What is the Ayurveda Diet?

The Ayurveda diet is based on a series of principles. These promise to improve the health of each individual by attending to their specific needs.
What is the Ayurveda Diet?

Last update: 04 January, 2021

The Ayurveda diet is a nutritional model that combines nutrition with a series of philosophical concepts. The diet aims to improve your quality of life. It’s based on the adoption of healthy habits and a dietary plan based on the consumption of fresh foods.

This diet, despite its medicinal connotation, shouldn’t replace any pharmacological treatment prescribed by a medical professional. The Ayurveda diet can be beneficial for you if you follow it in a structured manner. However, it’s not a miracle cure.

Bases of the Ayurveda diet

The Ayurveda diet is based on the creation of a diet for a specific type of person. In this sense, it establishes that the subjects can be classified into three groups:

  • Pitta: fire is the representative element of this group. It includes medium-sized people with fair skin and blond hair. This group does well with foods categorized as cold, or even sweet. In addition, they need astringent products and green leafy vegetables in their diets.
  • Vata: air is the representative element of this group. This group is made up of thin people who are characterized by their agility, speed, and their imaginative capacity. For the Vata group, a high nutritional density which includes meat, dairy products, and fish is recommended.
  • Kapha: the representative elements of this group are earth and air. They’re characterized by their physical strength and their tendency to gain weight. Therefore, the diet recommends light foods such as vegetables.

Ayurveda diet customs

Woman sleeping

The Ayurveda diet isn’t only about adapting to your individual needs it also has a series of mandatory steps that aren’t related to nutrition.

These steps include washing your hands before eating and brushing your teeth after eating. The diet also recommends taking naps and avoiding eating when feeling emotionally imbalanced. When it comes to drinks, the Ayurveda diet recommends avoiding cold water. It also recommends drinking water after meals rather than during.

Benefits of this dietary model

The benefits of the Ayurveda diet revolve around its prohibition of the consumption of ultra-processed foods. Ultra-processed foods increase the risk of obesity which is clearly detrimental to your health.

According to a study published in the journal Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, prioritizing the intake of fresh fruits can help reduce the incidence of many complex pathologies, such as heart disease. For this reason, this dietary model can be effective in improving your body’s functionality.

However, the concepts mentioned above regarding the group of subjects and their characteristics lack scientific rigor.

The Ayurveda diet, a rare model

Woman eating healthy ayurveda

The Ayurveda diet is an unusual eating plan, at least in Western civilizations. Although the diet raises a series of correct principles, it has a series of philosophical or naturalistic concepts that aren’t endorsed by the scientific community. This may be one of the reasons that it’s not commonly practiced.

Still, several of the concepts that the diet preaches are accurate. Increasing your intake of vegetables and fresh foods is a good habit that can help improve your health. Adapting your diet to your specific needs is another very beneficial point.

It’s important to avoid generalizing as much as possible. Whenever possible, you should modify your diet to your specific needs in order to increase diet adherence.

Finally, although the Ayurveda diet doesn’t specify anything in this regard, it’s worth noting the need to avoid the intake of alcohol and other toxins. These elements can have a negative impact on your body.


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


  • Mendonça RD., Pimenta AM., Gea A., Fuente Arrillaga CF., et al., Ultraprocessed food consumption and risk of overweight and obesity: the University of Navarra Follow up (SUN) cohort study. Am J Clin Nutr, 2016. 105 (5): 1433-1440.
  • Salas Salvadó J., Becerra Tomás N., García Gavilán JF., Bulló M., et al., Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular disease prevention: what do we know? Prog Cardiovasc Dis, 2018. 61 (1): 62-67.

This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.