Understanding Your Dosha: Diet and Lifestyle Suggestions

by Audrey Love | Apr 25, 2019 | Lifestyle

Pitta, Vata, Kapha: The three doshas, or energetic forces, that govern both the natural world and the human body. You might know your dosha and even understand some of the qualities that it endows. But how do you know if your doshas are truly balanced, or whether your experiencing doshic excess? What can you do to balance your dosha for a happy, healthy life? Below we explore each of the three doshas and the steps you can take to balance them.

The Vata Dosha

Vata is the energetic force of air and space. Governing movement and communication, vata regulates our elimination and nervous systems. This energetic force also influences our thoughts and emotions, which is why those of vata constitution are both cerebral and emotional. Vata types are typically fast moving, talkative, and excitable people. Though energetic and creative, vata is easily overwhelmed and prone to anxiety, sharp fluctuations in mood, and oscillating energy levels. Physically, vatas are thin with dry skin and a darker complexion.

Vata is characterized by dryness, roughness, speed, turbulence, coldness, and light. Those of vata constitution, or those with imbalanced vata, will experience these characteristics as excess that disturbs their sense of wellbeing. When vata is imbalanced, we fall prey to weight loss, physical pain, weakness, constipation, and fatigue. Our sleep may become more restless, or we may notice painful or sluggish digestion. Vata types often complain of coldness and dry, rough skin. Excess vata yields negative implications for the emotions as well. When vata is imbalanced, we experience nervousness, anxiety, racing thoughts, depression, loneliness, difficulty communicating, and mood swings.

Lifestyle Suggestions for Vata

Vata types are often drawn to rigorous physical activity as an outlet for their anxiety and restlessness. However, long, intense bouts of cardiovascular exercise are too stimulating for vata’s already over-stimulated system. Though vatas may enjoy bouts of intense exercise, they are bound to find themselves exhausted soon after. Instead, vata types should practice gentle forms of exercise like yoga and walking. Vatas also benefit from strength training, which will add muscle mass to balance their light, thin quality.

Vata types will benefit from a cool, stable lifestyle. Vatas typically crave constant change or adopt a stressful, faced-paced lifestyle. Like excessive exercise, excessive daily activity and change will upset vatas’ sensitive systems. Instead, vata types should seek stability and serenity in their home environments. They should take care to rest. If they have sleeping difficulties, they may benefit from soothing herbs and meditation. Self-care is important for everyone, but it is particularly vital for vata types. Vata may neglect their own needs in working hard at something, but they tend to crash after periods of intense exertion. Change, travel, movement, and chaos will quickly exhaust vata. Establishing personal time for pleasurable, relaxing activities is therefore a priority.

Dietary Suggestions for Vata

Because vata is cold and dry, vata types must eat warm, oily foods to balance their doshic excess. Vatas benefit from heavy, cooked foods like soups and stews that are high in fat. Ghee, butter, cream, and coconut oil will go a long way in soothing the body and facilitating digestion for vatas. They should nix cold drinks for herbal teas and warm beverages. Vata types should always include sour, salty, and sweet foods. They tend to tolerate root vegetables better than cruciferous vegetables or leafy greens, which are harder to digest. Green beans, onions, sweet potatoes, garlic, asparagus, beets, and carrots are particularly good for vata types. Cooking vegetables is absolutely essential for this dosha, which cannot tolerate them raw.

It is best for vata to avoid cold, bitter, or astringent foods. They should therefore ensure that they only eat fruit that has fully ripened. Vata should choose warm, soothing herbs like ginger, cayenne, and cinnamon over bitter or astringent ones. Though vata tends to tolerate oils and dairy very well, they should avoid red meat. They should also steer clear of candy and coffee, which can be over-stimulating, as well as most grains.

The Pitta Dosha

Like vatas, pittas are quite intellectual. However, they are more grounded and focused than creative, distractible vata. Pitta is the dosha of fire and water, and quite the force to be reckoned with. Pitta is passionate, outspoken, fiery, and logical at its best, and blunt, angry, impatient, and jealous at its worst. Characterized by heat, lightness, intensity, pungency, sharpness, and acidity, pittas have a lot of energy. Physiologically, the pitta dosha governs digestion and metabolism, so pittas tend to boast strong digestion and regularity.

Lifestyle Suggestions for Pitta

Physiologically, pittas are often prone to excess and should seek to establish moderation in their lives. Oftentimes they overeat, particularly salty, sour, and spicy foods that can aggravate their pitta energy. Typically mesomorphs of strong stature, they are also prone to excessive exercise, which aggravates the dosha instead of balancing it. Pittas should strive for balance by being mindful of portion sizes and practicing gentle exercise. Swimming, Pilates, and yoga are great for pitta, as is meditation.

Pitta types should also work to balance their fiery mental energy. Pittas are quick to anger and compulsivity and tend to blame others for their problems. Imbalanced pitta is typically associated with inflammatory conditions like skin irritation and indigestion, as well as ulcers and heartburn. It is also conducive to irrational jealousy and even rage. Taking personal time to keep perspective and evaluate emotions is incredibly therapeutic for pitta. Engaging in soothing, mentally engaging activities like painting or puzzles can also help pittas keep their cool. Pittas can work to keep cool in a more literal sense by avoiding humid climates and consuming plenty of water, which can even their moods.

Dietary Suggestions for Pitta

Pittas should strive for moderation in their diets as well. Cold or hot foods are too extreme for pitta types, who should opt for warm or cool foods instead. They benefit from foods that are neither too heavy nor too light, like cooked grains and vegetables. They should nix heavier, heat-forming foods like meat, fried food, nuts, and egg yolks. Olive, sunflower, and grapeseed oils are better for pitta than almond, corn, sesame, or coconut oils. Pitta types should also replace spicy or sour foods with bitter, sweet, and astringent foods. Unlike vata, pitta can handle raw fruits and vegetables, which cool their internal heat. Herbs like cilantro, dill, fennel, mint, turmeric, cumin, and black pepper also balance their fiery energy.

The Kapha Dosha

Kapha is the energetic force of earth and water. As such, it governs immunity and bodily structure and is considered heavy, slow, stable, cold, soft, solid, and oily. Kaphas tend to be strong, heavy individuals that easily store water and fat. They are calm, steady, and loving. Though they don’t move quickly like vata, they have remarkable endurance. However, they are also prone to lethargy. Kapha types boast sound sleep, radiant skin, strong digestion, physical strength, and stable moods. Excess kapha can cause water retention, weight gain, fatigue, respiratory complications, and depression.

Lifestyle Suggestions for Kapha

Mentally and emotionally, kaphas tend to be very healthy. They are compassionate and joyous but still gentle, patient, and stable. They enjoy introverted activities like music, reading, and relaxing, and typically get more than enough sleep. However, kaphas need to be very conscious of how they govern their social lives. Prone to attachment and loathing of conflict, kaphas oftentimes have difficulty letting go of the past or confronting issues in their lives. To balance their dosha, kaphas must consciously speak out even when it is uncomfortable and cut ties that are no longer serving them.

Kaphas are good at relaxing—sometimes a little too good. Kaphas should avoid napping during the day and try to wake with the sun every morning. Oversleeping only exacerbates their lethargy. They should also engage in energetic activities like cardiovascular exercise and interval training. Kaphas will benefit from choosing a profession that keeps them on their feet throughout the day and should walk instead of driving whenever possible. So long as kapha works to keep moving, they can avoid falling into a cycle of lethargy.

Dietary Suggestions for Kapha

Kaphas are prone to overeating and should avoid the sweet, heavy foods that might trigger bingeing. Candy, salty foods, or fried food are not good for kapha types. They should avoid all sugar and dairy, as well as cold food and drinks. Warm, light, dry food is better for kapha types. These include plenty of fruits and vegetables, either raw or steamed. Dry cooking is great for kaphas because it balances their oily nature. They also benefit from consuming spicy food, although they should limit other heat-forming foods like cooked grains and meat. They should also limit particularly sugar fruits like dates, figs, bananas, and mangos.

Kaphas stand to benefit from fasting more than any other dosha. Unlike vata, which should only fast on heavy, nourishing foods, kaphas can engage in liquid fasts for a few days at a time. They also benefit from consuming herbal teas and broths—warm, light foods that may not be substantial enough for the other two doshas.

Fasting 101

by Audrey Love | Apr 11, 2019 | Lifestyle

Fasting: it’s a hot topic today, and one that is relatively difficult to navigate. There is a wealth of emerging research on the methods and benefits of fasting. There are also a myriad of fasting methods to incorporate into your holistic eating program. 

However, the scientific perspective on holistic eating is always muddled. Some people are staunch proponents of complete water fasts. Others claim complete fasts are dangerous and opt for intermittent fasting instead. Different people recommend different macronutrient consumption for different types of fasts. It can be hard to separate diet trends from hard science, and to find what is right for your body!

To help you out, we have decided to compile a list of the benefits of fasting.  In this week’s blog, we also explore some of the most popular forms of fasting. Fasting can be an excellent, life-promoting tool to incorporate into your holistic eating routine. Using our blog, your own research, and your bodily intuition, we hope you can find a way to fast that is right for you!

The Benefits of Fasting

Fasting boasts a whole myriad of benefits, including but not limited to:

Cellular Restoration

Scientists claim that fasting promotes autophagy, the body’s process of eliminating old cells and generating new ones. Autophagy, or cellular restoration, also helps to facilitate detoxification. When our bodies can’t eliminate harmful toxins, they store them in bodily tissues. Fasting allows the body to eliminate these cells and thereby excrete the toxins they contain. Together, detoxification and cellular restoration improve energy levels and immunity while slowing the aging process.

Lower Levels of Inflammation

Because cellular restoration promotes the elimination of harmful toxins, it also reduces inflammation. Additionally, fasting improves the body’s ability to fight toxicity and free radical damage before it even occurs, thereby preventing inflammation-inducing toxicity. Less free radical damage, in concurrence with increased cell turnover, promotes healthier skin, immunity, and energy levels. 

Lower Insulin Levels

Insulin is the hormone that regulates our body’s ability to expend energy. After we eat, and especially if we eat a lot of sugar, our body is in a “fed” state. Thus, our insulin rises, signaling the body to store excess glucose in fat cells. Lower levels of insulin direct our bodies to burn energy instead. When we eat all of the time, our insulin levels remain high, placing us in constant fat storage mode. We can even develop insulin resistance, or chronically elevated insulin levels. Because fasting lowers insulin levels, it encourages the body to use its energy stores. This process is called lipolysis, i.e. when the body uses its fat stores for energy instead of glucose. The overall result is improved insulin sensitivity and lower levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin.

Weight Loss

When you fast, you typically consume fewer calories, and lower caloric intake leads to weight loss. But the big picture is more complicated. Fasting not only reduces caloric intake; it also improves insulin sensitivity, which prevents overeating and promotes weight loss. Additionally, fasting increases levels of human growth hormone, which encourages muscle mass preservation and fat loss. 

Higher Energy Levels

When we eat consistently, or eat a diet high in carbohydrates, our insulin levels fluctuate throughout the day. When our insulin levels are low, there is plenty of energy available for use in the bloodstream. In contrast, when insulin rises, blood sugar falls and we find ourselves hungry and tired. Fasting eliminates blood sugar fluctuation, promoting consistent energy levels. When the body transitions from burning glucose in the liver to burning fat stores for energy, we feel more energetic. That’s because there is only so much glucose your liver can hold, but most people have month’s worth of energy stored in fat cells. 

Types of Fasting 

Most people imagine that the only way to fast is to refrain from eating for several days. But there are actually several different ways to place your body in a fasting, or fat burning, state, while maintaining your regular holistic eating pattern. What method works for you will depend upon your lifestyle, experience with fasting, and personal preference, as well as the state of your health. 

Fasting is not for everyone. Those who are malnourished, underweight, pregnant, or breastfeeding should not add fasting to their holistic eating regimens. Consult your doctor if you are suffering from a health condition or taking any medications before fasting. Remember that certain types of fasting may work well for some and be unhealthy for others. 

Time Restricted Feeding/Intermittent Fasting

Time restricted feeding, otherwise known as intermittent fasting, is perhaps the most practical and popular method of fasting. It is the simplest method of incorporating a fast into your normal holistic eating routine, You can perform an intermittent fast everyday and reap all of the benefits of fasting while avoiding the more unpleasant side effects, like fatigue, headaches, and low energy. 

Intermittent fasting requires limiting your “feeding period” to a specific window of time. Most experts recommend fasting for a minimum of 12-16 hours per day, and only consuming food within an 8-12 hour window. Others limit their feeding period to four hours, and others to a mere hour! Beginners are encouraged to experiment with a 12-hour feeding period before adopting more drastic methods.

Intermittent fasting allows the body to rest, repair, and regenerate. While we are eating, our bodies are working to process food. Fasting gives the body a rest, allowing it to focus on detoxification and cellular restoration. It helps to regulate the body’s natural circadian rhythm of resting and repairing. 

Most individuals who practice time restricted feeding choose to skip breakfast, dinner, or both, consuming their largest meal in the middle of the day. Experts recommend choosing breakfast over dinner, as eating at night raises insulin levels more than it does in the morning. It is important to focus not just on when you eat, but what you eat; holistic eating will produce more significant benefits than eating fast food.

Calorie Restriction

Another fasting method involves strategic calorie restriction. Generally speaking, calorie restriction alone does not result in fasting. If you limit yourself to 1200 calories but still eat within a 16-hour window, your body doesn’t have the chance to repair.

However, some experts claim that if you limit yourself to 500 or 600 calories a day, your body will still enter a fasting state. The 5:2 method of fasting involves severely restricting calories for two days in a row every week to place the body in a state of fasting. 

Those who engage in this form of fasting are encouraged to consume most of those calories in the form of protein to reduce hunger pangs. However, other experts claim that, if you are going to eat on a fast, you should opt for fats. Unlike proteins, fats do not raise insulin levels markedly.

While some speak wonders of calorie-controlled methods of fasting, there is not yet a lot of research to confirm the benefits. While the 5:2 Method may be effective for weight loss, intermittent fasting, fast-mimicking, and complete fasting are more likely to generate the expected benefits of fasting. 

Fast Mimicking Diet

A fast mimicking diet is similar to the 5:2 Method, as it entails restricting calories for a period of consecutive days. However, fast-mimicking diets typically last for 3-5 days and require the consumption of 700-1,100 calories. The objective of a fast mimicking diet is to deplete the body’s cells of glycogen and stimulate ketogenesis, or the burning of body fat for fuel. 

In theory, this method of fasting is more feasible than a dry or complete fast. It permits the consumption of calories and nutrients while permitting fasting to occur at the cellular level. Like other forms of fasting, a fast-mimicking diet replaces damaged cells, improves insulin resistance, and lowers disease risk. 

The fast mimicking diet, like the 5:2 Method, also has its controversies. Some experts claim that the level of calorie consumption required as part of a fast-mimicking diet does not actually stimulate ketogenesis. If the body is consuming inadequate calories without going into ketogenesis, the risk of metabolic suppression increases. Furthermore, what you eat matters as well. A high fat, ketogenic diet will facilitate ketogenesis, but a diet rich in carbohydrates and protein may not, even when you restrict calories. The fast-mimicking diet has strict protocols on macronutrient consumption during fasting periods. 

Complete Fasting

A dry or complete fast involves consuming absolutely nothing for a period of days or even weeks. Water fasting permits only the consumption of water. While these types of fasts have produced remarkable results for many individuals, they are not recommended for most. Generally speaking, drastic fasts are not intended for individuals who are already at a healthy weight. If you are interested in doing a complete or water fast, you absolutely must consult your doctor beforehand!

Why You Should Be Working with an Ayurvedic Practitioner

by Audrey Love | Apr 3, 2019 | Lifestyle

What is an Ayurvedic Practitioner? And how can one help you in ways that a conventional or holistic doctor cannot? These are questions that we regularly receive here at Bodhidevi, and without surprise. Though Ayurvedic prescriptions for wellness have gained traction in the world of holistic health in recent years, most people still don’t understand exactly what Ayurveda is, where it came from, and how it can help them. Many people also assume that holistic doctors can provide the same services that an Ayurvedic practitioner can, which is not necessarily the case. This week, we will explore the most critical components and benefits of working with an Ayurvedic practitioner to better your health.

An Ayurvedic Practitioner Caters To You

At Bodhidevi, we offer a broad array of services that compliment an Ayurvedic lifestyle. But an Ayurvedic lifestyle may look very different for different individuals. That’s because Ayurvedic prescriptions for wellness are catered to the unique biologies and lifestyles of different individuals. In fact, working with an Ayurvedic practitioner is so medically effective is because he or she will be able to design treatments that are catered precisely to your body and life.

According to Ayurvedic philosophy, we each contain unique levels of the three life forces, or doshas: pitta, vata, and kapha. Each dosha, in turn, possesses its own gunas, or qualities. Thus, an individual’s physical and mental qualities differ based on his or her unique doshic balance. For example: pitta is characterized by the guna of heat, among others. Those who present with predominantly pitta energy are therefore more likely to be “hot-headed” and have a distaste for hot weather.

Western medicine finds the idea of the blind panacea quite favorable. Unfortunately, the medical reality is that individuals vary in their physical constitutions and, by extension, possess different medical needs. Western practitioners therefore seek to mask symptoms of a problem with toxic prescription medication rather than treating a problem at its core, as these problems can be difficult to identify and may require different forms of treatment in different individuals. Ayurvedic practitioners are more patient and methodical, working to identify and heal the source of your ailments. Working with an Ayurvedic practitioner is thus an incredible asset to your health because, in accordance with Ayurvedic philosophy, an Ayurvedic practitioner will design a dietary and lifestyle program catered to your unique doshic balance.

An Ayurvedic Practitioner Takes Your Whole Health Into Account

So how, exactly, does an Ayurvedic practitioner determine your doshic balance in order to improve your health? The process begins with an examination. Unlike a conventional Western doctor, an Ayurvedic practitioner need not conduct a full physical examination. Rather, he or she possesses the knowledge required to make inferences about your health with almost no physical contact.

First, an Ayurvedic practitioner will engage in observation, or darshan. Darshan requires the Ayurvedic practitioner to examine a person’s physical shape, movement, skin quality, eye color, tongue, lips, and hair. Then they will employ touch, or sparsha. Sparsha includes the palpitating and tapping of different parts of the body, as well as listening to bodily sounds, such as those emitted from the lungs and digestive organs.

Finally, the Ayurvedic practitioner will question, or prashna, a patient about his or her lifestyle. The questioning is perhaps the most extensive and comprehensive element of your meeting with the practitioner. Questions about your physical health, medical history, diet, work life, relationships, and mental health will all help the Ayurvedic practitioner to ascertain the nature of your doshic makeup. For example: if you describe yourself as anxious and present with slow digestion, dry skin and hair, and a cracked tongue, you likely possess excess vata energy.

An Ayurvedic Practitioner Will Help You Find Balance

According to Ayurvedic philosophy, disease occurs when our doshas become imbalanced. Too much or too little of a dosha can cause significant health complications. The nature of these health complications depends upon the gunas that characterize the excessive or deficient dosha. For example, vata possess the quality of dryness. Excess vata is therefore associated with constipation and dry skin. Once the Ayurvedic practitioner knows which of your doshas are stronger or weaker, he or she will provide solutions that will help to balance those energies and restore good health.

Ayurvedic philosophy holds that like increases like and opposites balance. Thus, in order to restore doshic balance, an Ayurvedic practitioner will make recommendations for countering the gunas that characterize your excessive or deficient dosha. In the example above, an Ayurvedic practitioner my encourage the consumption of oily foods, as the oily guna is the opposite of the dry guna. Introducing oily foods will tame vata energy.

An Ayurvedic Practitioner Will Provide Holistic Solutions

Ayurvedic Practitioners cannot provide prescription medications. Rather, an Ayurvedic practitioner will prescribe dietary and lifestyle recommendations designed to restore your doshic balance. Most often, Ayurvedic prescriptions will involve making some sort of change in your diet. Eating “healthy” is not enough to produce real health. To be true healthy, you must eat foods that will elevate the doshas you lack and tame the doshas you possess in excess. An Ayurvedic practitioner can help you design a diet that will restore your balance.

There are other dietary and lifestyle suggestions an Ayurvedic practitioner is likely to recommend to his or her patients. Our daily rhythms and habits can influence our doshic makeup just as significantly as diet can. And different doshas benefit from different routines and activities. Kaphas, for example benefit from rigorous exercise. Vata types, on the other hand, require more sleep and less exercise than kaphas. Pittas would do well to engage in soothing activities like meditation, as well as moderate exercise. An Ayurvedic practitioner can provide insight into what day-to-day habits you can alter to improve your health.