Vata represents the air element and is one of the 3 mind-body types in the Ayurveda. Ayurveda means “science of life” and is a comprehensive system that originated in India 5,000 years ago. People who are Vata types tend to be small, slender of slight build with dryness as a recurring theme. Dry hair, skin, brittle nails, and constipation are common traits Vatas share. Quick to learn and just as quick to forget, Vatas tend to be in constant motion and have an irregular appetite. Some days they are ravenous and other days they may forget to eat or inadvertently skip a meal.
Instructions
1. Selecting foods such as soups, juicy fruits and oils and not overly cooked or dried foods are recommended. Favor sweet, sour, salty, heavy, oily, and hot foods over those that are pungent, bitter, astringent, light, dry or cold.
2. Do not eat a mainly raw foods diet. It is in vogue but Vatas may find eating only raw fruits and vegetables and juices creates gas, irritable bowel syndrome and actually feel physically cold from consuming a very astringent diet.
3. Eat meals at the same time each day as much as possible. Regular routines balance and ground Vata. Vatas might eat a lot on one day and skip meals the next. To remain healthy and not eat on a "feast or famine" routine--which can slow down the metabolism, eat at consistent times.
4. Avoid iced drinks or very cold, dry foods. Ayurveda believes digestion is strongest at noon and it is agni fire, "fire in the belly" that does the work. Drinking liquids with meals is believed to quench agni. Iced drinks may cool a Vata who often complains of cold hands and feet. Drink room temperature beverages between meals.
5. Consume foods that are easy to digest. This seems obvious but depending on what your family ate, you may find you are going against your dosha and eating "auto pilot" meals of meat, bleached flour and yeast and fat. If you are able to digest all of that without weight gain or feeling sluggish, it may be nourishing. Undigested foods are called ama and can set the stage for constipation and toxicity over the long run.
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