Ayurvedic Diet 101: Principles, Food Rules & How To Eat For Your Dosha

The term Ayurveda translates to "the science of life." That is exactly what Ayurveda is: the science of preserving and nourishing the human body, as enumerated in India about 5,000 years ago. It is also the only way I know how to live. I was raised in a joint family of 14 members with the principles of Ayurveda, as taught by my grandfather, an Ayurvedic healer in Mumbai, India.

I carry this generational wisdom and his legacy to the West to share this incredible science in a comprehensible yet undiluted manner. My formal Ayurvedic education has been in Sanskrit, which allows me to minimize what's usually lost in translation.

A common misconception is that an Ayurvedic diet comprises specific food items, either kitchari or something Indian, loaded with some ghee and pungent spices. But that is far from what the diet really is.

Here are the true essential principles of the Ayurvedic diet, with foods to eat and avoid and a sample meal plan for each dosha.

The Ayurvedic diet is based on principles rather than prescriptions. It is a set of guidelines that honors the environment of the gut, bio-individuality, circadian rhythms, personal taste preferences, and our capability to extract nutrients from food as humans.

The Ayurvedic diet is simple yet powerful. I have seen people who test the Ayurvedic way of consumption for even a few weeks enjoy improved digestive symptoms, sleep, and overall health.

While scientific literature on the diet as a whole is limited, the following benefits have also been supported by research:

Ordinarily, we would assume that the most important function of food is to nourish our body and provide us with nutrients. However, according to Ayurvedic wisdom, it is paramount for the diet to maintain and enhance the gut's environment (agni), even before it nourishes.

If a food is considered high in its nutritional value but can create dysfunction in the gut, it will eventually hurt digestion and, thus, the ability to take the best out of all subsequent foods. After all, you are not what you eat. You are only what you can digest.

Below are some essential principles of the Ayurvedic diet that help to maintain Agni (the digestive fire) as well as nourish the body:

A meal should consist of all six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent.

I don't mean sweet like processed treats, but foods that carry an inherent sweetness and moisture within them, like rice, ghee, milk, etc. These foods can be generally heavy but are essential for the diet since they serve as raw material for new cells in the body. They are building blocks. Example foods include:

Just the thought of something sour can make one salivate. That is exactly what sour foods do; release digestive enzymes and build an appetite. Additionally, sour foods are inherently warming (think of how sour would burn a raw bruise on the skin) and support the breakdown of other foods. Example foods include:

Salt also has the power to support the breakdown of foods (think of how it melts the snow on the roads). It has a scraping effect and prevents foods from sticking to the digestive lining, according to Ayurvedic principles. However, excessive salt can interfere with the body's water content. Ayurveda recommends Himalayan salt as its negative effects are thought to be milder. Example foods include:

By their very taste, pungent foods are warming and should be consumed in small quantities to support the breakdown of other foods, especially sweet-tasting foods. Spices are the most recommended pungent foods. Excessive pungent foods eaten without other balancing tastes can damage the mucosal lining. This is the reason that turmeric is traditionally never consumed by itself. Example foods include:

Taste something bitter, and your mouth will dry up quickly. Digestion can be an aggressive and slimy process. Bitter foods cool everything down and dry up excessive slime, bringing the gut back to equilibrium. Example foods include:

These dry and earthy foods help bind other foods, allowing waste to take its solid form. Certain astringent foods also dry up digestive enzymes and serve as a signal to stop eating. Astringent foods should always be consumed with other tastes to prevent them from drying out the mucosal lining. Example foods include:

While it may not be possible to include all six tastes at every meal, it is essential to incorporate them during your main meals and be generally mindful about using tastes that support each other. 

Everywhere in the universe—whether it is cooking, photosynthesis, or digestion—transformation requires heat. The digestive environment (agni), therefore, is a warm environment that supports the breakdown of foods. Protecting agni is protecting life, and cold foods and liquids can dwindle this agni. To keep the agni active, all foods should be consumed warm.

Ayurveda advocates consuming only cooked foods. Raw foods require a more significant breakdown process, increasing the load on the agni. This is thought to create dysfunction in the gut over the long term. Fruits are an exception to this rule as they are precooked by the sun.

While a "farm-to-table" approach is highly recommended, it is not always possible in this era. The second best option is "stove-to-table." Foods are best consumed within 48 minutes of being cooked, after which they begin to break down rapidly, leading to an underlying fermentation process. Once kept overnight, they are considered stale.

Similarly, refrigeration of cooked foods, especially overnight, is not recommended. In Ayurveda, refrigeration destroys the prana (life force) in food, making it less supportive.

As diurnal mammals, our agni takes strong cues from the sun. The same meal, when consumed at lunch, will break down differently compared to dinner.

As the sun rises in the morning, so does our agni, making it a good time for a light breakfast. During midday, the sun and the agni both peak, signaling that lunch should be the heaviest meal of the day. As the sun sets in the evening, the agni begins to dwindle rapidly. Dinner is therefore meant to be the simplest and lightest meal of the day.

Agni is not like the dry fire on a matchstick that quickly burns but rather the flame on an oil lamp that uses fuel to regulate itself. To support the agni, each meal should ideally contain a spice (the warmth) and a healthy fat (the fuel). Ayurveda's go-to good fat is ghee, and spices can range from more pungent spices like ginger and black pepper to sweeter ones like fennel, cinnamon, and cardamom.

Ayurveda advocates that one must not only consume for their body but also engage their mind during consumption. Your body takes cues from the nervous system to determine the release of neurotransmitters and enzymes. If you see a tiger, the body will receive the cue to run and release glucose and adrenaline.

Similarly, when the focus is on consumption and digestion, digestive enzymes will be released and function at their best.

While the goal is to keep the body and gut environment regulated for optimum health, the body can carry inherent doshic tendencies that take it away from equilibrium. According to Ayurveda, doshas are bodily functions that support the body when they are in balance and destroy homeostasis when not. There are three primary doshas. (This quiz can help you uncover yours.)

Everything that supports building and preservation in the body is a kapha function. Kapha elements in the body are generally heavy and, when present in excess, can slow down the body, lower agni, build extra tissue, and make one lethargic. Kapha dominance needs warm, stimulating, and light foods to remain in balance.

Agni: Slow

General challenges: Sluggishness, weight gain, lethargy

What to eat: Warm and well-spiced foods. Lighter foods like millet, oatmeal, barley, and leafy greens.

Avoid eating: Too many fruits, smoothies, shakes, or dairy. Avoid cold food and excessive fats.

Everything that supports metabolism and transformation in the body is a pitta function. Pitta elements, like digestive enzymes in the body, are generally warm and, when present in excess, can aggravate agni, burn out digestion, give rise to acidity, cause loose burning stools, and more. Pitta dominance needs sweet and inherently cooling foods to remain in balance.

Agni: Sharp

General challenges: Acidity, intolerance to the sun, rashes, boils, anger

What to eat: Cooling foods like ghee, rice, coconuts, and almonds.

Avoid eating: Spicy, fried, fermented, stale food, and junk foods.

That which supports all movement and elimination in the body is governed by vata dosha. Vata should function like a gentle wind, propelling all movement and drying as well as pushing waste out of the body. When in excess, it can act like an aggressive wind, creating bloating, dryness, anxiety, and malabsorption of food. Vata dominance needs warm, moist, and grounding foods to remain regulated.

Agni: Volatile

General challenges: Dryness, bloating, gas, anxiety, constipation, sleeplessness

What to eat: Satisfying warm cooked, well-spiced foods that are not too heavy and made with good fats.

Avoid eating: Raw, very light foods, or diet foods like popcorn. Avoid fasting.

Timing: Between 8 and 10:30 a.m. (after exercise)

Principle: Warm, light & spiced 

Kapha modifications: Add more spices and reduce quantities.

Pitta modifications: Double down on good fat and reduce spices.

Vata modifications: Chew slowly, and include a moderate quantity of ghee and spices.

Timing: Between 12 and 2:30 p.m. (largest meal of the day)

Principle: All six tastes

Kapha modifications: Reduce quantities and walk 100 to 200 steps after eating.

Pitta modifications: Sit in a cool place and make sure you include plenty of good fats.

Vata modifications: Sit quietly without distraction. Drink ginger tea with meals.

Timing: Before 6:30 p.m. (should be around half the quantity of lunch)

Principle: Keep it simple

Options:

Kapha modifications: Choose soup over anything.

Pitta modifications: Avoid all spicy foods at this hour. If not hungry, skip dinner and drink a cup of warm milk with licorice or cardamom.

Vata modifications: Eat a moderate amount. Sit cross-legged if you can.

Ayurvedic food principles are time-tested and logical. Ayurveda enables one to move away from health-related fear and toward freedom and empowerment. When understood correctly, it is not a way of living that puts you in a box but rather one that sets you free.