Astringent

Astringent Taste in Ayurveda: The Essential Guide

Astringent taste has cold potency and pungent post-digestive properties. It excels at healing wounds, stopping bleeding, tightening tissues, and cleansing blood. Best consumed during spring and autumn, excess consumption may cause constipation, emaciation, and colon issues. While difficult to digest, astringent foods create firmness in the body. Myrobalan (harada) offers astringent benefits without the negative effects, making it a valuable exception in the Ayurvedic pharmacopeia.

Basic Properties 🍃

Attributes:

• Is cold, dry and heavy²

Elemental Composition¹:

• Air 💨
• Earth 🌏

Ayurvedic Classification:

• Potency: Cold Potency¹ (Sheeta) ❄️
• Post-Digestive Taste: Pungent Vipaka¹ (Katu Vipaka) 🌶️
• Digestion Category: Avidahi¹ (causes no burning during digestion and helps in recovery from loss of consciousness)

Benefits of Astringent Taste ✅

Physiological Actions²:

• Cleanses blood 🩸
• Stops bleeding, sweat and diarrhea
• Controls intrinsic hemorrhage¹
• Heals wounds and broken bones¹ 🦴
• Tightens tissues
• Heals prolapse
• Dissolves fat
• Creates firmness in body

Distinctive Sensation:

• Leads to numbness of tongue 👅

Seasonal Recommendations³ 🌦️

Best consumed during:

• Spring 🌱
• Autumn 🍂

Cautions & Contraindications ⚠️

Excess Consumption Effects:

• Causes gas and thirst
• Can make one excessively thin (can cause emaciation)
• Loss of virility
• Causes constipation¹
• Creates pain in the heart area
• Particularly harmful to colon ⚠️

Special Note:

• Myrobalan (harada)¹ is astringent but doesn't have the negative effects associated with astringent taste

Digestive Characteristics

• Difficult to digest and can cause indigestion
• Helps in retaining waste products¹

Astringent Taste & Emotions 🧠

• Each taste in Ayurveda corresponds to an emotion
• The emotion associated with astringent taste is fear² 😨

References:

1. A Practical Approach To The Science of Ayurveda - Acharya Balakrishna
2. The Ayurvedic Encyclopedia - Natural secrets to healing, prevention and longevity - Swami Sada Shiva Tirtha
3. Bhojanakuthalam - Pg 484