According to Ayurveda, our sense of taste serves as a natural guide map to proper balanced nutrition. For ages, human beings relied largely on taste to discover healthy foods found in nature, as well as avoid any toxic ones. If you missed our overall blog on taste, click here to read.
Our taste buds, however, do more than just identify different tastes. They also unlock the nutritive value of foods and provide the initial spark that begins the digestive process. This week, we will focus specifically on the sweet taste, the role it plays in digestion, as well as it’s physiological and psychological effects.
The sweet taste is the first taste that we want to consume in a meal. It helps to nourish the mucosal lining of the stomach, as well as stimulate the gastric juices and digestive enzymes required for digesting the meal.
Some examples of “sweet taste” foods:
Grains – wheat, rice, millet, dry oats
Fruits – coconut, dates, figs, mangos, cantaloupe, avocado
Meat & Dairy – beef, eggs, salmon, buffalo, milk, cheese, butter, ghee
Nuts & Seeds -almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds
Herbs & Spices – saffron, licorice, fennel, basil, cardamom, mint, cinnamon
Vegetables & Legumes – corn, zucchini, beets, red lentils, navy beans, tofu
All Sweeteners – sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc.
The sweet taste is made up of the earth and water elements. Its qualities are heavy, moist, cooling and oily. It helps bring balance to those whose constitutions are predominant in the elements of ether, air and fire, while potentially aggravating those who have more of the earth and water elements.
When we eat something sweet, the taste buds on the tip of the tongue become active and send a message to the related organs which are the thyroid gland and the upper lungs.
When used moderately, sweet is wholesome, nourishing, nutritive and energizing. It promotes strength, vitality, vigor and longevity. It relieves thirst and can help cool down any burning sensations in the body. If you’ve eaten spicy food, for example, and your mouth is on fire, eat a little bit of sugar and it will cool it down.
In excess, however, too much sweet taste can cause heaviness, lethargy, laziness and loss of appetite. It promotes congestion, colds, cough, fever, breathing problems and diabetes. People who eat a lot of sweet foods tend to have sluggish, under-active thyroids and can put on weight, leading to obesity. In addition, a person’s healing capacity diminishes because sweet is the best medium in which bacteria, fungi and parasites grow.
Psychologically, sweet in moderation enhances love, joy and compassion. Love is associated with the sweet taste, which is why we may refer to a person that is dear to us as “honey.” The sweet taste is also soothing to the mind and calms the nerves. In excess, however, too much sweet can be addictive and lead to unhealthy cravings. It can also create attachment, greed and possessiveness.
Stay tuned next week as we continue this series and explore the sour taste.
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