ACORN

SAVE FOOD

Acorns are high in tannins, a bitter and astringent acid that irritates the digestive tract and causes constipation. However, tannins are water soluble.

ALCOHOL

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 3 reviews, 150 likes

SAVE FOOD

Alcohol is a hot depressant. Initially, the heat combined with the relaxing qualties of alcohol dilate blood vessels, an aid to circulation. The heart, which is a naturally affectionate and social organ, predisposes one to fun and perhaps risky social...

ALLSPICE

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 2 reviews, 295 likes

SAVE FOOD

Highly aromatic & spicy, Allspice is an ideal appetizer that refreshes the mouth. It is a delicious addition to meats and desserts, where it doubles as a digestive aid. It's taste and astringency closely resembles cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and it...

ANCHOVY

SAVE FOOD

Anchovies clear dampness in Chinese medicine, and resolve water accumulations. They are a spleen yang tonic, which means their warming nature helps build agni.

APRICOT (DRIED)

SAVE FOOD

See also fresh apricots

BEEF

SAVE FOOD

Red meat strongly rebuilds deficient blood. It is especially useful in late summer and early fall. Red meat increases Pitta and Kapha. Too much red meat clogs the lymphatic system (Kapha blocking Vata in rasa dhatu), and causes blood stangation...

BEER

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 84 likes

SAVE FOOD

Beer is Cheer Few people don't enjoy a cold beer on a hot summer's day. The paradox is that beer, although bitter and refreshing to taste, heats the body up. On a hot day, that increased heat leaves you thirsty and dehydrated,...

BLACK PEPPER

SAVE FOOD

The word 'pepper' is dervied from the South Asian word 'pippali'. Pippali (long pepper) is a famous herb in Ayurveda for lung and heart conditions, and is a close relative of black pepper. The word pepper gradually came to include the unrelated New...

BLUE CHEESE

SAVE FOOD

Tangy and moldy, like gym socks but glorious all the same.

BROWN RICE

(4.67 out of 5 stars) 3 reviews, 271 likes

SAVE FOOD

Brown rice has a superior nutritional profile than white rice but it more difficult to digest. Brown rice is made by removing the husk from harvested rice grain but the bran layer and the germ are kept intact. In white rice, the bran and germ are...

BUCKWHEAT

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 154 likes

SAVE FOOD

Buckwheat's hearty warmth hits the spot on any damp cloudy day in November. Enjoy as you snuggle up with your loved ones, or while listening to crackling logs in a wood burning stove. Smoky, nutty and earthy, buckwheat is slightly demulcent like...

CHEDDAR CHEESE

SAVE FOOD

The richness of cheese promises nourishment, comfort and contentment. However, as it mixens and thickens mucus in the digestive tract with a thick, creamy layer of dairy, it bogs down digestion, and encourages candida growth. Once the richness enters...

CHESTNUTS

SAVE FOOD

Chestnuts are warm, sweet and nourishing. Their building nature is perfect for winter. Winter is a perfect time of year to strengthen your body, since your body responds better to building tonics throughout October, November, and December. Chestnuts...

CHOCOLATE (CACAO)

(4.00 out of 5 stars) 7 reviews, 218 likes

SAVE FOOD

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...

CINNAMON

SAVE FOOD

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....

CLOVES

SAVE FOOD

Cloves are native to India and Indonesia. They are the aromatic dried flower bud of a tree in the same family as Eucalyptus and Guava (Myrtaceae family). Cloves resemble a nail in shape. The English name 'clove' derives from the latin 'clavus'...

COFFEE

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 189 likes

SAVE FOOD

Coffee as a SacramentWhat are your rituals around coffee? Coffee has become a sacrament in our culture. A client reports, "The only time my husband and I relax together is over coffee." My response, "If your marriage is dependent...

COTTAGE CHEESE

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 2 reviews, 91 likes

SAVE FOOD

Cottage cheese is easier to digest and lighter than most other dairy products. Ysha Oakes recommends mixing Cottage Cheese with flax seed oil and spices like black pepper and turmeric.

DOSA MIX

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 44 likes

SAVE FOOD

Our palates just aren't used to sour food unless it's a pickle. But dosa's are more full bodied than plain rice and lentils, just like beer compared to bread.

EGG YOLK

SAVE FOOD

Egg yolks are satisfying, creamy and soft. They have a high fat and nutrient content, containing everything necessary to nourish a baby chicken. This makes egg a strengthening tonic. Egg yolks are creamy when raw, and have a dry, pasty...

EGGS

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 2 reviews, 178 likes

SAVE FOOD

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...

GARLIC

SAVE FOOD

Regarded as both a force for good and evil, folklore and superstition abound when it comes to this little but poignant member of the onion family. A garland of garlic kept evil spirits and vampires away in the west. In an eastern Islamic myth, garlic...

GINGER (DRIED)

SAVE FOOD

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...

GOAT CHEESE

SAVE FOOD

Fresh goat cheese, only a few days old, is much less Pitta provoking than other cheeses. Fresh cheese builds ojas. Use black pepper, other pungents, or cardamom to antidote the mucous forming properties of cheese.

HING (ASAFOETIDA)

SAVE FOOD

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...

KEFIR

(4.00 out of 5 stars) 3 reviews, 75 likes

SAVE FOOD

Kefir is a thin yogurt drink that cools and soothes as it refreshes. Its sour taste, like yogurt, improves its digestibility when compared with other dairy products. As it is less thick than yogurt, it also digests more easily than yogurt. Kefir can...

LAMB

SAVE FOOD

Lamb fat is heavy. Muscle fats are widely used in ayurveda for convalescing (recovering from illness). However, muscle (mamsa) and muscle fats (vasa) are heavy for digestion. Downstream, they cause 'sroto-rodha' or blockage of blood. After several days...

LEMON

SAVE FOOD

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.

MISO

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 review, 93 likes

SAVE FOOD

Like a salty bean cheese, tangy and sour with a funk. Used mainly in soups as a flavorful stock.