Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is fundamental for good health. But with so many diets out there it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to healthy eating. In this guide to the ancient Ayurvedic diet, we cover everything you need to know to determine whether an Ayurvedic diet is right for you.
The Ayurvedic diet is one component of Ayurveda, a natural system of medicine that originated in India over 3,000 years ago. In English, Ayurveda means ‘knowledge of life’ and is based on the idea that a person is healthiest when their mind, body and spirit are all in balance.
One of the core beliefs in Ayurveda is that there are three life energies that have specific impacts on the body. These are known as doshas, and are a combination of the universe’s five elements—air (vayu), water (jala), space (akash), fire (teja) and earth (prithvi). The three doshas are:
The Ayurvedic diet is a central component of Ayurveda. It’s based on the belief that eating certain types of food can help to create a positive balance between the mind, body and spirit, thereby promoting good health.
According to Ayurveda, people tend to have one dosha that is more dominant than the others, which results in those people having particular characteristics. The central philosophy of the Ayurvedic diet therefore is that people should eat particular types of foods to promote balance across their three doshas.
One of the distinguishing features of the Ayurvedic diet is its focus on eating healthy foods in a mindful way. That is, an ayurvedic diet is about more than just what you eat—it’s also about how you eat. From choosing the freshest Ayurvedic food that is compatible with your dosha, right through to what time of the day you should eat each meal, the Ayurvedic diet provides a framework for helping to maintain balance in your life. Below we outline the main principles of the Ayurvedic diet.
In order to maintain a healthy balance of energy within the body, while meeting your nutritional needs, the Ayurvedic diet recommends choosing foods to eat according to your dosha.
| Foods to eat | Foods to avoid | |
| Vata | Protein: small amounts of poultry, seafood, tofu Dairy: milk, butter, yoghurt, cheese, ghee Fruits: fully ripe, sweet, and heavy fruits, such as bananas, blueberries, strawberries, grapefruit, mangoes, peaches, and plums Vegetables: cooked vegetables, including beets, sweet potatoes, onions, radishes, turnips, carrots, and green beans Legumes: chickpeas, lentils, mung beans Grains: cooked oats, cooked rice Nuts and seeds: any, including almonds, walnuts, pistachios, chia seeds, flax seeds, and sunflower seeds Herbs and spices: cardamom, ginger, cumin, basil, cloves, oregano, thyme, black pepper |
Protein: red meat Fruits: dried, unripe, or light fruits, such as raisins, cranberries, pomegranates, and pears Vegetables: any raw vegetables, as well as cooked broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, mushrooms, potatoes, and tomatoes Legumes: beans, such as black beans, kidney beans, and navy beans Grains: buckwheat, barley, rye, wheat, corn, quinoa, millet Herbs and spices: bitter or astringent herbs like parsley, thyme, and coriander seed |
| Pitta | Protein: poultry in small amounts, seafood, egg whites Dairy: skim milk, goat milk, soy milk Fruits: apples, blueberries, pears, pomegranates, cherries, and dried fruit like raisins, figs, and prunes Vegetables: asparagus, leafy greens, onions, potatoes, mushrooms, radishes, okra Legumes: any, including black beans, chickpeas, lentils, and navy beans Grains: oats, rye, buckwheat, barley, corn, millet Nuts and seeds: small amounts of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds Herbs and spices: any, including cumin, black pepper, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, basil, oregano, and thyme |
Protein: red meat, shrimp, egg yolks Fruits: bananas, coconuts, mangoes, fresh figs Vegetables: sweet potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers Legumes: soybeans, kidney beans, miso Grains: rice, wheat, cooked cereal Nuts and seeds: cashews, pecans, pine nuts, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds, walnuts |
| Kapha | Protein: poultry in small amounts, seafood, egg whites Dairy: skim milk, goat milk, soy milk Fruits: apples, blueberries, pears, pomegranates, cherries, and dried fruit like raisins, figs, and prunes Vegetables: asparagus, leafy greens, onions, potatoes, mushrooms, radishes, okra Legumes: any, including black beans, chickpeas, lentils, and navy beans Grains: oats, rye, buckwheat, barley, corn, millet Nuts and seeds: small amounts of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds Herbs and spices: any, including cumin, black pepper, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, basil, oregano, and thyme |
Protein: red meat, shrimp, egg yolks Fruits: bananas, coconuts, mangoes, fresh figs Vegetables: sweet potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers Legumes: soybeans, kidney beans, miso Grains: rice, wheat, cooked cereal Nuts and seeds: cashews, pecans, pine nuts, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds, walnuts |
Regardless of your dosha, eating food that is as fresh and unprocessed as possible is a key part of the Ayurvedic diet. This is because according to Ayurveda, fresh, whole foods are thought to be high in ‘prana’, which is known in English as life force. The Ayurvedic diet also favours vegetarian food, although you can still consume meat in moderation.
Ayurveda teaches that people should eat until they are comfortably satisfied, but not uncomfortably full. The Ayurvedic diet also discourages snacking between meals. Eating a modest amount of Ayurvedic food is not only thought to prevent weight gain, but also enable the body to properly complete the full digestive cycle. According to Ayurveda,e there are three stages of digestion:
Like many other diets, the Ayurvedic diet recommends eating three meals a day. However, it recommends that people make lunch the largest meal of the day (and dinner the lightest). This is because ‘agni’—or the fire force responsible for digestive processes—is thought to be highest at midday when the sun is at its zenith. By eating the largest meal at lunch, Ayurvedic teaching suggests that people can get all the nutrients they need, with less energy output.
In addition to making dinner a light meal, the Ayurvedic diet recommends that people stop eating three hours before bed. During sleep, the body repairs itself and the mind processes everything that happened during the day. Ayurveda teaches that if the body is still digesting food during sleep, attention is diverted from these key processes causing an imbalance within the body.
Being mindful when eating is a central part of the Ayurvedic diet. Rather than scrolling on your phone, or watching television, Ayurveda teaches that people should practise mindfulness when eating, instead focusing more purposefully on the meal they are enjoying, and the energy it provides.
Ayurveda recognises six tastes, each of which provides a different set of nutrients to the body and affects the doshas in different ways. These tastes are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent and pungent. Having a small amount of each of these in every meal is considered important for keeping the doshas in balance.
Ice cold foods and drinks are thought to have a negative effect on the body’s ‘agni’ or digestive force. Accordingly, the Ayurvedic diet recommends limiting the number of cold drinks and foods that are consumed to ensure that digestion occurs properly.
While snacking between meals is discouraged in the Ayurvedic diet, drinking herbal teas is encouraged. Not only does it help to reduce the urge to snack, but drinking tea is also thought to aid with digestion. As with all other foods, the Ayurvedic diet recommends choosing tea based on your dosha type.
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