Kapha Pacifying Diet
A kapha pacifying diet favours warm foods and hot beverages. Use of oil and fat should be restricted. One should avoid cold drinks, cold food, and frozen desserts such as ice cream, yellow cheese, frozen yogurt, etc. Avoid leftovers, canned, bottled, or packaged foods, frozen foods, processed foods, rich creamy foods, sweets, salty foods and alcohol.
Eat mainly freshly prepared vegetable and legume dishes, with proportionately smaller amounts of grains and fruits. The food should be spiced according to taste.
Favour the Following Foods
- IN GENERAL: Enjoy a lighter diet of less rich foods. Favour hot spicy food at night. Avoid oily and greasy (deep fried) foods.
- LEGUMES: All beans especially mung, lentils kidney, adzuki, lima and black gram seed.
- GRAINS: Basmati rice, barley, millet, oat, corn, buckwheat, rye, quinoa, couscous, oats and whole grain breads (toasted).
- VEGETABLES: Green leafy vegetables, carrot, beets, white potatoes, artichoke, broccoli, corn, celery, cabbage, cauliflower, peas, eggplant, mushroom, bell peppers, green beans & peas, sprouts, radish bitter melon, asparagus, zucchini.
- FRUITS: Apples, pears, figs, papaya, guava, pomegranate, persimmons, raisins, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, apricots (moderation).
- DAIRY & BEVERAGES: Organic skim milk (boiled and served hot), almond milk, small amounts of ghee. Cottage cheese, ginger tea, khapha tea or cinnamon tea. Coffee-one cup/day. Wine –one drink /day with food.
- SPICES: All spices especially ginger, black pepper, cumin, mustard seeds, ajwain, saffron, hing, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, anise, fennel, coriander, dill, mint, garlic, nutmeg, lemon juice.
- NUTS & SEEDS: Small portions of sunflower, sesame (black) and pumpkin seeds, pecans walnuts and Flax seed.
- OILS: Mustard, corn, sesame, olive, flaxseed in moderation. Ghee in small amounts. Use kapha oil for daily massage before bathing.
- SWEETENERS: Use of honey, brown sugar and jaggery
- NON-VEGETARIAN: Freshwater fish, rabbit, turkey (dark meat).
Reduce / Avoid the Following Foods
- IN GENERAL: Avoid large quantities of food, especially at night. Avoid oily and greasy (deep fried) foods. Cold (raw) or re-heated foods, heavy foods such as frozen or canned foods and sweet, sour and salty.
- LEGUMES: Tofu, tempeh, chick peas and soy.
- GRAINS: Wheat, white rice, yeasted or sourdough breads.
- VEGETABLES: Sweet potatoes, tapioca, cucumber and okra.
- FRUITS: Strictly avoid avocado and banana. Reduce dates, figs, prunes, grapes, kiwi, melons, orange, pineapple, coconut and mango.
- DAIRY & BEVERAGES: Fermented aged dairy, ice cream, sour cream and yoghurt (in the night), Ice cold drinks, all vinegars.
- SWEETENERS: White, refined sugar, cake and chocolate.
- NON-VEGETARIAN: Eggs, beef, chicken, duck and other sea food.
