TASTES TO FAVOR & AVOID

Kapha is pacified by the pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes and aggravated by the sweet, sour, and
salty tastes. Understanding these tastes allows us to better navigate a kapha pacifying diet without
having to constantly refer to extensive lists of foods to favor and avoid.

Pungent
Pungent is a spicy, hot flavor like that found in chilies, radishes, turnips, raw onions, and most
spices. In fact, most spices are tremendously kapha pacifying see our list of foods to favor and
avoid.
The pungent taste is light, hot, rough, and dry all beneficial for kapha. In essence, if you like
spicy or fiery hot, go for it. And even if you dont, favor a wide variety of milder spices in your
dishes things like cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, garlic, paprika, and turmeric.
The pungent taste cleanses the mouth and clarifies the senses. It stimulates digestion, liquefies
secretions, clears the channels of the body, encourages sweating, and thins the blood.
Bitter
The bitter taste predominates bitter greens (like kale, dandelion greens, collard greens, etc.), and
is also found in foods like bitter melon, Jerusalem artichokes, burdock root, eggplant, and dark
chocolate.
The bitter taste is rough, drying, light, and generally reducing all qualities that benefit kapha,
but it is also cooling, so its important to add some warming spices to bitter foods.
The bitter taste cleanses the pallet and improves the sense of taste. It tones the skin and muscles,
improves appetite, supports digestion, and helps to absorb moisture, lymph, muscle fat, adipose
tissue, and sweat.
Astringent
The astringent taste is basically a flavor of dryness a chalky taste that dries the mouth and may
cause it to contract (picture biting into a very green banana).
Legumes are classically astringent in taste adzuki beans, black-eyed peas, pinto beans,
soybeans, etc.
Some fruits, vegetables, grains, and baked goods are also astringent in taste things like apples,
cranberries, pomegranate, artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, rye, rice cakes and crackers.
The astringent taste is dry, rough, somewhat light, and it reduces kapha. But like the bitter taste,
it is also cold, so its best to add warming herbs and spices to astringent foods. In some cases (as
with pomegranate), simply enjoying these foods in the warmer seasons makes more sense.
Kapha benefits from the compressing, absorbing, nature of the astringent taste, which also helps
to tone bodily tissues and utilize fluids.

Breakfast
Breakfast is often somewhat optional when kapha is elevated. Kapha benefits tremendously from the
unforced, overnight fast between dinner and breakfast. If the appetite has not returned upon waking, its
likely that a light breakfast of fresh fruit or tea will suffice. If breakfast does feel important to you,
consider:
A substantive serving of fresh fruit: stewed apples, a fruit salad, a fruit smoothie, or some
 freshly juiced fruit.
Need something more? Hot cereals, like grits, millet, or hot barley cereal, are excellent choices.
You can even add a little dried fruit or a dab of honey to the mix, if you like.
Another option would be muesli with warm rice milk and a slice of rye toast.
Add herbal, green, or black tea to any of these breakfasts but be careful not to over-decorate
them; a dab of honey and/or rice milk is likely enough.

Lunch
Ideally, lunch is the main meal of the day, meaning its the largest and the most nourishing. Build your
lunches around consuming lots of steamed and sauted vegetables, and compliment them with beans,
appropriate grains, non-yeasted breads, a suitable meat, or an occasional egg. Try something like:
Lentil vegetable soup, corn bread, and a side of steamed kale. Include vegetables like onions,
garlic, broccoli, celery, carrots, green beans, or asparagus in the soup. Garnish the kale with
olive oil, lemon juice, and black pepper.
Whole chickpeas and sauted cabbage over quinoa. Saut cooked chickpeas with a bit of ghee, a
variety of spices, and some diced tomatoes. Cook the cabbage with a splash of sunflower oil,
cumin, coriander, a medley of other spices, and lemon juice (if necessary, add water to prevent
sticking). After cooking, add a dab of honey and salt to compliment the other flavors.
Green chile soup (non-dairy) with black bean tacos. Include black beans, sauted onions and
bell peppers, shredded romaine lettuce, cilantro, salsa, and a squeeze of lime juice and serve
over steamed corn tortillas.

Dinner
Dinner is ideally significantly smaller and lighter than lunch. Soups and stews are often a wonderful
choice because they are warm and nourishing, even when light. A smaller serving of lunch can often
work, too. For some, especially when weight loss is indicated, its best to forego dinner altogether in
favor of a healthy breakfast and lunch, or to eat a more substantial breakfast and make dinner the ultra-
light meal of the day. Try:
Dal soup with sauted asparagus, and a small serving of basmati rice.
Split pea soup and rye toast.
Potato leek soup with a small salad and a stimulating dressing like tamari ginger.