Foods to Wake up 'n' Shake up, Stimulate 'n' Motivate

​

​

​Kapha - sweet, stable, grounded but also heavy, cold and moist. A difficult combination of qualities to work with in an environment that is already predominantly cool and wet (if you live in the UK ). For our kapha friends in pursuit of optimum health through food (and prevention of obesity, diabetes, coughs, colds and low mood), Ayurveda recommends a diet of generally lighter, warmer and drier food stuffs.

​

Slough off the sloth

 

Smaller, hot, well-spiced meals with fewer grains and heavy proteins and greater share of colourful vegetables (especially green) are the best fit for kapha. Pungent, bitter and astringent tasting foods (such as lentils, beans and leafy greens) should dominate the plate as these: stimulate sluggish digestion, energy levels and mood; are langhana (catabolic) meaning they are great for weight loss and detoxification AND they work on the liver to reduce sweet  cravings - great news for kaphas with a penchant for carbs.

​

Less is best

 

In general, food is a much loved yet difficult topic for kapha. Most kapha prakriti people love to cook and bake, to dine out and to enjoy food with loved ones or for comfort. There is a preference for sweet, creamy, cheesy food and a tendency to overeat. That said, regretfully, Kapha agni is naturally duller than that of our vata and pitta friends so overindulgence in heavy, kapha increasing foods can result in painful bloating, nausea, ama symptoms, allergies and IBS, especially in winter/spring (kapha increasing seasons). Sad news guys - for you in particular, less is best.

​

Let's pack some punch!

 

It's not all doom and gloom though, being a naturally cooler, heavier constitution, kapha types can handle the heat meaning you can add more than a fair share of agni-boosting spices to your diet. Go wild and compliment your food with an abundance of garlic, hing, cumin, ginger, black pepper and methi and any (or all) of the fresh kitchen herbs. Not only will this really open up the flavour of your food but will also: help to keep digestion in check (especially after a gorge-fest); improve nutrient metabolism and assimilation for better energy; increase your metabolism and help to burn fat, boost you mood and even increase you libido!

 

Spices can also be enjoyed as a tea with meals (ginger is great) or, if you prefer, with warm water. Take smalls sips as you eat to encourage digestion.  NEVER drink cold (especially ice cold) water with your meal it will deplete agni, slow digestive enzyme function and likely result in ama and fatigue.

​

Hot, hot, hot

 

A final, and extremely important, recommendation for all dosha types (but in particular those of kapha nature) is that food should ONLY be eaten when hungry (and not just because it looks good/it's lunch time etc) . Kapha types are most prone to ama (undigested food/toxins) due to difficulty in digesting heavy food. As ama is the origin of a large number of long term conditions such autoimmune disease, we cant recommend this piece of advice one highly enough!

​