The 6 tastes

In Ayurveda, we recognise each of the 6 tastes and their importance in our digestive ability and the way we absorb nutrients. The word ‘taste’ in Sanskrit is ‘Rasa’, which has various meanings, such as ‘experience’, ‘juice’, ‘plasma’ and 'enthusiasm’. When a word in Sanskrit has more than one meaning, we acknowledge the significance of that word, especially when used in relation to the body, hence we can know that taste plays a very important role in our overall health and well-being.

In a literal sense, we know why taste is important, but if we apply it in a metaphorical sense in relation to our taste for life, then we begin to go deeper into the importance of it’s role. Our taste for life, reflective of our current mental, emotional, physical and spiritual, has great impact on our taste. On what we crave, on how we taste, on how our body responds to and digests these tastes.
For example, you may find yourself reaching for something sweet when you are feeling low, sad, lonely or disconnected. When applied to our emotional state, you can see the relationship between feeling sad, and craving something sweet, craving the sweetness of life, that loving, comforting, happy feeling. Now you can see that the tastes we can and often do crave, are directly reflective of our overall well being. It is not only a predisposition of how we experience our food, but also of how we ‘taste’ our overall experience of life itself.

Unfortunately, the taste we crave may not always be the most effective way to support our body, and in fact, if we are not eating intuitively, if we are not tapped in to our body’s innate needs, eating the foods we crave when we are in a less than optimal mental / emotional state, can often lead us closer to imbalance.

Because of this, taste is an incredibly effective therapeutic tool. It is something that we can easily bring in to every meal we have to ensure that what we are eating is optimal for our body. It is not as common to see such a heavy emphasis on taste in Western medicine, but in Ayurveda we understand that taste has a vital role in optimising nutrient digestion and assimilation, and is important in determining the prapaka (the initial stage of digestion where food undergoes conversion in our digestive tract and is absorbed through the intestinal wall), vipaka (the post digestive effect of the food after conversion absorption through the intestinal wall) and prabhava (the unpredictable and unique action) of our food.

THE TASTES THEMSELVES

Sweet / Madhura
A combination of the elements Earth & Water, the sweet taste balances Vata & Pitta, and aggravates Kapha.
Madhura as a taste is beneficial for our mucous membranes as it is strengthening, energizing and nutritive. It is often used as a rasayana - for rejuvenating the body - because of it’s combined physical and emotional benefits, and is also useful in rebuilding ojas.
Some examples of the sweet taste are; bananas, dates, figs, beetroot, carrots, rice, mung beans, tofu, ghee, salmon, basil, bay leaves, cardamom, fennel and mint.
Emotionally, we can connect positive emotions such as love, joy, compassion, comfort, clarity, satisfaction and calm to the sweet taste. On the other hand, when we consume the sweet taste in excess, we may be predisposing ourselves to feelings such as greed, lust, attachment, possessiveness and cravings.

Sour / Amla
A combination of the elements Earth & Fire, the sour taste balances Vata, and aggravates Kapha & Pitta.
Amla as a taste is beneficial for boosting our digestion, increasing digestive juice secretion, and being overall stimulating for a metabolism as a whole symbiotic happening - from the moment we see our food until the completion of absorption. It is also great for removing stagnation and promoting liver function
Some examples of the sour taste are; grapefruit, lemon, pickles, tomatoes, cheese, yoghurt, fermented foods and garlic.
Emotionally, we can connect positive emotions such as appreciation, understanding, discrimination and certainty with the sour taste. On the contrary, when we consume the sour taste in excess, we may feel envious, jealous, anger and withholding.

Salty / Lavana
A combination of the elements Fire & Water, the salty taste balances Vata and aggravates Pitta & Kapha.
Lavana as a taste is beneficial for supporting digestion, absorption, assimilation and elimination of food and waste products. It helps to improve muscle strength, supports growth and is essential for our water-electrolyte balance (it’s a great idea to add salt to your water to increase hydration). It is also soothing for our nervous system
Some examples of the salty taste are; celery, cottage cheese, various forms of salt (sea, rock, lake), soy sauce, tamari
Emotionally, we can connect positive emotions such as confidence, zest, courage and enthusiasm with the salty taste. On the other hand, excess intake of salt can lead to feelings such as greed, addiction, irritability and possessiveness.

Pungent / Katu
A combination of the elements Fire & Air, the pungent taste balances Kapha, and aggravates Vata & Pitta.
Katu as a taste is beneficial for warming our bodies, clarifying our senses, rekindling the digestive fire and eliminating stagnation. It is an excellent taste to help naturally detoxify the body and remove ama. It is also beneficial in breaking up excess fat and clearing the respiratory tract.
Some examples of the pungent taste are; chillies, onions, garlic, raw spinach, radishes, mustard greens, buckwheat, spelt, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, hing and paprika
Emotionally, the positive emotions connect to pungent as a taste are passion, vitality, expansiveness, clarity and curiosity. When consumed in excess, we may experience negative emotions such as impatience, anger and competitiveness.

Bitter / Tikta
A combination of the elements Air & Ether, the bitter taste balances Kapha & Pitta, and aggravates Vata.
Tikta as a taste is cleansing for our body because it has a natural scraping effect. It helps to stimulate our appetite and enhances all other tastes. It is excellent for cleansing the blood and supporting the liver, and is also benefiical in removing excess moisture build up from the body.
Some examples of the bitter taste are; bitter melon, leafy greens, eggplant, artichokes, sesame seeds / oil, dark chocolate, coffee, cumin, dill, fenugreek and turmeric.
Emotionally, bitter tastes may provide a sense of spaciousness due to their scraping action, as well as healthy detachment, introspection and awareness (both internally and externally). On the contrary, excessive amounts of bitter taste can lead to us feeling detached / ungrounded, nervous, anxious, agitated, grief ridden and dissatisfied.

Astringent / Kashaya
A combination of the elements Air & Earth, the astringent taste balances Pitta & Kapha, and aggravates Vata.
Kashaya as a taste is beneficial cleaning our mucous membranes and ama, absorbing excess moisture and binding our stools. It promotes strong, healthy organs with it’s binding ability and is great for holding all 7 tissues together,
Some examples of the astringent taste are; apples, cranberries, pomegranate, avocado, alfalfa, cabbage, raw carrots, cauliflower, green beans, pasta, coriander, marjoram, nutmeg, oregano and rosemary.
Emotionally, astringent as a taste brings forth emotions such as feeling grounded, organised, more steady / stable and more aligned. Too much astringent taste can leave us feeling resentful, heavy, fearful, anxious and uncompromising.

Within all of this, we can see the highlighted importance of incorporating all 6 tastes into each meal - to ensure we are receiving the optimal benefits of each of them for our body when our brain signals to us that it requires them.

When we learn, through Ayurveda, about our unique doshic constitution (the doshas being - Vata, Pitta & Kapha), both within our balanced (prakruthi) and imbalanced (vikruthi) state, we can accurately understand how we can use food as medicine to help to re-establish balance and harmony within the body. We can achieve symbiosis between all of our organs, tissues and channels to ensure our body is working optimally to support us through all the chapters of our lives.

“ The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in the diet, and in the cause and prevention of the disease ” —Thomas Edison