What kind of Food to Eat to Balance Kapha

	Warm, light food
	Dry food, cooked without much water, minimum of butter, oil and sugar
	Stimulating foods with pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes
	Kaphas need to watch the consumption of too much sweet foods or fatty foods. Keep an eye on the salt consumption also, which tend to result in fluid retention in Kaphas.
	Light meals are to be favored such as light breakfast and dinner.
	Avoid deep fried foods. Eat lightly cooked foods or raw fruits and vegetables. Eat spicy, bitter and astringent foods. Watch out for eating too much food, a typical kapha tendency.
	Select hot food over cold food whenever feasible. Dry cooking methods (baking, broiling, grilling, sautéing) are preferable for kaphas over moist cooking such as steaming, boiling or poaching.
	As an appetizer eat bitter or pungent foods instead of salty or sour. Foods such as romaine lettuce, endive, or tonic water are good to stimulate your appetite.
	Take ginger tea or a pinch or ginger to stimulate appetite. Other preferred spices are cumin, fenugreek, sesame seed and turmeric.
	Any food that is spicy is good for kaphas such as very hot Mexican or Indian food, especially in winter.
	Foods that are good for kapha breakfast are hot spiced cider, buckwheat pancakes with apple butter, corn muffins, and bitter cocoa made with skim milk and a touch of honey. Avoid cold cereals, cold juice or milk, and sugary pastries. Bacon and sausage aggravates kapha due to their salt and oil. For kapha types, breakfast is optional. (You may skip it if you like).
	To pep you up in the morning, take honey, hot water, lemon juice and ginger. Try hot ginger tea. Try skipping a meal or two and take a spoonful of honey in hot water to keep you going.
	Kaphas have a sweet tooth. So, cutting down on sugar is difficult for many of them. Cutting sugar is recommended. Take honey instead. Avoid taking more than a spoonful of honey a day.
	Don't overindulge on dairy foods. Butter, ice cream, and cheese are among the worst foods you can take as it aggravates the kapha. Take warm low fat milk. Avoid hamburgers and milk shakes.
	Eat raw fruits, vegetables and salads.
	Watch out the restaurant foods, especially oily, salty, sweet or deep fried foods - these are all kapha aggravating. Eat salad with minimum salad dressing. Take a glass of hot water instead of ice water. Eat salad instead of soup especially in hot weather.

Summary

Vegetables
Favor	Reduce or Avoid
Pungent and bitter foods such as: asparagus beets broccoli Brussels sprouts cabbage carrots cauliflower celery eggplant garlic leafy green vegetables lettuce mushrooms okra onions peas peppers potatoes radishes spinach sprouts	Sweet and juicy vegetables, such as: cucumbers sweet potatoes tomatoes zucchini

Fruits
Favor	Reduce or Avoid
apples apricots berries cherries cranberries figs mangoes peaches pears prunes pomegranates Dried fruits in general are good for kapha. (apricots, figs, prunes, raisins)	avocados bananas coconut dates fresh figs grapefruit grapes melons oranges papayas pineapples plums Avoid sweet, sour, or very juicy fruits, in general.

Grains
Favor	Reduce or Avoid
barley buckwheat corn millet oats, dry rye basmati rice	oats rice wheat, except in small amounts Avoid hot cereals and steamed grains, in general, as they are too moist and heavy for kapha.

Dairy
Favor	Reduce or Avoid
warm skim milk small amounts of whole milk and eggs (not fried of cooked with butter)	All, except as noted

Meat
Favor	Reduce or Avoid
chicken shrimp turkey (All in small amounts)	red meat seafood in general

Beans
Favor	Reduce or Avoid
All legumes are acceptable except kidney beans and tofu	kidney beans tofu

Oils
Favor	Reduce or Avoid
almond corn safflower sunflower (All in small quantities)	All, except as noted.

Sweeteners
Favor	Reduce or Avoid
Raw, unheated honey	All, except honey

Nuts and Seeds
Favor	Reduce or Avoid
sunflower seeds pumpkin seeds	All, except sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds

Herbs and Spices
Favor	Reduce or Avoid
All are good. Ginger is especially good for improving digestion	salt