The influence of our diet on our health and constitution is central to Ayurvedic beliefs. Sages and Yogis of Ancient India believed that foods were vital carriers and balancers of energy in the body. Most diseases can be traced ultimately to incorrect diet.

Charaka prescribes the following principles for healthy eating:

• Food should be hot, tasty and easy to digest. Eat proper amount of food.
• Food eaten should not be too much or too little.
• Do not eat when you are not hungry and conversely do not fail to eat when you are hungry.
• Keep large gaps between meals.
• Eat in congenial and pleasant surroundings with all accessories necessary for the enjoyment of food.
• Eating should neither be rushed nor too leisurely.
• Concentrate on your food while eating.
• Eat food that suits your constitution.

Our diet should be tailored to suit our prakriti. A vata individual should take warm and sweet food articles. A person with pitta prakriti should take cool, heavy, sweet, bitter and astringent food items. A person with kapha prakriti should take food, which is dry, warm, light, pungent, bitter and astringent.

The seasons and time of the day are also important factors for planning our diet. For instance, a pitta diet should be avoided in the summer or at midday when the pitta activity of the body is at its peak.

Avoid cold and frozen foods and drinks. Choose warming foods and spices. Avoid foods like cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts etc that create gas. Beans are cold, heavy and dry and not suited for vitas. Dairy is very calming to vata especially when it is warm. Stick to a regular routine. Sweet, moist, well-ripened fruits serve you well. Dry fruits should be soaked well before you have them. Raw food intake should be minimized. Sweet, sour and salty tastes should be emphasized in your food.

Keeping cool is very important for Pitta's fiery energy. Avoid excess oils, fried foods, caffeine and hot spices. Take lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Emphasize sweet, bitter and astringent tastes in your food. Cooling whole grains like barley, wheat and basmati rice are good for pitta. Pittas need good amounts of calcium, iron, magnesium and Vitamins. Most oils, salt, alchohol, red meat and hot spices are warming foods and hence harmful for pitta. Most dairy products are cooling in nature but cheeses, sour cream. buttermilk and yogurt are best avoided as their fat can aggravate pitta.

Fat consumption should be minimal. Avoid iced foods and drinks. Complex carbohydrates in diet are important to provide the necessary fiber. Light, warming and dry grains like barley, millet, oats rye, and amaranth increase insulin production and should be included in a kapha diet. Dairy products are best avoided. Light, crispy foods like popcorn serve you well. Low-fat proteins like high fiber beans are good for your constitution.