I was talking to my Ayurvedic doctor after my Panchakarma. He was telling me how we need to keep our prakruti in our minds while eating and the importance of avoiding food which will cause more of the doshas which are predominant in us.

I m just putting down what I learnt and understood from him.

As we know that there are 5 universal elements.

1. Earth

2. Water

3. Fire

4. Air

5. Space

These are what we call the "Pancha Bhutas". All of are made of a combination of 3 types of doshas. These 3 doshas are comprised of these five elements. The doshas are

1. Vata - a combination of air and space

2. Pitta - majorly fire with some water

3. Kapha - mostly water with some earth

Ayurveda propounds that we use 6 tastes in our food. These are Sweet (Madhura), Sour (Amla), Salty (Lavana), Bitter (Katu), Pungent (Tikta) and Astringent (Kashaya). But as food affects our body directly it should be chosen very carefully. We should know our prakruti and also which dosha is in balance and which imbalanced. We can find several websites which have online quiz which help us to find out our dosha. But preferably if we can consult an ayurvedic doctor it would be better.

Sweet - Milk, butter, sweet cream, wheat, ghee (clarified butter), rice, honey, raw sugar, ripe fruits of many kinds

Sour - Limes lemons, citrus fruits, unripened fruits, curd or yogurt, mango powder, pomegranate seeds, tamarind

Salty - salt (rock salt is recommended), pickles or salty pretzels

Bitter - bitter gourd, greens of many kinds, turmeric, fenugreek

Pungent - chillies, ginger, black pepper, clove, mustard, radish

Astringent - beans, lentils, turmeric, cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, kholrabi; coriander

These are just a few examples. Base the vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices according to their tastes. Will gather more info on this and put another table sometime along the way.

Within the broad principle that all six tastes have to be included, we can customize our food choices to the dosha that we are trying to balance.

Vata dosha - More salty,sour or sweet foods. Less of bitter, pungent or astringent foods

Pitta dosha - More sweet, bitter astringent. Fewer salty, pungent or sour foods

Kapha dosha - More of bitter, pungent or astringent foods. Less of salty, sour or sweet foods

So go ahead and explore what your predominant dosha is!!!