Amalaki: What Is It & What Are Its Benefits?

Metabolic Nature of Amalaki

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.
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COLD

ABOUT COLD BIOCHARACTERISTIC

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

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EASY

ABOUT EASY BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Easy refers to anything easy to digest, or digests quickly.

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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?
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SOUR

ABOUT SOUR BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Sour refers to anything fermented or acidic.

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ASTRINGENT

ABOUT ASTRINGENT BIOCHARACTERISTIC

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

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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.
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PACIFIES

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.
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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.

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PHLEGMATIC

ABOUT PHLEGMATIC BIOCHARACTERISTIC

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

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SANGUINE

ABOUT SANGUINE BIOCHARACTERISTIC

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

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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.

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Other

Subdosha:

Pitta Alochaka, Pitta Bhrajaka, Pitta Pachaka, Pitta Ranjaka, Pitta Sadhaka

Affinity:

Anti Aging

ANTI-AGING

Geriatric conditions typically involve low agni / metabolism, poor circulation, weakness & debility, muscle weakening, poor digestion, a drop in sex hormones, and connective tissue degradation in bones & skin.

SEE ALL 'ANTI-AGING' FOODS / HERBS

Energy Vitality

ENERGY-VITALITY

Includes vitality improving foods, herbs, and exercises by dosha.

SEE ALL 'ENERGY-VITALITY' FOODS / HERBS

, Heart Circulation Blood, Immune System, Liver Gallbladder,

Skin Care

SKIN-CARE

Includes skin care, and anything that nourishes epithelial membranes (of digestive, respiratory, urinary tract, blood vessels, etc).

SEE ALL 'SKIN-CARE' FOODS / HERBS

Family:

Phyllanthaceae

Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Amalaki
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.

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Digestion:

Quenches Thirst

QUENCHES-THIRST

An herb or substance that relieves thirst.

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Antacid

ANTACID

Herbs that neutralize acidity in the gastrointestinal tract, the stomach in particular.

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Carminative

CARMINATIVE

Stimulates the release of gas. Helpful for bloating or cramping abdominal pain. Propels food downward. Carminatives typically expel gas by relaxing the muscles of the intestines.

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Digestive

DIGESTIVE

Herbs that encourage healthy digestion.

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Sialogogue

SIALOGOGUE

A sialogogue increases saliva. Sour foods are often great sialogogues, and increase output of all exocrine glands. Salty taste is very moistening as well. Bitter, pungent and sweettastes also increase salivary output but to a lesser degree. Astringents.

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Bowel Health:

General Laxative

GENERAL-LAXATIVE

Promotes a bowel movement. General laxative is an umbrella term that refers to several different types of laxatives.

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Stool Softener

STOOL-SOFTENER

Softens hard and difficult to eliminate stool. Stool softeners are the safest and most gentle type of laxative. Examples include warm milk with ghee.

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Cleanse & Detox:

Internal Detoxicant

INTERNAL-DETOXICANT

Liquefies, dissolves, decongests or dislodges internal stagnant toxins. Decongests the lymphatic system.

SEE ALL 'INTERNAL-DETOXICANT' FOODS / HERBS

Mind, Stress & Sleep:

Relaxes Eyes

RELAXES-EYES

Eases tension in eye muscles, so the eyes feel less strained, often by supporting the liver.

SEE ALL 'RELAXES-EYES' FOODS / HERBS

Wakes You Up

WAKES-YOU-UP

Invigorates the body and nervous system, increases energy.

SEE ALL 'WAKES-YOU-UP' FOODS / HERBS

Brain Tonic

BRAIN-TONIC

An herb that strengthens the brain and thereby enhances memory or other cognitive functions and improves mental stamina or stability.

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Improves Focus

IMPROVES-FOCUS

Reduces scattered thoughts. Creates a steady mind. Includes herbs that relax (for Vata) and herbs that stimulate (for Kapha).

SEE ALL 'IMPROVES-FOCUS' FOODS / HERBS

Energy Vitality:

Refreshing

REFRESHING

Stimulates and wakes up the body, leaving it feeling cool, fresh, and energized.

SEE ALL 'REFRESHING' FOODS / HERBS

Stimulates Energy

STIMULATES-ENERGY

This category groups thyroid and adrenal stimulating herbs.

SEE ALL 'STIMULATES-ENERGY' FOODS / HERBS

Nutritive

NUTRITIVE

An herb that is strengthening and nourishing.

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Tonic

TONIC

A tonic herb restores function through strengthening tissue. This can happen through a combination of nourishing the tissue, and invigorating tissue metabolism. The tonic should not be withering, as in caffeine.

SEE ALL 'TONIC' FOODS / HERBS

Skin Care & Beauty:

Antifibrotic

ANTIFIBROTIC

Fibrosis of an organ is often a progressive leading to organ failure (i.e lungs, liver, kidney). While vulneraries usually help restore collagen, antifibrotic herbs often clear collagen. Aka fibrinolytic.

SEE ALL 'ANTIFIBROTIC' FOODS / HERBS

Skin Tonic

SKIN-TONIC

An herb that strengthens and nourishes skin, improving tone, color, moisture and complexion.

SEE ALL 'SKIN-TONIC' FOODS / HERBS

Immune System:

Adaptogen

ADAPTOGEN

Herbs that promote stabilization of physiological processes and homeostasis. Adaptogens increase the body's ability to resist the damaging effects of stress and promote or restore normal physiological functioning.

SEE ALL 'ADAPTOGEN' FOODS / HERBS

Anti Inflammatory

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY

Reduces inflammation in the body. Different herbs and carriers target different body systems.

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Antipyretic

ANTIPYRETIC

Reduces a fever / febrifuge.

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Heart & Circulation:

Alterative

STRONG ALTERATIVE

Restores the proper function of the body by cleansing the blood and balancing blood chemistry. In Ayurveda terms, they pacify Pitta in rakta. They were traditionally used to revitalize and detoxify after a long winter.

SEE ALL 'ALTERATIVE' FOODS / HERBS

Antioxidant

STRONG ANTIOXIDANT

An antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits oxidation. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals that lead to a chain reaction causing damage or death to cells. Antioxidants terminate these oxidation reactions.

SEE ALL 'ANTIOXIDANT' FOODS / HERBS

Ace Inhibitor

ACE-INHIBITOR

Used to lower blood pressure. Promotes diuresis by inhibiting angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE).

SEE ALL 'ACE-INHIBITOR' FOODS / HERBS

Blood Tonic

BLOOD-TONIC

An herb that produces more blood cells in the body, or otherwise improves blood cell quality or hemoglobin content. Helpful for anemia and other types of deficiency.

SEE ALL 'BLOOD-TONIC' FOODS / HERBS

Cardiac Tonic

CARDIAC-TONIC

Strengthens and tones the heart (heart-tonic). Cardiac tonics are used to treat a wide range of heart issues from arrhythmia, to cardiac insufficiency.

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Hemostatic

HEMOSTATIC

An herb that stops bleeding.

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Opthalmic

OPTHALMIC

Benefits the eyes, vision tonic.

SEE ALL 'OPTHALMIC' FOODS / HERBS

Rebuilds Fluids

REBUILDS-FLUIDS

Herbs or substances that create moisture in the body and increase fluids.

SEE ALL 'REBUILDS-FLUIDS' FOODS / HERBS

Refrigerant

REFRIGERANT

An herb or substance that strongly cools the body. Can be helpful in cases of heat conditions.

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Styptic

STYPTIC

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.

SEE ALL 'STYPTIC' FOODS / HERBS

Liver & Gallbladder:

Hepatoprotective

HEPATOPROTECTIVE

An herb that is capable of preventing liver damage. Many hepatoprotectives work via antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

SEE ALL 'HEPATOPROTECTIVE' FOODS / HERBS

Weight Loss:

Lowers Blood Sugar

LOWERS-BLOOD-SUGAR

An herb that lowers blood sugar.

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

Reproductive Health:

Aphrodisiac

APHRODISIAC

Herbs that increase sexual arousal through various actions including increased circulation, relaxation, stimulation, or tonics that strengthen glandular health.

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Builds Semen

BUILDS-SEMEN

Herbs that increase the production of semen, often by rebuilding fluids in general.

SEE ALL 'BUILDS-SEMEN' FOODS / HERBS

Promotes Virility

PROMOTES-VIRILITY

Encourages virility and potency.

SEE ALL 'PROMOTES-VIRILITY' FOODS / HERBS

Bone & Joint:

Hair Growth Tonic

HAIR-GROWTH-TONIC

An herb or formula that encourages healthy hair growth.

SEE ALL 'HAIR-GROWTH-TONIC' FOODS / HERBS

Other:

Cleanse And Detox

Foods with a Similar Nature to Amalaki

Grape

Grape has these Actions in Common
Anti-inflammatory, Blood-tonic, General-laxative, Quenches-thirst, Stool-softener, Antioxidant, Brain-tonic, Nutritive, Rebuilds-fluids, Tonic, Alterative, Aphrodisiac, Builds-semen, Opthalmic, Sialogogue
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Strawberries

Strawberries has these Actions in Common
Anti-inflammatory, General-laxative, Rebuilds-fluids, Sialogogue, Antioxidant, Improves-focus, Refreshing, Skin-tonic, Alterative, Digestive, Quenches-thirst, Relaxes-eyes, Wakes-you-up
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Pomegranate

Pomegranate has these Actions in Common
Alterative, Antioxidant, Internal-detoxicant, Refrigerant, Antacid, Blood-tonic, Nutritive, Skin-tonic, Ace-inhibitor, Anti-inflammatory, Hemostatic, Opthalmic, Styptic
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Lemon

Lemon has these Actions in Common
Alterative, General-laxative, Quenches-thirst, Relaxes-eyes, Wakes-you-up, Carminative, Improves-focus, Refreshing, Sialogogue, Digestive, Internal-detoxicant, Refrigerant, Stool-softener
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Turmeric

Turmeric has these Actions in Common
Lowers-blood-sugar, Alterative, Antioxidant, Carminative, Hepatoprotective, Skin-tonic, Anti-inflammatory, Blood-tonic, Digestive, Internal-detoxicant, Antifibrotic, Brain-tonic, Hair-growth-tonic
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Acai

Acai has these Actions in Common
Alterative, Brain-tonic, Nutritive, Refrigerant, Anti-inflammatory, General-laxative, Quenches-thirst, Relaxes-eyes, Antioxidant, Improves-focus, Refreshing, Wakes-you-up
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Jackfruit

Jackfruit has these Actions in Common
Aphrodisiac, Hemostatic, Rebuilds-fluids, Tonic, Builds-semen, Nutritive, Refreshing, Wakes-you-up, Anti-inflammatory, Cardiac-tonic, Quenches-thirst, Refrigerant
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Hibiscus

Hibiscus has these Actions in Common
Anti-inflammatory, Hemostatic, Refreshing, Skin-tonic, Antioxidant, Lowers-blood-sugar, Refrigerant, Styptic, Ace-inhibitor, Hair-growth-tonic, Opthalmic, Relaxes-eyes
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Beets

Beets has these Actions in Common
Alterative, General-laxative, Nutritive, Skin-tonic, Anti-inflammatory, Hepatoprotective, Opthalmic, Stimulates-energy, Blood-tonic, Internal-detoxicant, Relaxes-eyes, Stool-softener
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Saffron

Saffron has these Actions in Common
Hemostatic, Skin-tonic, Aphrodisiac, Carminative, Internal-detoxicant, Stimulates-energy, Blood-tonic, Digestive, Nutritive, Styptic, Antipyretic, Cardiac-tonic
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Turmeric Root (Fresh)

Turmeric Root (Fresh) has these Actions in Common
Antifibrotic, Brain-tonic, Hepatoprotective, Skin-tonic, Alterative, Antioxidant, Carminative, Internal-detoxicant, Anti-inflammatory, Blood-tonic, Digestive, Lowers-blood-sugar
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Herbs & Supplements with a Similar Nature to Amalaki

Chyavanprash Nutritive Jam

Chyavanprash Nutritive Jam has these Actions in Common
General-laxative, Adaptogen, Internal-detoxicant, Alterative, Nutritive, Anti-inflammatory, Promotes-virility, Blood-tonic, Rebuilds-fluids, Cardiac-tonic, Stimulates-energy, Carminative, Stool-softener, Digestive, Tonic
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Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha has these Actions in Common
Alterative, Nutritive, Anti-inflammatory, Promotes-virility, Antioxidant, Tonic, Antipyretic, Aphrodisiac, Blood-tonic, Ace-inhibitor, Brain-tonic, Adaptogen, Builds-semen
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Breathing Exercises

Breathing Exercises has these Actions in Common
Adaptogen, Promotes-virility, Alterative, Refreshing, Blood-tonic, Stimulates-energy, Cardiac-tonic, Wakes-you-up, Digestive, General-laxative, Internal-detoxicant, Lowers-blood-sugar
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Bellows Breath (Bhastrika Pranayama)

Bellows Breath (Bhastrika Pranayama) has these Actions in Common
Blood-tonic, Stimulates-energy, Cardiac-tonic, Wakes-you-up, Digestive, General-laxative, Internal-detoxicant, Lowers-blood-sugar, Adaptogen, Promotes-virility, Alterative, Refreshing
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Breath of Fire / Shining Skull (Kapalbhati Pranayama)

Breath of Fire / Shining Skull (Kapalbhati Pranayama) has these Actions in Common
Internal-detoxicant, Lowers-blood-sugar, Adaptogen, Promotes-virility, Alterative, Refreshing, Blood-tonic, Stimulates-energy, Cardiac-tonic, Wakes-you-up, Digestive, General-laxative
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Punarnava

Punarnava has these Actions in Common
Digestive, Internal-detoxicant, Alterative, Lowers-blood-sugar, Anti-inflammatory, Promotes-virility, Antioxidant, Stimulates-energy, Blood-tonic, Tonic, Builds-semen, Cardiac-tonic
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Haritaki

Haritaki has these Actions in Common
Carminative, Styptic, Digestive, General-laxative, Hemostatic, Internal-detoxicant, Opthalmic, Alterative, Sialogogue, Anti-inflammatory, Stool-softener
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Eleuthero Ginseng

Eleuthero Ginseng has these Actions in Common
Hepatoprotective, Improves-focus, Internal-detoxicant, Lowers-blood-sugar, Adaptogen, Stimulates-energy, Anti-inflammatory, Tonic, Blood-tonic, Wakes-you-up, Digestive
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Licorice Ghee (9oz)

Licorice Ghee (9oz) has these Actions in Common
Antacid, Relaxes-eyes, Anti-inflammatory, Antifibrotic, Carminative, Hepatoprotective, Nutritive, Adaptogen, Rebuilds-fluids, Alterative, Refrigerant
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Licorice Root (Yastimadhu)

Licorice Root (Yastimadhu) has these Actions in Common
Antifibrotic, Carminative, Hepatoprotective, Nutritive, Adaptogen, Rebuilds-fluids, Alterative, Refrigerant, Antacid, Relaxes-eyes, Anti-inflammatory
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Amalaki Impact Statistics

In each study below, students from the Joyful Belly College of Ayurveda ate the selected food for 3 days and reported the effects. See other studies of food & herbs at Joyful Belly.