What Are You Hungry For? (13 page)

The sour taste results from the chemical action of organic acids on your taste buds. All acids are perceived as sour, including citric acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and acetic acid (vinegar). A small dose of sour awakens your appetite and enhances your digestion. It may also slow the emptying of your stomach, reducing the insulin-stimulating effect of carbohydrates.

Ayurveda considers fermentation to have unhealthy effects in the body, so getting the sour taste from vinegar and aged cheese isn’t recommended. It’s already advisable to limit your consumption of aged cheeses because they are usually high in cholesterol and calories. Fresh cheeses like farmer and cottage cheese are more acceptable, although commercial types may involve chemicals to separate the curds and whey. The homemade process uses lemon juice or a small amount of vinegar.

Sour-tasting fruits are associated with some potentially powerful health benefits. They are usually excellent sources of vitamin C and flavonoids, which may protect against heart disease and cancer, according to some studies. They provide soluble fiber, which may reduce the chances of both coronary heart disease and diabetes. Many fermented condiments, such as pickles, green olives, and chutneys, also carry the sour taste. Although they are helpful in stimulating digestion, they are best taken in small amounts. Get the bulk of your servings of sour through abundant helpings of tart fruits, with less from salad dressings and pickled or fermented foods.

Salty

Sources:
In addition to common table salt, the salty taste is contained in fish, soy sauce, tamari, seaweed, and cured meats like bacon, sausage, and ham.

Like the taste of sweet, the taste of salt is necessary in moderation and risky when taken to extremes. Salt is the taste of ion-producing minerals on the tongue. These mineral salts, which reflect our heritage from the sea billions of years ago, are essential for your body’s chemical balance—in essence, you are a self-enclosed, walking ocean—but a century ago Americans ate less than a third of the salt we typically consume today. Processed and preserved food items usually have high sodium content. Along with canned foods, fast food,
cheese, and condiments, these are the main sources of dietary sodium for Americans.

In Ayurveda, the salty taste promotes digestion, is mildly laxative, and has a mildly relaxing effect. Too much salt can contribute to fluid retention and may play a minor role in the development of osteoporosis. Medically, the worry over salt is connected chiefly to high blood pressure, but there is no easy test to determine whether you are salt sensitive. Your kidneys are responsible for removing excessive salt from the body, and they are generally reliable. But as you grow older, or if your kidneys decline in function for some other reason, salt becomes more risky. The actual amount of salt that your body needs per day is small, around 0.5 grams, or less than ½ teaspoon. You can use table salt lightly to suit your taste, but for almost everyone there’s no risk of too little salt in the diet. The most prudent course is to keep reducing your salt intake steadily until you reach a comfortable minimum. If you reduce your salt gradually, you’ll be surprised at how easily your taste buds will adapt to even the faint taste of salt.

Bitter

Sources:
Green and yellow vegetables are the primary sources of the bitter taste, including bitter greens in salads (chicory, radicchio, arugula, endive), with less-pronounced bitterness in bell peppers, broccoli, celery, chard, eggplant, spinach, and zucchini. Various herbs also carry the bitter taste and are useful components of a balanced meal. Chamomile, cilantro, coriander, cumin, dill, fenugreek, licorice, rhubarb, rosemary, saffron, sage, tarragon, and turmeric are examples of culinary herbs and spices that contain the bitter flavor.

The bitter taste suppresses appetite and has a cooling effect. Combined with sweetness, as in tonic water, it cools the body in the heat of the day. It balances the cloying effect of too much sweetness and the tendency of salty foods to make us overeat. Small amounts of the bitter taste enhance the other flavors of a meal. Also, bitterness can
be used strategically. If you eat bitter greens in a salad at the end of a meal, your appetite will decrease and with it a craving for dessert.

Bitterness reflects the many natural phytochemicals (
phyto
is Latin for “plant”) contained in vegetables that in Ayurveda are considered to have age-reversing effects besides being generally healthy. For example, broccoli and cauliflower are rich in phytochemicals known as
isothiocyanates,
which are thought to play a part in preventing cancer and heart disease. Asparagus, green peppers, and cabbage are rich in other flavonoids that may protect against genetic injury, fight infection, and even reduce your risk of memory loss. Beyond diet, most medicinal herbs such as aloe, black cohosh, echinacea, gentian, goldenseal, licorice, passionflower, skullcap, and St. John’s wort are predominantly bitter due to their high concentrations of phytochemicals.

Pungent

Sources:
Pungency is the spicy taste found in various herbs and spices, along with hot peppers, onions, garlic, ginger, radishes, mustard, and horseradish. It is also found in pungent herbs not thought of as spicy, such as peppermint, basil, thyme, and rosemary.

Pungency, which registers on the tongue as hot or spicy, usually comes from essential oils that are natural antioxidants. In fact, their ability to neutralize decay-causing free radicals may explain why spices were commonly used to preserve food before the invention of refrigeration. The natural chemicals in hot spices are also considered antibacterial in Ayurveda.

Some research studies indicate that the natural compounds contained in the onion family, including leeks, chives, and garlic, may help lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Other studies have found that these pungent foods can protect you from carcinogens in the environment. And by opening passageways in the lungs, chilies are sometimes recommended for respiratory conditions and clearing the sinuses. Leaving aside any potential health benefits, in Ayurveda
the main attraction of herbs and spices is that they make eating a more varied and colorful experience. Pungency is the most stimulating of the six tastes. Tropical cuisines around the world depend heavily on them to brighten and energize people, counteracting the lethargic effect of a prolonged hot day.

Astringent

Sources:
The dry, mouth-puckering taste of astringent foods is mostly familiar through beverages like tea and coffee. Food sources are primarily all kinds of beans, including soybeans, along with lentils, dried peas, and other legumes. But mild astringency is present in many fruits and vegetables, including tart apples, artichokes, asparagus, bell peppers, celery, cherries, cranberries, cucumbers, figs, lemons, mushrooms, pomegranates, persimmons, potatoes, and spinach. Rye and buttermilk are notably astringent.

The sixth taste, astringent, is the least familiar to Western palates until it is pointed out as the predominant taste in tea. In Ayurveda, astringent foods extend their dry, compacting, and puckering effect to the whole body. Although medical science doesn’t classify these astringent properties as an actual taste (your tongue doesn’t have specific taste buds for either pungency or astringency), the natural chemicals that produce astringency are considered by Ayurveda to have health benefits: they help regulate digestion (countering diarrhea, for example) and enhance wound healing. Astringent legumes are rich in complex carbohydrates, vegetable protein, and both soluble and insoluble fiber.

Good News for Coffee Lovers

For years many people who love a strong cup of freshly brewed coffee have felt guilty about what coffee might be doing to their health. A growing body of research studies, however, now suggests that drinking up to 3 to 5 cups of coffee a day plays a potential role in preventing
a range of disorders, including type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

Although researchers are still working to discover why coffee is so beneficial, they do know that it contains powerful antioxidants that help prevent free radicals from damaging bodily tissues. Coffee also contains trace minerals, including magnesium and chromium, that allow the body to make use of insulin and thus regulate blood sugar.

Choose organic coffee so you’re not potentially ingesting pesticides and other toxins that may cancel out the health benefits of your morning brew. Also, steer clear of artificial sweeteners such as saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose, which contain a variety of chemicals that create toxicity in the body, according to Ayurveda.

What About Alcohol?

Although some forms of alcohol, such as red wine, have antioxidant properties, in Ayurveda any health benefits are outweighed by the negative effects of alcohol consumption. First, alcohol is high in sugar and calories, while offering relatively few nutrients (none in its pure form, as in vodka). A pint of beer or 8 ounces of wine contains about 200 calories; 1 ounce of distilled liquor has about 80 calories. The calories in alcohol can easily contribute to weight gain and obesity. When consumed in excess, alcohol also has the potential to damage every system in the body, including the central nervous system, liver, and digestive tract.

Even in moderation, alcohol interferes with the quality of sleep for some people. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body decreases its production of the hormone leptin, which leads to feeling less satisfied when you eat. At the same time, a lack of sleep triggers an increase in the production of the hormone ghrelin, stimulating your appetite and making you eat more. This imbalance contributes to weight gain.

The third argument against alcohol is that it dulls awareness. This book has constantly urged you to rely on your awareness and expand it for greater joy, balance, and well-being. Alcohol runs counter to
that intention because it blunts your emotions, depletes your energy, and diminishes mental clarity.

I recognize that despite these caveats, drinking is part of the everyday life of millions of people. It smooths social interactions, complements restaurant meals, and becomes the self-medication of choice at the end of a hard day. If you want to drink, the best course is to limit yourself to a glass of red wine or the equivalent—a single cocktail, a 12-ounce bottle of beer—and to have it with food. Your body will appreciate it if this consumption doesn’t happen every day. Despite the traditional tolerance that doctors have shown to “having a little drink,” we are just beginning to discover how to achieve optimal health and well-being. The evidence that alcohol plays a part in disease formation means that it most likely isn’t part of any program for perfect health.

The Six Tastes Summarized

In order to include all six tastes in your meals, you may need to experiment with different foods and new spices. The recipes included at the end of the book offer a variety of tastes to inspire you. If you find it difficult to include all six tastes in a particular meal, at least experience each of them at some point during the day. Once you get started, you’ll find it easier and easier to incorporate all six tastes.

I was born into a new era for India, immediately after the country achieved independence from the British in 1945. My parents were immensely proud to be part of this new generation, but their gaze
still looked west. My father, a physician, had no patience for traditional Indian medicine. For him, Ayurveda belonged to the world of village healers and home remedies, something surpassed by advanced Western medicine.