Vata - Air / ether constitution (dry, cold, deficient, ungrounded, rough, mobile, agitated, light, are some of the qualities you may see )
| Aggravated by: |
bitter
astringent
pungent
|
Balanced by: |
sweet
sour
salty
|
Remember, we want to pacify vata and not aggravate it. So vata people and vata conditions need moderation in taking the bitter, astringent and pungent tastes.
Pitta - Fire / water constitution ( hot, damp, inflammation, spreading, aggressive, oily are some of the qualities that we may see )
| Aggravated by: |
sour
pungent
salty
|
Balanced by: |
sweet
bitter
astringent
|
All three of these tastes, of sour, pungent and salty will be too heating and create too much moisture for pitta. So those of a pitta constitution or a pitta condition need to be moderate in the use of these tastes.
Kapha - The Water/Earth Constitution (cold, damp, phlegmatic, heavy, dull, dense, thick are some of the qualities that we may see)
| Aggravated by: |
sweet
salty
sour
|
Balanced by: |
pungent
bitter
astringent
|
The sweet, salty and sour tastes have watery, building qualities which kapha does not need. So kapha should use these tastes in great moderation.
The complex forms of the tastes are less likely to aggravate vata, pitta or kapha as they require more assimilation thus do not have as strong or fast acting effects that the pure forms of the six tastes will have.
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