In Ayurveda, there are mainly three types of body physiques mentioned. They are vata, pitta, and kapha. The others are a  combination of these three ie: vatapitha, pithakapha, and vatakapha. Each physique has a set of its own unique characters by which we can identify them. The diet of each physique also varies accordingly. Ayurveda proposes a unique diet for each physique mainly depending on the taste and potency of different foods apart from the calorie each food provides.

Vata Physique

• Body Physique: Lean, Thin build
• Skin: Dry, Rough, Pale Brown, Prominent veins
• Hair: Rough, Scanty
• Eyes: Small in size, lustreless
• Joints: Large in proportion to body size
• Eating habit: Hunger Irregular, Quick Eating, Prefer Warm food and drinks, takes small meals
• Voice: Hoarse, Feeble, Interrupted speech, talkative
• Sleep: Interrupted, Light
• Walking: fast, sounds can be heard from joints
• Physical activities: Quick & Fast
• Energy level-Fluctuates, easily fatigued
• Mental activity,Decision making: Quick,impulsive,fluctuating
• Intolerant: to cold
• Moods: Moods change quickly
• Memory: Short Term Better, grasp things quickly
• Response to stress: Easily become nervous and anxious

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Vata Diet: What to Eat & What Not to Eat

For Vata Physique Person digestive fire is irregular and weak. So, taking food at regular intervals will help to correct the digestive fire. Steaming helps to make foods easy to digest and moistened. It is better than a Vata Phsique cooks or steams heavy foods which are hard to digest than taking raw foods. All foods should be taken warm as it improves digestive fire.

Processing foods with ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cardamom make food easier to digest. Avoid dry foods. Prefer foods with maximum water content. Eat more foods with a sweet, sour, and salty taste. Reduce taking foods with a bitter, pungent and astringent taste.

Avoid dry cereals like corn, millet; Legumes like chickpeas (dry), kidney beans (astringent), black gram (heavy for digestion), soya (astringent, cool, heavy); Vegetables like potatoes (cool, astringent), Onion (pungent), Broccoli (Astringent, Pungent, Dry, Rough), Cabbage (Astringent, Pungent, Dry, Rough), Cauliflower – (Astringent, Pungent, Dry, Rough), Lettuce (Astringent, Pungent, Light, Rough), Mushroom (Dry, Cool, Heavy). Dairy products can be included in moderate quantities. Among non-veg chicken, mutton, beef, pork all are suitable in moderate quantities.

Pitta Physique

• Body Physique: Average build
• Skin: Soft, Pink – Red
• Hair: Thin, Tendency for early greying, blond
• Eyes: Size – Average with penetrating gaze
• Walking-Moderately fast with loose and flexible joints
• Sleep: Healthy, moderately sound
• Energy level: Moderate stamina, enjoys physical activities
• Physical activities-Moderately fast
• Voice-Intense, penetrating, loves to debate
• Eating habits-strong appetite eats regular moderate meals, prefer cold foods and drinks
• Mental activity, Decision making: Fast and sharp, Reasonable and Stable decisions
• Memory: Smart, Intelligent
• Moods: Moderately Stable
• Intolerance: to heat
• Response to stress: Easily become agitated and frustrated

Pitta Diet: What to Eat & What Not to Eat

Pitta Physique has the strongest digestive fire. So the food should be heavy, cooling, and hydrating to tissues. The tastes which should be included more are sweet, bitter, and astringent. The tastes which should be included less are sour, pungent, and salty. Avoid taking hot spicy food, deep-fried food, packaged canned or bottled food, nuts (Hot in property especially peanuts, cashew nuts, walnuts), tomatoes (sour), eggplant (hot), raw onions (Pungent & heating), reddish (Pungent & heating), Mustard leaves(pungent); Citric fruits like oranges, lemon, etc. Among dairy products, ghee is the most suitable one. Chicken and fish are less preferred among non-veg.

Kapha Physique

• Body: Big, Heavy, easily gain weight
• Strength: Well
• Skin: Moist, Greasy, Pale weight
• Hair: Dense, Greasy, Dark brown/black
• Eyes: Big, White, and Shiny
• Sleep: Long, Healthy
• Long Term Memory: Best
• Aversion to Moisture: Cool Weather
• Moods: Steady, Constant
• Eating habits: Slow eating, Regular big meals
• Physical activity: Slow and organized
• Mental activity, Decision making: Slow, dull; Exact and steady decisions
• Energy level: Slow to start but strong endurance
• Foods & Drinks: Prefer dry & warm
• Response to Stress-Handles Stress easily

Kapha Diet: What to Eat & What Not to Eat

Kapha Physique person's digestive power is low. So foods should be light, dry, well-spiced, easy to digest, and with tastes astringent, bitter, pungent. Avoid heavy, oily, cold food intake. Avoid fried foods, desserts, sweets, ice creams. Among grains, avoid taking wheat and rice. Include more barley, millet, corn, oatmeal, etc. All pulses except soya bean (sweet, astringent, cooling, oily, heavy for digestion) can be taken. All pulses are good for pitta and Kapha Physique. Among fruits include more sour taste fruits like orange, strawberry, etc. Among dairy products, buttermilk is the preferred one. Chicken and fish preferred among non –veg foods