Stress Management

How To Use the Information on The Six Tastes To Improve Health

Dr. James Brooks, author of "Ayurvedic Secrets to Longevity and Total Health" suggested that Ayurvedic principles of six tastes can be used to analyze what is wrong with the Western diet and why we get into so many problems. Dr. Brooks notes that the average fast food diet includes only three tastes, sweet, salty and sour. (The average fast food of a hamburger, French fries, coke and ketchup have only these three tastes. The meat, bread, and coke are sweet; the fries are salty; the vinegar in the ketchup is sour.) They are all Vata pacifying. Vata imbalance is very common in the western society due to the fast pace of life and the emotional problems such as insecurity, anxiety and emptiness, so common in our lifestyle. These tastes are attractive to most westerners because being vata pacifying, they tend to help with these problems. This is why the fast food is so appealing.

The problem is that the fast food is not a healthy diet. It has generally too much fat. It is difficult to digest. It does not contain all the ingredients the body needs because it is short of three tastes. Such a diet tend to imbalance Kapha, characterized by lethargy, overweight, depression, mental dullness, and greediness.

Dr. Brooks also suggests that nutritional imbalance can lead to addictive behavior of all kinds. The mind/body system feels dissatisfied and is craving for something. The person does not know what is missing. This, left untreated, can result in addiction (not necessarily just in food). Addiction may be in tobacco, alcohol, drugs, sex, excitement, shopping, etc. The answer to this is to eat a balanced diet incorporating all the six tastes. This tend to balance our tridoshas and we feel mentally and physically satisfied.

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