The 6 tastes

The 6 tastes of Ayurvedic and Chinese medicines

There are 6 tastes we ideally need in our daily diet, according to Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine systems. Each of these tastes contributes to the health of our physiology, as well as mental, emotional and spiritual health. As all of us are unique, we might benefit from different amounts of these tastes, but we all benefit from all of them in some amount.

These are:

Sweet.
This is found in abundance in our western diet, from all sweeteners, to all the sweet fruits such as mangoes, many grains such a wheat, nuts and seeds such as cashews and coconut, legumes such as chickpeas and mung beans, vegetables such as cooked carrots and sweet potatoes, and dairy such as milk. It's not a taste we are likely to be short on. It is calming, nourishing, cooling and promotes love and sharing and "sweetness" when in balance.

Sour.
This taste is also pretty common in our diet, with citrus such as lemon, most fermented foods such as bread, vinegar, cheese and pickles, and some vegetables such as tomatoes. It helps the digestion in small amounts.

Salty.
The salty taste is found in celery, seaweed and all the various salt condiments we use such as rock salt and soya sauce. Salt enhances the flavour of food, and helps digestion, but it is easy to get too much.

Pungent/Spicy.
This taste comes not only in chilli, but in onions, garlic, ginger and mustard, as well as plants like nasturtium. People vary in their tolerance for this, but it can be helpful for digestion and for clearing toxins and enhancing circulation.

Astringent.
This is found in apples, green bananas, many vegetables such as potatoes and cauliflower, and most legumes. It helps to tone and contract leaky tissues.

Bitter.
The bitter taste tends to be avoided by our western palette, except for coffee and chocolate- and only strong bitter coffee and dark chocolate count. Traditionally, bitter was a much bigger part of our life, before plants were bred to be sweet and the bitterness bred out of them. We have evolved with bitter receptors all through our digestive system, and it is an important taste for a healthy digestive system- it stimulates digestive fluids. Lack of it might be contributing to the number of people nowadays suffering from digestive issues. A small amount goes a long way, but coffee and chocolate are not quite enough!

My next newsletter focuses on this bitter taste and how we can easily incorporate more of it into our lives. The bitter taste can be gently included so that a desire for it is awakened, and then the digestion heals, digestive fluids increase and balance, and this has many positive flow on effects.

Herbal bitters have been used traditionally to help with digestion, whether its flatulence, reflux, inflammation or poor absorption of nutrients. However, I talk about how to gently include more bitter foods in the diet, as they should ideally be there first.

Be Well!