MUNG BEAN

(4.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 356 likes

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Looking for a new way to keep your body refreshed and cleansed this summer? Mung beans can help you keep your cool when the days are hot. These nourishing legumes are also famous for their cleansing abilities in Ayurveda.

CARDAMOM

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 8 reviews, 600 likes

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Love for cardamom resonates through history - for instance, ancient Egyptians chewed cardamom to whiten their teeth and sweeten their breath. Cardamom helps take the edge off of caffeine in the famous drink Turkish coffee. Cardamom is a member of the...

APPLE (COOKED)

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 794 likes

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In Norse mythology, apples are said to provide eternal youthfulness. Apples appear in many religious traditions, including the bible, often as a forbidden fruit. Apples originated in Western Asia, where its wild ancestor still grows today. There are...

NIGELLA (BLACK CUMIN)

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 152 likes

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Found in Tutankhamun's tomb, black cumin is a famous as an Old World spice and medicine. The 'Tibb-e-Nabavi" or "Medicine of the Prophet (Muhammed)", reports the only disease it cannot cure is death. It's many uses have earned it the nickname "seed of...

ALMOND MILK

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 5 reviews, 662 likes

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Almond milk is a wonderful soothing drink that builds strength, immunity, and grounded energy. Its cool, heavy sweetness creates a sensation of stability and calm in the body, while offering easily accessible energy. For those suffering from lactose...

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 6 reviews, 482 likes

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Often used for weight loss, vinegar strongly increases the flow of bile. Bile is a fatty, oily substance made by the liver, and stored in the gall bladder. It helps you digest fats. Since bile is also a fatty oily substance, draining bile from the...

PEANUTS

(4.33 out of 5 stars) 6 reviews, 51 likes

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Why do we love nuts? Humans have a long history of eating nuts. Nuts were the primary source of fats and proteins prior to the agricultural revolution. Unfortunately, peanuts aren't nuts; they're beans.

CHOCOLATE (CACAO)

(4.00 out of 5 stars) 7 reviews, 241 likes

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Romance may be sealed with a box of chocolates, but passion for chocolate is as eternal as true love. Long before John Cadbury invented the chocolate bar, native meso-american peoples brewed chocolate with medicinal herbs. Chocolate has been used as...

DATES (DRIED)

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 2 reviews, 167 likes

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Dates have been a staple food and cultivated in the Middle East for thousands of years. Their cultivation has been documented in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt and as far back as 6000BC in Arabia.

DANDELION LEAVES

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 263 likes

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When most people think of dandelion, they think of pulling this pesky weed out of their manicured lawn. It's the poster child for weeds. This is especially ironic because colonists brought the dandelion to the Americas as an important medicinal plant....

LEMON

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 2 reviews, 351 likes

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The origin of lemons are a mystery. Do they come from southern india? burma? or china? Speculation abounds. Genetic study reveals lemons are a hybrid of a sour orange and a citron.

SUNFLOWER OIL

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Sunflower oil is a relatively safe, neutral oil for all three doshas. However, deep fried food aggravates all three doshas. Fried food aggravates Vata due to dryness, Pitta due to excess bile production, and Kapha due to heaviness.

BARLEY

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 301 likes

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Barley has an ancient history, and was first cultivated in the Near East.

TOBACCO / NICOTINE

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 26 likes

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Tobacco, a member of the nightshade family, aggravates all three doshas. Kapha in the lungs, Pitta in the liver vitiating the blood, and Vata due to the mobile quality. People crave tobacco because it temporarily stimulates the lungs and...

AJWAIN

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 366 likes

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Ajwain is native to the Middle East and is still common in Egypt as well as Indian cooking. Like turmeric, ajwain is a spice used to enhance digestibility rather than flavor.

CHIA SEEDS

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The word chia is a native american word meaning 'oily' Chia seeds were an important food crop in central America. Chia seeds are one of the few seeds of the mint family consumed as a food. It is closely related to culinary sage.

CELERY STALK

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The word for celery comes from the Greek word selinon which translates to 'parsley,' a close relative of celery. Celery's powers have been known since antiquity. Leaves of it were found in the garlands surrounding King Tut's tomb, and Homer makes...

TURMERIC

(4.58 out of 5 stars) 12 reviews, 988 likes

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Turmeric is a warm, yellow, earthy, slightly bitter spice used in ritual, medicine, and cooking. Turmeric paste is applied to bride and groom before marriage in some places of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Although a deep yellow color, turmeric...

WATER

(4.80 out of 5 stars) 5 reviews, 178 likes

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Staying Hydrated: Ayurveda's Approach to the Essence of LifeWater is the essence of life. Without it you cannot go on living. In fact, the sheer volume of water on Earth is what makes this planet unique. But how much do you really...

STAR ANISE

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Star anise is a small evergreen tree native to China that closely resembles anise in flavor. Its licorice-flavored start shaped fruit is also grown in Japan and Vietnam. It has a dark brown color and contains six to eight seeded petal-like segments. ...

OKRA

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Okra is ojas building like most plants in the mallow family. It is also slimy and astringent, a seemingly unusual combination. Since okra is also cool, it is tri-doshic. Okra is especially helpful for relieving dryness in the joints.

GINGER (DRIED)

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Ever reach for dried ginger as a quick replacement for the fresh root and assume its an apt substitute? Ginger is ginger is ginger, right? Actually, not at all. Dried ginger...

KOMBUCHA

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Akin to vinegar, kombucha is highly acidic and increases Pitta. As a medicine, kombucha should be consumed in small quantities only, such as a tsp before meals.

POPCORN

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Anything you eat must be completely rehydrated in order to digest it. That means dry foods like corn could absorb too much fluids for deficiency, dehydrated Vata typs. Corn is also drying in the colon as it continues to absorb moisture, leading to...

CABBAGE (COOKED)

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Cabbage juice is an anti-inflammatory. It was used by the Greeks and Romans to relieve eye inflammation. Fresh cabbage juice promotes rapid healing of ulcers. Raw cabbage is very difficult to digest and strongly provokes Vata. Cooked cabbage is...

CUMIN

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 4 reviews, 319 likes

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Appreciated since ancient times, cumin's aroma has wafted through kitchens since at least the second millennium BC, even flavoring breads and soups mentioned in the Bible. The highly valued spice was a currency to pay tithes to priests. The ancient...

FENNEL SEEDS

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 3 reviews, 406 likes

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Cool and soothing, verdant and fragrant, fennel is a member of the carrot family that includes other popular spices such as cumin, coriander, dill and celery. Fennel is used as a flavoring in some natural toothpastes and mouth fresheners. Fennel seeds...

BLACK BEANS

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Black beans are a rich source of vegetable protein, easing any meat cravings for those seeking satiation. The shiny obsidian quality of the beans are a beautiful addition to any meal, providing an earthy depth and dark contrast. Black beans appear...

CINNAMON

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Cinnamon is a small evergreen tree in the Lauraceae family native to Sri Lanka. Other members of this family include sassafras, avocado, camphor, and spicebush. Trees of the laurel family, including cinnamon, predominate in the world's laurel forests....

HING (ASAFOETIDA)

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Also known as devil's dung, stinking gum, food of the gods, and giant fennel, hing has a varied and suprising diversity of uses. Along the Tex-Mex border hing was used for wolf bait. The odor attracts wolves. In Jamaica, hing is used to protect the...

SAFFRON

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Saffron's use is ancient. Saffron-based pigments have been found in 50,000 year-old paintings in northwest Iran. It conjures romance, royalty, and delicacy wherever it appears. Alexander the Great bathed in saffron to cure battle wounds. Cultivated...

BAKING POWDER

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Baking powder is a compound of both baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and an acid salt. When the mixture comes into contact with water or heat, the chemicals in baking powder react and form carbon dioxide, causing dough to rise.

EGGS

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 2 reviews, 202 likes

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Egg whites are a great source of protein. The egg yolks are a hearty and nourishing tonic pacifying Vata but aggravating Kapha. Egg yolks are high in cholesterol. Egg yolks are heating, and mildly aggravating to Pitta. Some people are allergic to the...

FENUGREEK

(4.50 out of 5 stars) 2 reviews, 200 likes

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Fenugreek s one of the oldest medicinal plants. It has been used since 4000BC. It's name means "ram's horn clover". It was found in the tomb of Tutankhamen.