When the weather turns cold, dry and windy; vata dosha, the lightest, airy element of the 3 doshas in ayurveda increases all around us—and inside us. In order to stay balanced, this ancient nature-based medicine advises us to follow a vata-pacifying approach to how we eat, live, breathe and move. We talked about some general recommendations before. Now, let’s dive into specific foods that are best for calming and balancing vata.

The name of the game is warm, oily and nourishing. Soups and stews are particularly beneficial during vata season, along with foods that have a warming effect on the body. Even tastes have doshic effects. For imbalanced vata or people with a primary vata constitution, naturally sweet, sour and salty tastes are best.

Sure, it can get overwhelming to know what to get at the grocery store. With all kinds of fruits and vegetables available pretty much all year round, we’re no longer limited to a seasonal selection. As a rule of thumb though, it’s best to buy foods that are in season.

Previously, we published a warming food list, and in this blog, we’re going to take this list one step further and highlight some vata-pacifying foods—from fruits to grains.

Foods for vata

Fruits

Avocado, banana (sweet), coconut, date, fig (ripe), grape (purple), grapefruit, Juniper berry, lemon, lime, mango, orange, papaya, peach, pineapple, raisin, sweet plum, tangerine

Vegetables

Beet, carrot, cucumber, hyssop, kelp, lentil (black, red), mung bean, onion, radish, watercress, zucchini (OK in moderation)

Herbs and spices

Allspice, aloe, angelica, anise seed, arnica, basil, bay leaf, black pepper, cardamom, caraway, cayenne, celery seed, cinnamon, clove, cumin, eucalyptus, fennel, fenugreek (in moderation), frankincense, garlic, ginger, licorice, marjoram, mustard seed, nutmeg, oregano, paprika, parsley, rosehips, rosemary, sage, salt, sesame seed, tarragon, thyme, turmeric (in moderation)

Grains

Oats (cooked), rice (basmati, brown), rice (white polished – in small quantities), quinoa, wheat

Oils

Avocado, almond, canola, castor, safflower, sunflower, sesame, white mustard

Nuts and seeds

Almond, cashew, chia, flaxseed, peanut, poppy, pumpkin (in moderation), sunflower, walnut

For meat and dairy lovers

If you eat meat, beef and fish are the best options for vata, while chicken is moderately ok. However, don’t go overboard with the beef and fish as they both increase pitta and kapha.

If you’re looking for dairy options, unsalted butter, ghee, cow’s milk, yogurt, eggs and unsalted cheese (just not together) are ok to eat. If you opt for yogurt, you really don’t need much – 2 healthy tablespoons of sugar-free, plain, fruit-free yogurt scoops will do the trick. Add a bit of raw honey and eat it between 10AM and 2PM during the digestive part of the day to help digestion. A word of caution: if you’re having sinus, congestion or cold-related symptoms, lay down the yogurt and dairy in general.

Final word of caution

In general, ayurveda recommends consuming cooked foods to aid the digestive process. Especially this time of the year, it’s important to prioritize cooked foods. Vata likes cooked foods.

While this is a general, non-exhaustive list, it’s always advisable to talk to an ayurvedic health professional to assess your individual situation so you can get personalized diet recommendations based on your imbalances and the specific quality of vata dosha that may be out of balance. This list is merely for high-level educational purposes.

Happy cooking!

Feeling inspired? Try our USDA-certified organic Warming tea with premium organic ginger, rosemary, lemon peel and basil. People love this as a tea as well as food seasoning.

Image by Nik, Unsplash