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?
According to the biocharacteristic theory of medicine,
people tend to get sick, over and over again, due to habitual causes and imbalances that are unique to the person.
Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness.
Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency.
Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses.
The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history.
The 3 functional body types
(doshas),
are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha).
Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy. They are easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry.
Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy. They tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed.
Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass. If they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion. Anabolic people tend to be stable and grounded.
Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Walnuts
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.
A herb that contracts tissue or blood vessels. Generally styptics are astringent. They are often used topically as a hemostatic to stop bleeding, or to reduce secretions.
Phytates prevent absorption of nutrients. They are commonly found in all seeds, including nuts, grains, and beans. Sprouting greatly reduces phytate content, as well as long, slow cooking with vinegar.
In each clinical research trial below, students from the
Joyful Belly School of Ayurveda ate the selected food for 3 days and reported the pharmacological effects.
See other clinical research trials for diet & herbs at Joyful Belly.
TEMPERATURE/CIRCULATION
How did Walnuts affect your temperature?
0
8
14
12
0
Much colder
Slightly colder
Same
Slightly warmer
Much warmer
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your sweat quantity?
0
3
25
6
0
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect the color of your tongue body?
5
13
0
16
Paler
Redder
Bluer
No Change
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your appetite/hunger?
2
21
7
3
1
Much less hungry
Slightly less hungry
Same
Slightly hungrier
Much hungrier
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your digestion speed?
0
3
15
14
2
Much faster
Slightly faster
Same
Slightly slower
Much slower
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
TOXINS
How did Walnuts affect the amount of gas & bloating?
1
2
23
6
2
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your stool smell?
1
1
23
8
1
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
Tongue: How did Walnuts affect the thickness & size of your tongue coating?
0
8
13
12
1
Much smaller
Slightly less
Same
Slightly larger coating
Much larger
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect the color of your tongue coating?
2
4
2
12
14
Yellower
Browner
Grayer
Whiter
No Change
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your urine smell?
0
2
27
5
0
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect the amount of bubbles in your urine?
1
1
27
5
0
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Many more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your sweat smell?
0
1
29
4
0
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
HYDRATION
How did Walnuts affect your urine frequency/quantity?
2
6
22
4
0
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect the cracks on your tongue?
1
8
18
6
1
Larger/longer/more cracks
Slightly more
Same
Slightly less/smaller/shorter
Much less
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
NERVOUS-SYSTEM
How did Walnuts affect your energy levels?
1
10
11
12
0
Much less energy
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more energy
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your muscle tension?
2
6
19
6
1
Much less tension
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more tension
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your anxiety?
1
9
18
5
1
Much less anxiety
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more anxiety
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect the stillness of your tongue?
4
24
6
More still
No Change
More Trembling / Jittery
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
DIGESTION
How did Walnuts affect the amount of gas & bloating?
1
2
23
6
2
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your appetite/hunger?
2
21
7
3
1
Much less hungry
Slightly less hungry
Same
Slightly hungrier
Much hungrier
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your digestion speed?
0
3
15
14
2
Much faster
Slightly faster
Same
Slightly slower
Much slower
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
TONGUE
How did Walnuts affect the cracks on your tongue?
1
8
18
6
1
Larger/longer/more cracks
Slightly more
Same
Slightly less/smaller/shorter
Much less
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
Tongue: How did Walnuts affect the thickness & size of your tongue coating?
0
8
13
12
1
Much smaller
Slightly less
Same
Slightly larger coating
Much larger
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect the color of your tongue body?
5
13
0
16
Paler
Redder
Bluer
No Change
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect the stillness of your tongue?
4
24
6
More still
No Change
More Trembling / Jittery
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect the color of your tongue coating?
2
4
2
12
14
Yellower
Browner
Grayer
Whiter
No Change
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
STOOL
How did Walnuts affect your stool smell?
1
1
23
8
1
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your stool consistency?
1
11
10
8
4
Much softer
Slightly softer
Same
Slightly harder
Much harder
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your stool frequency/quantity?
4
9
11
8
2
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your stool color?
6
0
3
3
22
More yellow
More gray
More green
More orange
Same
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your stool lightness?
2
10
15
7
0
Much lighter
Slightly lighter
Same
Slightly darker
Much darker
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
URINE
How did Walnuts affect your urine smell?
0
2
27
5
0
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your urine lightness?
0
3
22
9
0
Much lighter
Slightly lighter
Same
Slightly Darker
Much Darker
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your urine frequency/quantity?
2
6
22
4
0
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect the amount of bubbles in your urine?
1
1
27
5
0
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Many more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your urine clarity?
3
23
8
More cloudy
Same
More clear
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
SWEAT
How did Walnuts affect your sweat smell?
0
1
29
4
0
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your sweat quantity?
0
3
25
6
0
Much less
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
SYSTEMIC
How did Walnuts affect your muscle tension?
2
6
19
6
1
Much less tension
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more tension
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your anxiety?
1
9
18
5
1
Much less anxiety
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more anxiety
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your temperature?
0
8
14
12
0
Much colder
Slightly colder
Same
Slightly warmer
Much warmer
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
How did Walnuts affect your energy levels?
1
10
11
12
0
Much less energy
Slightly less
Same
Slightly more energy
Much more
Total Responses: 34 Study ID:39 (2020-11-16 - 2020-12-06)
Walnuts 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.
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.
Give smart recommendations to your clients, and improve efficiency in your clinic with these tools.
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 6 kids, and pursuing his love of theology, philosophy, and language.
We chose the dosha classification based upon the high content of tannic acid in unroasted walnuts. The heat of walnuts, among nuts, makes them comparatively less kapha aggravating. What are your thoughts?
I was eating 1/4-1/3 cup of walnuts daily with breakfast. They seemed to be the key to remaining regular in my elimination. I recently became infected with HSV 2 and have read, and discovered through experience that nuts and seeds are aggravating to the virus due to lysine/arginine ration. I have become constipated now that I had to eliminate walnuts from my diet. Could you recommend an alternative source of fiber/oily that will help with regularity? I am a vata constitution.
* 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.
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