Taste	Vata	Pitta	Kapha	Metabolism Effect	Example
Sweet	Decrease	Increases	Decrease	Builds up tissue	Honey
Sour	Decrease	Increases	Increases	Breaks down tissue	Sour Lime
Salty	Decrease	Increases	Increases	Builds up tissue	Salt
Pungent	Increases	Decreases	Increases	Breaks down tissue	Chillies
Bitter	Increases	Decreases	Decreases	Breaks down tissue	Fenugreek seeds
Astringent	Increases	Decreases	Decreases	Breaks down tissue	Pomegranate

There are also the physical/chemical qualities of food that affect the balance of the three doshas.

Physical	Usually Reflected in	Effect	Example
Heavy	Kapha	Increases Kapha, Good for Vata	Red meat
Light	Vata	Increases Vata, Good for Kapha	Rice
Oily	Pitta/Kapha	Increases Kapha	Sesame oil
Dry	Vata	Increases Vata, Good for Pitta	Toast
Cooling	Vata	Increases Vata, Good for Pitta and Kapha	Milk
Heating	Pitta	Increases Pitta, Good for Vata	Eggs

The optimum quantity of food depends on how sensitive you are to your body and its digestive power. However, generally Ayurveda recommends that of your total capacity, you should eat half of it in solids, a quarter in liquids and leave a quarter of your stomach empty.

The time of food also depends on your dosha. The morning is Vata time, the day is Pitta time and the evening is Kapha time. Hence, a Kapha person should not eat heavy food at late nights. http://www.ayurveda.tv

Exercise

Regular light exercises help the body to shape up, increase muscle strength, improve appetite and maintain health. It gives the body the ability to withstand exertion, fatigue, and changes in the climate such as fluctuations in temperature.

Exercise is most beneficial in winter and spring. Exercise should preferably be done early in the morning before the daily shower or bath.The intensity of the exercise depends on your dosha.  The ideal amount of exercise should be half of your capacity. For example, if you get tired after 30 minutes of jogging, you should stop after 15 minutes.When sweat appears on the forehead and armpits, respiration speeds up and one starts breathing through the mouth, the exercise should be stopped.

While doing any exercise, factors such as age, strength, physical condition, time, season of the year and diet must be taken into consideration. If exercise is done without paying attention to these factors, or if performed in excess, it might lead to a number of health problems. Similarly, those suffering from chronic organic diseases or who are too old, debilitated and exhausted should not do any strong exercises.

Yoga is the preferred way of exercising as it combines physical and mental exercise.To learn Yoga, please refer to Ayur Yoga.

Sleep

Sleep is extremely important to rejuvenate the body and mind. Sleep enhances the Kapha in you (heaviness) so Kapha people should not sleep too much while Vata people, who are very active, should have more of sleep.

The dreams that you experience also reflect your doshas.A Pitta person will experience angry and violent dreams while Kapha dreams will feature calm things like lakes and the ocean.Sudden changes in dream patterns can indicate a recent change in your doshas.

Conduct

By this we mean that your conduct should be in harmony with your surroundings.  Suppression of your physical urges could cause an imbalance in your doshas, for example, the habitual suppression of the passing of body gases could lead to too much Vata (air) in your body.Mental imbalances such excessive anger increases Pitta.

Other Activities

Waking Up Hours

A healthy person should get up two hours before sunrise. After emptying the bladder and bowels, one should meditate for half an hour and then do Yoga exercises.

Care of the Teeth

The teeth should be cleansed with medicated powders mixed with oil and salt, or various medicated powders having astringent, bitter and slightly pungent taste, such as mixture of the powder of catechu, rock salt, black pepper, long pepper, camphor, turmeric and margosa bark in equal proportions, along with small amount of cloves and honey; either with a brush or with fore finger. Sweet toothpastes are not recommended as they might precipitate the dental caries and other dental disorders.

Care of the Tongue http://www.ayurveda.tv

The tongue should be cleaned with a flexible and long and polished strip made of metal (steel or copper) or wood. Cleaning of the tongue should be done without exerting much pressure as excessive pressure might hurt the soft and hyperaemic tongue tissue. Cleansing of the tongue freshens up the mouth and also stimulates the secretion of the digestive enzymes.

Care of the Mouth

Gargling with a quarter-cup of warm undiluted sesame oil gives strength to the teeth, improves the voice, and imparts proper taste to the food that is eaten.

Care of the Face

Every morning, the face and the eyes should be washed with cool water. A medicated paste containing powder of chebulic myribalan (Haritaki), sandalwood and milk should be applied on the face and kept on for ten minutes, before washing off with water. This paste helps tighten the skin and prevents wrinkling. Other herbal and facial oils can also be used as moisturizing agents. http://www.ayurveda.tv

Care of the Eyes

Collyrium or Kajal made from the decoction of barberry, liquorice and three myrobalans (Triphala) in equal parts along with honey should be applied on the outer edge of the lower eyelid everyday. This helps remove dirt and dust, and relieves excessive watering or burning of the eyes due to strain. Regular use of Collyrium increases the brightness of the eyes and protects them from photophobia. This can be applied to the eyes. Medicated ghee made with Triphala is also good for the eyes. http://www.ayurveda.tv

Care of the Nose

Medicated oil should be put into both nostrils or applied in the inner mucosa of the nasal cavity with the help of the fingers each day. A few drops can be put on the end of the little finger and gently applied inside the nose. For this purpose, a medicated oil known as Anu Taila, or sesame oil, or ghee should be used. The procedure of putting nasal drops is known as Pratimarsha Nasya and it improves the efficiency of the sense organs like eyes, ears and brain. It also helps to prevent diseases of the neck and head region and strengthens the voice.

Bath

A hot water bath should be taken after oil massage and proper exercise. For washing the head, the water should not be too hot. A hot water bath relieves fatigue, increases strength, cleans the body, improves appetite and generates a feeling of freshness in the body as well as in the mind.

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