Rasa, The Six Tastes and Ayurveda

Here's part of the notes from the workshop on the six tastes......if anybody lost their copy.  You can find more on 5 elements and 3 doshas in older articles under Ayurveda.

The Six Tastes and Rasa

The word Rasa means taste.  There are six distinct tastes that are composed of a combination of the elements.  The six tastes are the basis of creating an Ayurvedic diet.  Based on the consumption of them, doshas will either be increased or decreased in the body.

Sweet

The sweet taste is made up of the earth and water elements.  It has the quality of being heavy, moist, cool, stable, smooth, and soft.  The consumption of sweet nourishes the body and the tissues.  It is a necessary taste for all types, but the sweet taste is best for Vata and Pitta individuals.  It includes all carbohydrates, sugars, and fats.  Most fruits and grains are considered sweet as well as milk.  It is the most dominant taste in all of our forms of food as well as the water we drink.  Sweet taste increases all the tissues of the body and helps to build ojas.

Sour

The sour taste is made up of primarily fire and water.  It has the qualities of being heavy, hot, moist, and stable.  The consumption of sour aids in digestion and removing wastes from the bodily system.  The taste is most beneficial for Vata, but very small amounts can be consumed by Pitta and Kapha.  All organic acids and some fruits are considered sour, such as; lemons, limes, and strawberries.  Other foods such as yogurt, pickles, and miso are also sour.  It nourishes and tonifies most tissues of the body and helps to improve digestion as well as increase circulation. 

Salty

The salty taste is made up of water and fire.  The two major qualities are that it is moist and warm.  It hydrates the body and nourishes the rasa dhatu, plasma.  The salty taste is best for people of Vata nature because it is heavy, moist, and warming; though it should be used in small quantities.  This taste stimulates digestion and cleanses the bodily tissues.  Besides salt as a spice, the taste is found in seaweed and other vegetables with high saline content like cucumber and tomato.

Pungent

The pungent taste is made up of the fire and air elements.  It has the quality of hot, light, mobile, and dry.  The pungent taste stimulates digestion, stimulates the appetite, and helps to maintain healthy metabolism.  It is most beneficial for Kapha, used in small amounts for Vata, and sparingly for Pitta.  Spices like ginger, garlic, hing, peppers, and chili peppers are examples of the pungent taste.

Astringent

The astringent taste is made up of the elements earth and air.  It has the qualities of being dry and cool.  The astringent taste is typically used medicinally.  It is constrictive in nature, tonifying the tissues of the body and helping it to heal.  Very small quantities can be used by each dosha, but Pitta and Kapha can use more than Vata.  Most medicines are astringent in nature as well as most beans, cranberries, and pomegranate. 

Bitter

The Bitter taste is made up of the air and ether element.  It has the qualities of being light, dry, cool, and mobile.  The bitter taste helps to detoxify the body and cleanse the internal organs.  The bitter taste is good for everyone in medicinal quantity.  It exists in food like turmeric, aloe, neem leaves, lettuce, endives, and goldenseal.

  

Rasa	Element	Qualities	Dosha Effect	Agni	Reduce/Tonify
Sweet	Water, Earth	Heavy, moist, cool, stable, soft, smooth	V-, P-, K+	Decrease	Strongly tonifying
Sour	Fire, Earth	Heavy, moist, hot, stable	V-, P+, K+	Increase	Tonifying
Salty	Water, Fire	Hot, moist	V-, P+, K+	Increase	Mild tonifying
Pungent	Fire, Earth	Light, hot, dry, mobile, hard	V+, P+, K-	Increase	Reduces, except rakta dhatu
Astringent	Earth, Air	Cool, dry, stable, hard	V+, P-, K-	Decrease	Tonifying, except rasa dhatu
Bitter	Air, Ether	Light, cool, mobile,dry	V+, P-, K-	Decrease	Strongly reducing, especially rakta

Table 81, from Principles of Ayurvedic Medicine, vol. 2, Dr. Halpern