If you are a Vata dosha, suffer from a Vata imbalance, or would like to know what to eat when the weather is dry and cold,
this is the post for you! Learn which foods are the best for balancing this dosha, and stay grounded and nourished during the late-summer and autumn seasons.
In Ayurveda, food is used as a tool to restore balance and heal ailments, both physical and mental.
Vata energies are light, mobile, dry, rough, cold, fast, thin, unstable, agile, and expanding.
Which can manifest in the form of constipation, anxiety, bloating, gas, digestive issues, dry skin and hair, restlessness, weakness, or insomnia, to name a few.
As like increases like, to balance Vata you should eat foods with the opposite qualities. This means that, if you are predominantly a Vata or have a Vata imbalance, you should consume plenty of warm, moist, oily, dense, grounding, easy to digest foods and drinks.
Avoid anything raw, dry, cold, light, or heavy. Focus on sweet, salty, and sour tastes, and minimize foods with bitter, astringent, and pungent flavors.
Click here for the list of Kapha and Pitta pacifying foods.
Foods to favor
Warm, moist, and cooked
Fruits: always sweet and ripe. Mangoes, bananas, apricots, pineapple, coconut, avocados, cooked apples, berries, grapes, cherries, peaches, lemons, melons, figs, Medjool dates, raisins (soaked).
Vegetables: root vegetables (sweet potato, beets, pumpkin, parsnips, carrots, turnips), asparagus, green beans, spinach, zucchini, leeks, olives, cooked garlic and onions, cucumber, okra.
Grains: rice, oatmeal (cooked), quinoa, amaranth.
Legumes: moong dal, red lentils, tofu (cooked and served hot).
Dairy: always organic and full-fat. Cottage cheese, ghee, yogurt, kefir.
Fats: healthy oils (coconut oil, sesame oil, olive oil), ghee, avocado, nuts and seeds.
Animal products: fish, seafood, eggs, chicken, beef.
Sweeteners: erythritol, xylitol, coconut sugar, dates, raw honey, maple syrup, stevia.
Spices: almost all of the spices are good for Vata.
Foods to reduce or avoid
Raw, dry, and rough
Fruits: unripe fruit, green bananas, dried fruit.
Vegetables: raw vegetables, especially cruciferous (cabbage, broccoli, etc.)
Grains: dry, puffed grains, such as muesli, granola, raw oats, crackers, pop-corn, rice cakes, wheat pasta, wheat bread.
Legumes: every kind of bean.
Dairy: powdered milk, ice-cream.
Fats: canola oil, refined sunflower oil, palm oil, peanut oil.
Animal products: lamb, venison, rabbit, mutton, pork.
Spices: neem, fenugreek, horseradish, excess chili.
Sweeteners: artificial sweeteners, white sugar, honey (heated or cooked).
Drinks to favor
Hot and warm
Water should always be consumed warm, or at room temperature.
Teas: non-caffeinated, hot herbal teas, such as camomile, rooibos, etc.
Milk: always warm and with heating spices to aid in digestion (ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, etc.)
Non-dairy milk: almond, coconut, oat, rice.
Drinks to avoid
Cold, frozen, and iced
Coffee and any caffeine-based drinks or stimulants since they can be disruptive for the nervous system.
Soy milk
Fruit and milk smoothies
Carbonated and sparkling water
Alcohol
Some of my favorite Vata pacifying recipes are:
