Diet for Dosha
| VATA | PITTA | KAPHA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| QUANTITY OF FOOD | Need to eat more food but cannot take too much at once, thus should have more frequent meals. Without increased intake of good quality food that is well digested, most Vata problems cannot be cured | Pitta people fall in between and can do well with three meals a day | Should try to eat less, eat less often, and avoid overeating. Without reduction of food intake, most Kapha problems cannot be cured |
| COMBINATION OF FOOD | Vatas tolerate the fewest food combinations, though it is their tendency to eat many different things at once | Pittas can tolerate the most food combinations with their good digestive fire | Kaphas fall in between with a steady, but slow digestive power |
| SPICING OF FOOD | Vata does best with rich food and moderate spices (unless they are depleted in which case strong spices have an ungrounding effect upon them) | Pittas do best with moderately rich food and light spicing | Kapha types require light food with strong and hot spices |
| SEASONS | ANTI-VATA diet should be considered in the fall and winter | ANTI-PITTA diet should be considered in the summer | ANTI-KAPHA diet should be considered in the late winter and in early spring |
| VATA-PITTA types should follow an anti-Vata diet more in the fall and winter and anti-Pitta diet in the spring and summer | PITTA-KAPHA types should follow an anti-Pitta diet in summer and fall and anti-Kapha in spring and winter | VATA-KAPHA types should follow anti-Vata diet in the summer and fall and anti-Kapha diet in the winter and spring |
| GENERAL DIET FOR VATA | YES | MAY CAUSE DIFFICULTY | NO |
|---|---|---|---|
| FRUIT | In moderation and soaked if dry. Most fruit is good: apricots, bananas, cherries, dates, figs, grapes, grapefruit, lemon, lime, mango, papaya, peach, pear, persimmon, pineapple, plum, pomegranate, orange, raisin, raspberry, strawberry, tangerine | Dried fruit (generally), apples (raw), melons, cranberries | |
| VEGETABLES | (Cooked): beet, bell pepper, carrot, cilantro, hot pepper, Jerusalem artichoke, mustard green, okra, onion, parsley, radish, sweet potato, winter squash, yam | Alfalfa sprouts, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, peas, potato, spinach, squash, tomato, turnip, zucchini | Too many raw vegetables. Generally: mushrooms, lettuce |
| GRAINS | Basmati rice, brown rice, oats, wheat | Barley, buckwheat, corn millet, rye | Dry grains, granola, corn chips |
| BEANS | Mung | Aduki, black gram, chickpea, lima, peanuts, tofu | Fava, kidney, navy, pinto, lentil, split pea |
| NUTS & SEEDS | All nuts and seed are good except in excess, particularly almonds and sesame seeds | ||
| OILS | All organic high quality oils are generally good, particularly sesame, almond and ghee | ||
| DAIRY | All organic grass-fed humane non-GMO dairy products are good, particularly those that are sour, buttermilk and kefir | ||
| SWEETENERS | All natural organic sweeteners are alright in moderation and in the right food combinations | ||
| CONDIMENTS | All high quality organic condiments are good including spices, salt, fermented foods, pickles and vinegar | ||
| ANIMAL PRODUCTS | All humanely treated animal products are generally good for grounding Vata but are deranging to the mind. Fish and eggs are better than meat in this regard, chicken better than red meat. Karmic consequences must not be forgotten for its possible disease inducing potential |
| GENERAL DIET FOR PITTA | YES | MAY CAUSE DIFFICULTY | NO |
|---|---|---|---|
| FRUIT | Sweet and astringent fruit: apple, cranberry, date, fig, grape, mango, melon, pear, persimmon, pineapple, plum, pomegranate, prune | Sour fruit: apricot, banana, cherry, lemon, lime, orange, papaya, plum, peach, strawberry | |
| VEGETABLES | Alfalfa sprouts, asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cilantro, cucumber, green bean, lettuce, mushroom, okra, peas, potato, squash, turnip, zucchini | Beet, carrot, chard, eggplant, mustard green, parsley, spinach, sweet potato, tomato | Chillies (hot peppers), garlic, onion, pickles, radishes |
| GRAINS | Basmati rice, oats, wheat, corn, granola | Brown rice, buckwheat, millet, rye, corn chips | |
| BEANS | Most are okay but are rajasic except aduki, mung, and tofu which are sattvic | Lentils especially red | |
| NUTS & SEEDS | Coconut, sunflower seeds | Pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, soaked almonds | All other nuts, particularly roasted and salted |
| OILS | Butter, coconut, ghee, sunflower, flax, olive in moderation | All other oils | |
| DAIRY | Organic, grass-fed, humanely treated. Sweet dairy, especially milk, cream cheese, cottage cheese | Buttermilk, kefir, yogurt | Sour cream, salty cheese |
| SWEETENERS | All organic natural sweeteners are good except honey, jaggary and molasses | ||
| CONDIMENTS | Coriander, cumin, fennel, mint turmeric and soy sauce in moderation | Condiments are to be avoided including spices, salt and vinegar | |
| ANIMAL PRODUCTS | Animal products should generally be avoided except egg whites and white meat of chicken if one wants to take them |
| GENERAL DIET FOR KAPHA | YES | MAY CAUSE DIFFICULTY | NO |
|---|---|---|---|
| FRUIT | Dry fruit, apple, cranberry, raisin, prune | Apricot, grapefruit, lemon, lime, mango, papaya, pomegranate | Sweet fruit: banana, cherry, date, fig, grape, melon, orange, pear, peach, persimmon, pineapple, plum, raspberry, strawberry |
| VEGETABLES | Astringent and pungent vegetables: alfalfa sprouts, asparagus, artichokes, beans, beets, bell peppers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrot, celery, chillies, cilantro, lettuce, mushroom, mustard green, parsley, peas, potato, radish, turnip | Cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant, squash, spinach, tomato | Okra, sweet potato |
| GRAINS | Barley, buckwheat, corn rye, dry grains | Millet, rice, granola | Oats, wheat |
| BEANS | All beans are generally good, particularly soybean products, but tofu can aggravate very high kapha conditions | ||
| NUTS & SEEDS | All nuts and seeds should generally be avoided except for pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds | ||
| OILS | Oils should only be taken in small quantity: only corn, safflower, soy, sunflower or a little ghee | ||
| DAIRY | Dairy should generally be avoided, except for goat’s milk or a small amount of buttermilk (unsalted): soy milk is preferable | ||
| SWEETENERS | All sweeteners should be avoided except honey (cooked) | ||
| CONDIMENTS | All spices are good, particularly cayenne, black pepper, garlic and ginger | Salt, vinegar, pickles | |
| ANIMAL PRODUCTS | Chicken and turkey are okay if one wants to eat meat | Animal products should be generally avoided, particularly pork and beef. |