6 TASTES

 "Taste (rasa) is in a very real way the essence of life and literally affects all aspects of our being and our physiological structure, right into our general state of mind and consciousness."                                                                   Charaka Samhita   

 According to Ayurveda, there are 6 'shallow' tastes: sweet, sour, pungent, salty, astringent and bitter. Like the doshas, ​​each taste is manifested by the combination of two elements. By carefully studying the elements of certain tastes and the corresponding gunas, you will quickly understand how the influence of these tastes and tastes influence our physical and mental condition.

Ayurvedic tradition is that everything in the universe is composed of five elements – earth, water, fire, air, and ether (space). The tastes are no different; each of them contains all five elements. That said, each taste is predominantly composed of two elements.

Tastes is a combination of the elements as the doshas. That is why is very important to know the tastes for balance yourself and your diet.

Sweet (Madhura)                          Earth & Water
​Sour(Amla)                                        Earth & Fire
Salty(Lavana)                                   Water & Fire
Pungent (Katu)                                Fire & Air
Bitter (Tikta)                                     Air & Ether
Astringent (Kashaya)                  Air & Earth


How the tastes manifes in our metabolism and body.

TastePrimary ActionsCommon Sources
   
Sweet                Builds tissues, calms nervesFruit, grains, natural sugars, milk
Sour                   Cleanses tissues, increases absorption of mineralsSour fruits, yogurt, fermented foods
Salty                   Improves taste to food, lubricates tissues, stimulates digestionNatural salts, sea vegetables
Bitter                 Detoxifies and lightens tissuesDark leafy greens, herbs and spices
Pungent           Stimulates digestion and metabolismChili peppers, garlic, herbs and spices
Astringent      Absorbs water, tightens tissues, dries fatsLegumes, raw fruits and vegetables, herbs

According to Ayurveda, the sense of taste is a natural guidemap towards proper nutrition. For ages, humans relied largely upon taste to discover healthy foods in nature and avoid toxicity. Our tastebuds do much more than simply identify tastes; they unlock the nutritive value of foods and provide the initial spark to the entire digestive process.

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ABOUT AUTHOR

CAMILA FÁVERO MARCÓRIO

AYURVEDA THERAPIST

Born in São Paulo, Camila Marcório is Yogi, Ayurveda Therapist and Designer in Permaculture. He studied Ayurveda, Panchakarma, at the School of Ayurveda and Panchakarma, in Kerala, India. She specialized in Ayurveda Beauty, Ayurvedic Beauty and pregnancy care (baby care and pregnancy) and learned in Kerala a traditional and special technique of foot massage (Chavutti thirummal).