What Is the Ayurvedic Diet?
Ayurveda is an ancient wellness practice that originated in India about 5,000 years ago. The word "Ayurveda" is a combination of two Sanskrit words that mean life (Ayur) and science (Veda). The literal translation of Ayurveda is "the science of life."
An Ayurvedic diet provides guidelines that encourage mindful eating and consuming foods that are appropriate for your dosha, or constitutional type. The energy of each dosha helps determine what to eat to boost health, prevent or manage diseases, and maintain overall health and wellness.
Ayurvedic medicine seeks to create a healthy strong body through a series of diet, exercise, and lifestyle practices, including sleep, intuitive eating, and mindful living. Ayurvedic practitioners believe that an Ayurvedic lifestyle, including diet, can help promote health—and many proponents agree. If you follow an Ayurvedic diet, you'll eat primarily whole or minimally processed foods and practice mindful eating rituals, which may improve health and promote weight loss.
Indeed, emerging research shows that Ayurvedic lifestyle practices—including the diet—can potentially lead to weight loss.1 But evidence regarding certain aspects of the diet's eating patterns such as food restrictions and meal timing is still lacking. Read on to earn about your dosha and find out if the Ayurvedic lifestyle could help support your health and well-being.
What Experts Say
"Grounded in a Hindu system of medicine, an Ayurvedic diet instructs you to eat according to a dominant dosha (energy type). There is no scientific rationale for this style of eating, but experts agree the focus on unprocessed foods and mindful eating are both valuable takeaways."
—Chrissy Carroll, RD, MPH
What Can You Eat?
One of the primary characteristics of an Ayurvedic diet is that you eat according to your dominant constitutional type or dosha. You can think of your dosha as your most prominent energy. The three different Ayurvedic doshas are derived from the five elements: space, air, fire, water, and earth. Each element provides different qualities or attributes.
Vata (space and air): Vatas are often described as creative, intense, or expressive. Attributes include dry, light, cold, and rough.
Pitta (fire and water): Pittas are often described as intelligent, joyful, and driven. Attributes include sharp, hot, liquid, and mobile.
Kapha (earth and water): Kaphas are often described as calm, loving, or lethargic. Attributes include moist, heavy, soft, and static.
Once you familiarize yourself with each dosha, you may find that one sounds more like the qualities you embody. Many people find that they have two strong doshas.
What You Need to Know
Before you begin an Ayurvedic diet, you will need to learn about your dominant dosha. Many experts in Ayurvedic medicine suggest that the smartest method is visiting an Ayurvedic doctor.
"An Ayurvedic doctor can advise the right combination of foods to balance the dosha and make the diet more effective," says Samantha Semmalar, an Ayurvedic doctor at Body Holiday in St. Lucia. She adds that an Ayurvedic doctor can advise you on what foods to eat and what foods to avoid.
An Ayurvedic doctor can also help determine the best herbs for your dosha and assist with medical concerns if necessary. If you choose to visit an Ayurvedic doctor, they will interview you and make an assessment based on the information you provide. This is likely to be the most accurate method of determining your dosha. If you don't have access to an Ayurvedic doctor, you can try an online questionnaire to help you find your dominant dosha type. But the questionnaires may not always be accurate.
Ayurvedic doctors and practitioners believe that each of us embodies all three doshas, though your prominent dosha will determine what you eat. Those who follow an Ayurvedic diet incorporate many different practices into their eating routines, which offer benefits from the different foods associated with each dosha. Regardless of your dosha, proponents can follow these basic Ayurvedic eating principles for mindful eating, including:
Intake of six rasas or tastes. At each meal, you will incorporate foods that are sweet, salty, sour, bitter, pungent, and astringent.
Begin your meal with sweet-tasting foods (like sweet fruit).
Continue with salty foods (such as seafood) and sour (citrus fruit, for example).
Finish with pungent foods (like onions or peppers), astringent (such as green apples or tea), and bitter (celery, kale, or green leafy vegetables).
Eat mindfully and with concentration. Avoid talking, laughter, and other distractions to fully appreciate your meal and the wholesome benefits it provides.
Eat slowly enough that you can savor the taste of the food.
Eat quickly enough to prevent the food from getting cold.
Eat the proper quantity of food. Be aware of hunger signals and signs of fullness to avoid overeating.
Eat only when your previous meal has been digested. The guidelines suggest that you do not eat within three hours of your previous meal or snack, but should not go without food for longer than six hours.
Focus on breakfast and lunch. Many Ayurvedic practitioners recommend eating a modest breakfast and a larger, satisfying lunch. Dinner may or may not be consumed based on your hunger levels.