Food List for the Kapha Person
Best – consume freely
Good – 2 – 3 servings daily
Fair – 1 – 2 servings daily
Allowed occasionally – 3 – 4 servings weekly
Avoid – 1 – 2 servings weekly
Eliminate – eliminate from diet
Fruits (should be organically grown, fully ripe, and eaten one hour before or after a meal, not with the meal):
Good: dried fruits, cranberries, apples.
Fair: pomegranates.
Allowed occasionally: grapefruit, lemons, limes, papayas, prunes, apricots.
Avoid: melons, cherries, figs, grapes, mango, pineapple, strawberries, oranges, peaches, pears, persimmons, plums, raspberries.
Eliminate from diet: bananas, dates.
Vegetables:
Best: broccoli, cabbage, celery.
Good: mustard greens, peas, turnips, watercress, beets, carrots, chili peppers, cilantro (fresh), radish, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, alfalfa sprouts, asparagus, chard, sunflower sprouts.
Fair: spinach, cauliflower, parsley.
Allowed occasionally: okra, seaweed, summer squash, winter squash, eggplant, bell peppers, potatoes, tomatoes.
Avoid: avocado, cucumber, raw vegetables, sweet potatoes.
Grains (whole, not refined or precooked):
Good: barley, granola, rye.
Fair: amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, millet.
Allowed occasionally: rice (basmati).
Avoid: couscous, oats, wheat, rice (brown).
Eliminate from diet: rice (white).
Legumes (to reduce the gas-forming action of beans, use cumin, ginger, coriander, and black pepper alone or mixed together. It’s also helpful to soak the beans overnight before cooking. Each time you replace the soaking liquid, it further reduces their problematic qualities):
Best: adzuki beans.
Good: Lima beans, dal, lentils, soy beans.
Fair: mung beans, tofu, kidney beans, split peas, pinto beans.
Allowed occasionally: chickpeas.
Nuts and Seeds:
Fair: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds.
Allowed occasionally: coconut, sesame seeds.
Avoid: almonds (peeled), pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, cashews, filberts.
Eliminate from diet: Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts.
Dairy: (make sure to buy quality milk products (see Dairy and A-da).
Good: buttermilk.
Fair: goat’s milk.
Allowed occasionally: ghee (clarified butter), kefir, lassi (diluted yogurt).
Avoid: butter, cottage cheese, whole milk, sour cream.
Eliminate from diet: cheese, cream, ice cream, yogurt.
Meats, Fish, and Eggs: Ayurveda is strongly against eating animal flesh. If you do consume meat and fish, at least get fresh, local, organic; cook it at home; and avoid meat dishes in restaurants. The fact that Ayurveda recommends specific sorts of meat for different doshas simply means that this science wants us to be as healthy as possible, even if we are not vegetarien yet.
Fair: chicken, turkey.
Avoid: duck, eggs, fish, shellfish.
Eliminate from diet: beef, lamb, pork.
Oils (choose organic nonrefined oils):
Good: safflower oil, mustard oil, sunflower oil.
Fair: corn oil.
Allowed occasionally: soybean oil, ghee (clarified butter), sesame oil, peanut oil.
Avoid: canola oil, almond oil, avocado oil, butter, olive oil, coconut oil.
Eliminate from diet: margarine.
Sweeteners (honey becomes a toxin when heated):
Fair: honey (raw).
Avoid: fruit sugar, molasses, non – refined sugar. brown sugar.
Eliminate from diet: brown sugar, maple syrup, white sugar, artificial sweeteners.
Spices (herbs and spices play a key role in making food balancing for your dosha):
Best: black pepper, cayenne, horseradish, mustard, cardamom, garlic, cloves, ginger, turmeric.
Good: asafetida, basil, cilantro, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, parsley.
Fair: fennel, nutmeg, mint.
Allowed occasionally: salt (rock).
Eliminate from diet: seasalt. See also Ayurveda on salt.
Beverages (cold drinks before a meal kill your digestive fire):
Good: herbal teas (spice).
Fair: tea (black or green), warm water.
Allowed occasionally: sour fruit juices (fresh made), coffee.
Avoid: wine (red).
Eliminate from diet: cold water, milk, hard alcohol, beer, white wine, iced and cold drinks, soft drinks, sweet fruit juices.
Eliminate from your diet all soft drinks, iced drinks, frozen, canned, boxed, micro waved food, and any food with a storage term that is much longer than it would be if not stuffed with chemicals. Try to eat as few leftovers as possible. The fact that fresh produce has been disappearing from the American market over the last seventy years is perhaps one of the reasons why one in five people now has some form of cancer.
If you are trying to lose weight, do not mix too many foods together in one dish, it’s hard to digest. Use the spices moderately but consistently to support your digestion.
See also Diet for the Dual Dosha Types. Non animal protein. What it means to eat fresh.
TODAY’S TIP: Do not use low-fat dairy. The process of extracting fat from food makes it indigestible. Buy full fat products and dilute with water. Use ginger, turmeric and cardamom with warm milk to prevent forming of mucus.
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