Rasa panchaka: Understanding the Ayurvedic therapeutic profile of a herb
Rasapanchaka, in Ayurveda, encapsulates the quintessence of taste (Rasa), properties (Guna), potency (Veerya), post-digestive effects (Vipaka), and special therapeutic properties (Prabhava) of food. Understanding these elements helps tailor dietary choices to maintain balance and promote holistic health.
Ayurveda have deeper understanding on how a food item work in body
Not all items that are sweet need to be “sweet” in function in the body. A sweet chocolate or honey can be “heating” in nature after digestion.
Rasa: Refers to taste or flavor, and it plays a vital role in Ayurvedic nutrition. There are six tastes:
Sweet (Carbohydrate, Saturated fat , Milk protein ),
Sour (Fruit , vegetables , fermented milk products ),
Salty (Minerals like Sodium, Chlorin, and potassium),
Spicy (Spices, Some animal protein, Unsaturated fatty acids)
Bitter ( Vegetables )
Astringent ( Plant protein Some animal protein)
Each taste has specific qualities and effects on the body and mind.
Guna: Represents the properties or characteristics of food. There are twenty attributes or Gunas, including heavy/light, oily/dry, hot/cold, etc.
Veerya: Denotes the potency or energy of a food item. It refers to the heating or cooling effect that a substance has on the body after digestion.
Vipaka: Signifies the post-digestive effect of food. or action of food on a particular type of gut bacteria, It categorizes food into three types based on their post-digestive action: sweet, sour, and pungent
Effects of rasa on dosha
Vata reducing: Sweet, Sour, Salty taste (carbohydrate, animal, & Milk Proteins Spices
Foods with sweet, sour, and salty tastes include carbohydrates, proteins (especially animal or milk protein), vitamin C-rich foods, and sodium/potassium-rich foods. These tastes are beneficial for reducing degenerative diseases or Vata disorders.
Pitha reduction: Sweet, Bitter, and astringent taste (Simple Carbohydrates, Saturated and medium-chain Fatty acids, Plant & non-fermented milk proteins, bitter and sweet-tasting vegetables):
Sweet, bitter, and astringent tastes are found in simple carbohydrates, saturated or medium-chain fatty acids, plant and non-fermented milk proteins, and bitter/sweet vegetables. These tastes help reduce inflammatory diseases or Pitta disorders.
Kapha reduction: spicy, Bitter, and Taste (Complex Carbohydrate, Spices , Polyunsaturated Fats, Plant Proteins, Leafy vegetables )
Spicy, bitter, and astringent tastes are present in complex carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fats, plant proteins, leafy vegetables, bitter vegetables, and spices. They are beneficial for reducing metabolic diseases or Kapha disorders.
Effects of Veerya (potency) on dosha
Ushna Veerya: :Hot potent food; Vata Kapha reducing
Hot Potent or Ushsna veerya drug
Foods with potent healing properties, including spices, fermented foods, animal protein, and specific plant proteins such as brown lentils, fall under the category of ushna veerya or hot potent food. These foods are highly beneficial for reducing Vata diseases like osteoarthritis and Alzheimer's disease, as well as Kapha disorders including obesity, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar.ha disorders including obesity, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar.
Seetha veerya, Cold Potent food, Pitha Reducing
It's important to note that consuming cooling foods can effectively reduce Pitta disorders such as inflammatory diseases like Gouty arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), and can also act as potent anti-inflammatory foods. Some examples of cooling foods that can be easily incorporated into your diet include bitter-tasting vegetables, non-fermented milk proteins, simple carbs, and saturated and medium-chain fatty acids. Don't hesitate to add foods such as rice, bitter gourd, ghee, butter, and green lentils to your diet to reap the benefits of these powerful food items.
Effects of Vipaka on dosha (Post-Digestive Potency)
Madura Vipaka (Sweet)
Sweet vipaka foods soothe the gut mucosa, stimulate bacteria, and help increase gut lining thickness, improving absorption. Reduce inflammatory and degenerative diseases. It comes under prebiotic groups. like lentils, and high-fiber vegetables like carrots. Sweet Vipaka reduces Vata and Pitta disturbances.
Amla vipaka (Sour)
Sour vipaka ingredients have a mediating effect, stimulating gut bacteria based on the body's needs, which mainly fall under the probiotic group. All fermented milk products, like yogurt, kefir, pickles, and kimchi, fall under this category. Sour potency reduces Vata
Kadu Vipaka - ( Pungent Vipaka)
Spicy foods with pungent vipaka properties can help to reduce the thickness of the gut lining and prevent the accumulation of unwanted fat in the body. These foods are especially beneficial for individuals with low metabolism, as they can help reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, cholesterol, and certain types of degenerative diseases. Spices, millet, and plant proteins such as brown lentils are examples of foods that fall under this category. Spicy potency reduces Kapha in particular, and the cold properties of Vata. Aggravates pitta.
Effects of Guna on dosha (properties)
Guna refers to the inherent properties or characteristics of foods that are categorized as heavy/oily, light, dry, etc
Heavy/oily foods like cheese and butter are high-caloric, while vegetables fall under the light/dry category and are low-caloric. If someone has a metabolic disease like high cholesterol with high triglyceride levels, it is advisable to prescribe low-caloric or light-dry food. Conversely, if someone is a lean person with osteoarthritis, high-caloric food like butter, ghee, etc., should be provided. So, adjusting the guna properties of food can help manage various health conditions effectively.
Effects of Prabhava on dosha (Special Therapeutic Property):
Prabhava is the action of the substance that cannot be explained by means of taste, qualities, after digestion, taste transformation, and potency, hence, it is called Achintya – unimaginable.
The action of Prabhava: Two plants may have similar qualities, tastes, etc., but their actions and benefits could be different, It is due to Prabhava – a special effect of the particular herb.
For example, milk and ghee are both madhura (sweet) and sheeta (cold) in nature, but ghee is Agni deepena (increases absorption & metabolism), while milk is not. This is due to the effect of Prabhava. Prabhava is considered superior.
By understanding and applying these principles of Ayurveda to dietary choices, one can promote balance, health, and well-being in the body and mind.
For proper functioning of the body, one needs to have the right food with the right rasa guna veerya vipaka in the right proportions as per one’s health condition.