Sweet

Sweet Taste in Ayurveda: The Essential Guide

The sweet taste in Ayurveda is the oiliest of all tastes, composed of earth and water elements. With cold potency and sweet post-digestive effects, it excels at strengthening tissues, building the body, and increasing vitality. Sweet foods can be enjoyed year-round, including all seasons. While providing a sense of contentment, excess consumption may harm the pancreas and lead to diabetes, obesity, and lethargy. Old unpolished rice, barley, wheat, green gram, and honey offer sweet benefits without negative effects, making them excellent choices for balanced nutrition in Ayurvedic practice.

Basic Properties 🍯

Attributes ²:

• Is the oiliest amongst all the tastes.
• Is cold and heavy in nature

Elemental Composition¹:

• Earth 🌍
• Water 💧

Ayurvedic Classification:

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

Benefits of Sweet Taste ✅

Physiological Actions²:

• Strengthens tissues
• Builds the body 💪
• Is calming
• Increases breast milk¹
• Good for complexion, hair, throat, sense organs, ojas
• Good for children and the elderly 👶 👵
• Heals broken bones
• Is a mild laxative
• Increases vitality¹
• Promotes fusion of sperm and ovum¹

Mental Benefits 🧠

• Provides a sense of contentment 😌

Seasonal Recommendations³ 🌦️

Best consumed during:

• Pre-winter and winter ❄️
• Monsoon 🌧️
• Summer☀️
• Autumn 🍂

Waste Management

• Helps in excretion of waste products¹

Digestive Characteristics

• Is difficult to digest

Cautions & Contraindications ⚠️

Excess Consumption Effects:

• Being overweight
• Weak digestion¹
• Excessive sleep, drowsiness and lethargy¹
• Diabetes
• Fainting
• Enlarged glands
• Urinary disorders¹
• Swelling and stickiness in the throat¹
• Accumulation of fat around neck and face¹
• Particularly harmful to spleen (pancreas)² ⚠️

Who Should Avoid Sweet Foods¹:

• Obese and overweight people
• Diabetics
• Those having worm infestation

Sweet Foods Without Negative Effects¹ 🌱

• Old unpolished rice
• Old barley
• Wheat
• Green Gram
• Honey

Sweet Taste & Emotions 🧠

• Each taste in Ayurveda corresponds to an emotion
• The emotion associated with sweet taste is desire² 💭

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