Nurturing Your Nature: Ayurvedic Principles for a Wholesome Autumnal Diet
Let’s talk about Autumnal Foods 🍂🍐🍑
Do you notice that your crave different foods during different seasons?
How about when the weather cools down during Autumn?
This is natural, and in fact part of following an Ayurvedic diet is adjusting our diet slightly with each season, bearing in mind our predominant constitution (prakriti) and tendencies towards imbalance (vkriti).
Autumn season is dominant with fire (tejas) and water (jala) qualities, which are the same qualities that predominantly make up the Pitta constitution, or Dosha.
The combination of dominant elements of each season present in food, creates the different tastes - called rasa
Ok, what does that mean?
Just like nature is abundant with the 5 elements, so too is our food composed of the 5 elements. We actually recognise taste by the varying combinations of the 5 elements present in our food.
So - during Autumn the dominant taste made of fire 🔥 & water 💦 is salty taste. This means that the first, or simplest golden rule for the Autumn season that we need to consume a little LESS SALT to keep the elements within us happy.
All this knowledge is what I'm super passionate about, called Rtucharya ~ the Seasonal Teachings of Ayurveda. It’s soo in-depth and yet so simple once you have a foundational understanding of the elements and your inherent constitution, or your unique dosha. Remember - local & seasonally-grown produce from your area is always best.
Read below for an overview, as well as specific foods to prefer during the Autumn season, to help yourself keep in balance & optimise your health!
Autumn Season Diet Overview
Because your Pitta is the dosha most abundant in the season of Autumn, generally we should consume what we call a Pitta-pacifying diet, including;
Naturally sweet foods such as seasonal fruits, and small amounts of jaggery or unrefined sugar, maple syrup, etc
Slightly bitter & astringent foods - all green & leafy vegetables cooked in ghee or coconut oil, with spices to aid their digestion and reduce the overall bitterness of the total dish when served
Food can be consumed at a cool temperature (not hot, as usually recommended), however 80% predominantly cooked foods is still best for most individuals
Avoid excessive salt intake and salty foods such as chips, crackers, pickles and processed foods with added salt, etc as consuming these foods during this season will be much easier to aggravate your health
Fruits
Apples
Avocado
Banana
Bitter Melon
Berries
Dates
Figs
Melons
Sweet Oranges
Sweet/ dark Grapes
Sweet Pineapples
Prunes
Pears
Raisins
Pomegranate
Vegetables
Artichokes
Asparagus
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celery
Cucumber
Green Beans
Leafy green Vegetables
Lettuce
Green/ Snow Peas
Onions (cooked)
Okra
Potatoes
Zucchini
Grains
Basmati Rice
Wheat
Barley
Oats
Bran
Legumes
Red Lentils
Adzuki Beans
Black & Yellow Mung Beans/ Lentils
Chickpeas
Kidney beans
Soya bean
Split Peas
most legumes..
Nuts & Seeds
Soaked nuts, Coconuts
Sweeteners
Raw sugars such as Jaggery (unrefined cane sugar)
Small amounts of Honey
Maple syrup
Spices & herbs
Coriander
Cardamom
Chamomile
Coconut
Dill
Fennel
Peppermint
Saffron
Spearmint
& moderate amounts of Cumin, Turmeric & Ginger
Oils to prefer
Coconut
Sunflower
Olive
Ghee
Dairy to prefer
Cows Milk
Goats Milk
Cottage cheese
Unsalted Butter
Ghee
Takram (buttermilk)
Non-Dairy to prefer
Coconut, Rice or Almond Milk
Please know that the information I have provided here are guidelines only, and I recommend you book in for an Ayurveda Consultation to offer you more refined dietary guidelines according to your individual constitution, age and tendency towards imbalance, etc.