Last updated on August 21, 2024 by Dr. Subashri Thanigaivel
Kapha represents water and earth element qualities. So, the body is cool, soft, smooth, and dense in nature. The personality is sweet, calm, composed, and laid-back.
The above are the positive aids of Kapha when the Prakriti is in a balanced state. But, when the lifestyle is improper, imbalance occurs leading to forming Kapha dosha in the body, gradually paving the path to diseases.
When Kapha dosha increases, it damages the respiratory system and digestive system, especially the liver metabolism. The increase in water and earth elements in the body denotes the lack of movement inside and outside the body—less blood flow, troubled breathing, congested pipes, veins, and arteries, obesity, laziness, and lethargy. Kapha dosha promotes stillness and heaviness in the physiological function that creates blockages in various forms. Example: Mucous formation, cholesterol formation, etc. Kapha creates inflammation in the body by not allowing the toxins to excrete properly. It accumulates toxins in one place.
How do you fix Kapha Dosha Imbalance?
The Kapha dosha in the body makes you feel heavy, slow, and lazy, which results in lifestyle disorders. To pacify the Kapha, Ayurveda seeks the help of a digestion regulating diet. Kapha accumulated in the body needs dietary changes that focus on corrections in food, eating habits, eating patterns, and sleep cycle.
When you practice sudden changes, experience adventures, try new things, follow Kapha’s recommended diet, and avoid Kapha inducing food, the imbalance gradually controls. The ideal aim is to make the Kapha dosha exist in the required levels for your Prakriti. You should not try to remove or completely eliminate Kapha, because that will trigger another dosha such as Vata or Pitta.
When you favor qualities that are opposite of Kapha, your imbalance will regain its original state. You need to pick the qualities that favor Pitta and Vata at an appropriate level. Based on your Prakriti, an Ayurveda doctor will recommend food that will pacify your Kapha dosha without triggering any other dosha.
Although you have a pool of diet choices, recommendations, and suggestions available on the internet, nothing compares to the advice offered by an Ayurveda physician.
Especially, if you have any Kapha dosha diseases, seek the help of the Ayurveda Physician before pacifying the Kapha dosha by yourself.
Kapha Dosha Diet Recommendations
- Focus more on how you eat rather than what you eat. Example: Don’t intake mushy, over-boiled, or deeply fried vegetables. Maintain a firm crunchy, dry texture in your meal.
- Include food that tastes pungent, bitter, and spice helps to pacify the Kapha dosha.
- Add lightness into your meal plans by intaking food like popcorn, lettuce, dried fruits, grains, millets.
- Eat at a moderate level. If you intake ½ cup of rice, balance it with 1 cup of cooked vegetables.
- Always leave ¼ of your stomach empty while consuming meals. Intake Kapha recommended fruits or ginger honey tea without milk after 30 minutes of every meal.
What should Kapha Dosha Avoid?
- Overeating, binge-eating, or emotional eating.
- Maida desserts, artificial sweeteners, carbonated drinks, processed juices, and fast food.
- Chips, hamburger with red meat, and pizza loaded with cheese
- Maida, white sugar, and maida-based flour food.
- Excess oil in cooking, topping oil on salads, bread, or bun.
- Heavy nuts like cashew, pasta, pecans, and sesame seeds
- Juicy vegetables and fruits like watermelon, musk melon, cucumber, tomatoes, squash
- Dense vegetables and fruits like potato, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, banana, papaya, pineapple
