In this episode I'll give you my top 10 foods for balancing Vata dosha.
You will also find out why I recommend these, and will learn about how to balance Vata dosha with diet.
Hi this is Livia with Healthy Happy and Wise bringing you the latest ayurvedic diet and lifestyle tips.
So without further ado, let's start with number 10.
At number 10, I have oatmeal. Oatmeal is probably the best breakfast food for Vata
for several reasons. It’s warm and cooked. It’s heavy and, it’s sweet.
Vata dosha by nature is light, dry, cold, and rough, and oatmeal with its
opposite qualities is an ideal food for Vata, especially in the winter.
It's best to cook oatmeal in milk, cow's milk if you can digest it, or almond
milk is also a very good alternative. Milk will add even more Vata pacifying qualities.
You can also add some walnuts or almonds, raisins and dates
and you got the ideal Vata breakfast.
At number 9 on the list I have almonds.
Almonds are a great snack for Vata (and Pitta).
They're oily, sweet, warming, and heavy.
They also contain 20% protein, higher than most nuts.
Almonds lubricate the skin, the micro-circulatory channels,
and support all the seven tissues of the body.
The best way to eat almonds is in their natural form, as opposed to almond butter.
Almond butter can be too clogging for the body and hard to digest.
The skin of almonds is bitter and hard to digest so it's best to blanch them.
Soaking and roasting also improves the nuts digestibility.
You can add almonds to your morning oatmeal, to grains and vegetables, or eat them as a snack.
Home-made almond milk is also a nourishing drink for Vata people.
In addition, almond oil is an excellent massage oil for Vata.
At number 8 I have warm soup as the best dinner for Vata.
Vata doesn't do well with raw food, which is cold and rough and hard to digest.
So a cooked vegetable soup is a great dinner option because it's warm nourishing and easy to digest.
You can do a vegetable soup with herbs and spices, or include lentils and
meat if you're not vegetarian. You can also add some noodles,
coconut milk for a Thai version, sour cream, or make a cream soup by blending all the ingredients.
At number 7 I have root vegetables as the best vegetables for Vata.
Root vegetables are grounding and compensate for the airy equality of Vata dosha.
Vata dosha is made up of the elements of space and air,
so grounding foods are great for Vata.
My favorite Vata-balancing root vegetables are beets, sweet potatoes, and carrots.
They are predominantly sweet, which is
one of the taste that pacifies Vata, along with sour and salty.
They're also rich in minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals. Root vegetables are
excellent baked or roasted. You can also add them to soups or sauteed vegetables.
Potatoes, even though they are a root vegetable, are not recommended for Vata;
they're too difficult to digest.
At number 6 on my list is split mung dal.
Mung dal is the queen of legumes and it's the best dal for Vata.
It's nourishing and easy to digest. Mung dal contains a balanced profile of
nutrients, including protein, dietary fiber, carbohydrates, and phytochemicals.
And best of all, unlike other legumes, mung dal doesn't create flatulence.
Quite the opposite, it reduces gas in the intestines.
Mung bean is also a prebiotic food that feeds the beneficial bacteria in the gut.
Mung bean is also known for its detoxifying properties as it promotes the removal of pesticides
and heavy metals from the body. The best way to make mung dal is to make
a soup with spices and vegetables, or make kitchari,
which is a dal and rice porridge popular in Ayurveda.
At number five I have rice.
More specifically, white basmati rice, which complements mung dal,
as the king of all rices in Ayurveda.
Vata in general is pacified by grains because they are sweet and nourishing
and basmati rice is the best grain for Vata.
It's easier to digest than other grains, and the rice starch gets absorbed
in the human body nearly completely. Basmati rice is sattvic and has a high
level of prana, or life force. It's gluten free and has a lower glycemic index than
some other rice varieties. Vata can enjoy rice in a variety of forms as a cooked
grain along with vegetables, combined with mung dal in kitchari,
and as in rice pudding as a delicious breakfast, dessert, or dinner.
Number 4 on the list is a Vata-pacifying spice mix.
Having a custom-made spice mix is an easy way to make all of your meals Vata-balancing.
The best way to use spices is to cook them with the food,
because their healing compounds get released during the process.
Spices add flavor, improve digestion and assimilation, and promote detoxification.
You can make up your own mix from a variety of Vata-balancing spices, including
cumin, ginger, fennel, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, fenugreek, and turmeric.
You can also check out our video on how to make a Vata spice mix.
Number 3 on the list are dates.
To me, dates are the ultimate Ayurvedic candy.
I can eat one after a meal, and it completely satisfies my craving for the sweet taste.
As dates are very sweet, they are one of the best fruits for Vata.
I recommend Medjool dates as they are not as dry as some of the other versions.
Dates are also rich in minerals including iron.
Dates can be used in many ways.
They can be chopped and added to cooked cereals and puddings,
they can be combined with warm milk and spices to make milk date shake,
a Vata-pacifying drink often recommended in Ayurveda.
Dates can also be combined with nuts and coconut to make desserts.
Whole dates are the best, but date sugar is also a good sweetener,
especially if you cook it. It it doesn't have the texture of sugar so it won't
work for certain baked goods. But it's good for cooked cereals and puddings.
Number 2 on the list is milk.
Ayurveda revers milk as one of the best foods for Vata.
When Ayurveda talks about milk it refers to raw, organic, cow's milk
that is boiled and consumed at a warm or room temperature.
Pasteurized organic milk is the second best option.
Milk from grass-fed cows is always preferable as it has a higher nutritional profile.
Milk is sweet, heavy, and oily, so it balances Vata.
It promotes good sleep, nourishes and strengthens the body,
soothes the mind, and balances the emotions.
These are all important for Vata.
On the other hand, over-processed dairy, such as homogenized milk
and aged cheeses are not balancing for Vata along with cold milk and ice cream.
These in fact are not balancing for anyone.
And finally, the number 1 food to balance Vata is oil, and most specifically ghee.
Ghee is clarified butter, which is made by cooking butter until the water evaporates
and the milk solids separates. Then the ghee is strained and you are
left with a golden colored cooking fat.
So why is ghee my top choice to pacify Vata?
Because Vata is most easily pacified by oil, whether in food
or in the form of an oil massage; and ghee is the highest quality oil.
From the Ayurvedic perspective, ghee is sweet, oily, and heavy.
These are all qualities that compensate for Vata's dry and light tendencies.
Ghee also improves absorption and elimination, which can also be weak points for a Vata physiology.
Ghee lubricates the digestive tract
and helps with the downward movement of Vata dosha.
It reduces bloating, (which is another Vata issue)
and also improves memory and mental functioning.
Ghee is lactose free, has a high smoking point, and doesn't go rancid easily.
Ghee is made up of mostly healthy and easy-to-digest short chain fatty acids
and monounsaturated fats.
Ghee also contains vitamins A, D, E, and K.
So these are the top 10 Vata-pacifying foods.
You can consume several of these daily if you are a Vata body type
and add them to your diet in the winter which is the season of Vata.
There are many more of course.
You can find a complete list in most books on Ayurveda.
I would be interested to know what your favorite Vata-balancing food is,
and how you're consuming it. Let us know in the comments.
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to learn more about the Ayurvedic lifestyle and diet.
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