Food For The Vata Type

Naini Setalvad explains the Vata Dosha type according to Ayurveda and recommends appropriate foods for this type of person, along with some delicious recipes

- Naini Setalvad 

Ayurveda, the ancient Indian scientific wisdom, gives us insight into identifying our mental and physical nature, thus empowering us to eat and live wisely. Strong emphasis is laid on the fact that our body type is determined by a genetic code at birth and also by our karmic memory. This forms the nature of our constitution known as prakriti in ayurveda. The minute we take birth, the five great elements of the universe, namely, earth, water, air, space, and fire are what make up our DNA. These are the organisers that maintain our health. The earth is the physical body, the water is its fluids, fire is the acids and enzymes of the body, air is the prana and breath, and space is the vibration of all vital systems together. Furthermore, ayurveda specifies that environment and culture, together, can positively or negatively influence our body types. Lymph, blood, muscle, fat, bone, marrow, nerve, sperm, and ovum are the vital tissues in ayurveda known as dhatus which carry the memory that shapes the mind of each and every organism.

The three doshas 

Each of us contains a unique configuration of earth, water, air, space, and fire within ourselves, and these five elements transmute into three doshas— vata, pitta, and kapha known as air, fire, and water principles respectively. Dosha which translates to ‘that which changes’, is the dynamic life force which determines your biological and psychological attributes (dosha type). These apply to both your body and mind, and each dosha is associated with two elements. The difference between the types is determined by the degree to which the three forces interact with each other.

The Vata Dosha