How to Eat for Your Kapha Body Type

How to Choose the Right Diet

If you're not sure what to eat, which diet to follow, what weight-loss program to sign up for, or how to choose foods for healthy nutrition, you are not alone! With new diets and fads flooding the market every day, with testimonials from myriads of sources each preaching the gospel of a different menu plan, and with so many contradictions regarding which foods to favor or to avoid, it's no wonder people are confused and stressed out - only exacerbating their digestive dilemmas and possibly aggravating any existing conditions.

Eating for Your Ayurveda Body Type

Fortunately, the time-honored practice of Aryuveda may be just the solution you are looking for! Placing proper nutrition at the top of the priority list for living optimally, Aryuveda teaches you how to eat to suit your specific body type and how to achieve greater mind-body balance by selecting foods which by nature agree with your basic constitution.

Instead of flailing in the wind, jumping from one ineffective diet to another, Aryuveda takes guesswork out of the picture and puts you in the driver's seat, helping you make informed nutritional decisions that benefit you the most - physically, mentally, and emotionally.

How to Begin Your Aryuvedic Diet

The first step is to take the Dosha Quiz, also known as the Ayurvedic Body Type Quiz. After answering some simple questions about your personal character traits and lifestyle habits, the quiz will tell you whether you have a Vata, Pitta, or Kapha body type. While each of us is comprised of elements from all three doshas, people tend to have one dominant makeup which largely determines how their body responds to the ebbs and flow of nature, including elements in the environment and what they eat.

Since mind-body balance is a key to overall health, Aryuveda helps you pinpoint foods, ingredients, and other lifestyle choices which put your body type in flow with nature and help your system thrive. It points out your body's strengths, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities, recommending specific ingredients that can calm, soothe, or balance your basic dosha.

These easy-to-follow lifestyle changes and eating habits will transform your daily experience, making health and wellness a natural byproduct of the foods you choose to eat.

Kapha Characteristics

If the Dosha Questionnaire has identified you as a Kapha, you are likely have a strong frame, are on the heavier side, and have
a slow metabolism but steady digestion. You sleep well, are easy-going, dependable, loyal to others, and are associated in nature with the spring principle. However, your body tends to retain fluid and weight. This is due to too much Kapha energy, which can lead to obesity or overweight, respiratory congestion, feeling lethargic, being 'stuck,' oversleeping, and a tendency to develop diabetes or asthma. You may also have a hard time 'letting go' or changing (i.e. leaving an old job, breaking away from a relationship that no longer serves you). Fortunately, you can begin to balance Kapha through your diet!

Foods to Balance Kapha Energy

In general, balancing Kapha involves adding stimulation to one's everyday, rote routines. This can mean taking a different route, experiencing new places with different sights and sounds, or even just re-arranging your house or office space. To combat Kapha's dense or heavier nature, the addition of stimulating light or a renewed sense of energy can go a long way in rekindling the metabolic system.

In terms of nutrition, if you are a Kapha, you can help restore balance to your system by choosing foods that are warm, spicy, sharp, or even bitter. At the same time, you want to reduce sweet, sour, and salty foods.
When and how you eat is also an important factor. It is recommended not to eat right before bedtime; rather, allow about three hours for your last meal to digest before hitting the sack. Another Kapha body type tip is to eat your main or biggest meal for lunch and plan a smaller meal for supper.

List of Foods to Pacify Kapha Dosha

To further calm your aggravated Kapha dosha, here are some more food recommendations from Aryuveda which will have a balancing effect on your system and guarantee that you are eating healthfully and appropriately for your personal constitution.

• Eat plenty of vegetables, however limit your intake of sweet or juicy veggies such as tomatoes and sweet potatoes
• Grains most favorable to your system are barley, buckwheat, millet, and corn. Reduce consumption of rice, wheat, and oats.
• Avoid red meat; instead, enjoy eggs, chicken, turkey, and seafood
• Beans are great for your digestion! However, limit your intake of the use of soybeans and foods containing soybeans
• Dairy products may increase your Kapha energy; however you can still enjoy low-fat milks and yogurts in moderation
• Limit intake of fats. opting for oils such as olive, almond, sunflower, safflower, and mustard
• Spices are great for calming Kapha, especially sharp or hot spices such as pepper, mustard seed, ginger, cayenne, and cumin
• You can enjoy a tablespoon of pure/raw honey each day, but in general, Kapha body types should avoid sugars, sweets, and sweeteners
• Choose light fruits over heavier fruits., i.e. opt for apples and apricots and pears over avocados, coconuts, bananas, and dates/figs
• Finally, if you are a tea drinker, pamper yourself with several cups of ginger tea daily, which will help stimulate dulled taste buds and speed up your digestion
• Enjoy your new Aryuvedic diet, putting you in the driver's seat as you knowingly choose foods that support your mind, body, and spirit and as you eat for your health and your future!