Ayurvedic Postpartum Cooking

YogaVeda: Week 6

Ashlee Sakaishi Wilkin Ayudoula, CMT, CAP [email protected] www.sacredwindowstudies.com

All rights reserved, except that permission to copy selected pages is granted to Ayurvedic Postpartum Caregivers to use in support of individual mothers, babies and family. Please include the author’s name and contact information on each page excerpt.

Week 6: Ayurvedic Postpartum Cooking Course Notes

This module is designed to provide a deeper look into the important aspect of digestion, elimination, restoration of tissues through food, and the process of cooking for postpartum birthers. It is designed to provide you with tools to assess appropriate food for a birther based on Ayurvedic principles and the birther’s unique circumstances, to provide information on common problem foods for postpartum people, and to provide assessment methods for you to be able to adjust your cooking appropriately for your client’s individual needs. We will discuss current trends, cultural traditions, recipes, food presentation, and the importance of the Mother Principles as they apply to food and cooking.

A birther’s vitality is dependent upon the strength of their agni to nourish their body, tending the sacred fire of one’s agni and the process of cooking nourishing food are both vital components of the medicine of Ayurvedic postpartum care.

What is Ayurvedic food? Ayurvedic food is food that is properly prepared for an individual that promotes health and wellbeing. Ayurvedic food is appropriate for an individual at this moment in time based upon their digestion (strength of agni, quantity of food, quality of food), genetic and or cultural heritage (satmya), the external environment, season, age, state of health, and activity level. Individual needs change throughout the day, season, time of life, and as they age. As postpartum care providers, we have the opportunity to take a birther’s entire environment and circumstances present each day and to cook or guide our client’s support team to prepare healing foods for their specific sacred postpartum window.

Agni

Copyright © 2019 Center for Sacred Window Studies www.sacredwindowstudies.com Agni is the metabolic and transformative fire of transformation. In the physical body agni is responsible for the following: Vitality, life, complexion, strength, enthusiasm, proper growth, glow, tejas, prana, a long life, and the absence of disease Ca Ci 15/3-5. The main agni in the body is the digestive fire of our GI tract, called jatharagni and is located in the region of our lower stomach, pyloris, and upper duodenum. When jatharagni is strong, all other agni’s in the body are strong, thus normal healthy metabolism and transformation of food turns into healthy bodily tissues (dhatus).

When agni is strong it creates normal digestion, vision, body heat, complexion, courage, joy and tranquility. Agni is the fire of life. Our goal is to gently enkindle a new birther’s fire to experience joy, vitality, life, complexion, strength, enthusiasm, proper growth, glow, tejas, prana, a long life, and the absence of disease. Restoring agni to its normal state is our number one goal regarding cooking for a postpartum parent.

When agni is weak, abnormal, or unhealthy it creates indigestion, heaviness, visual impairment, abnormal body heat, sickly complexion, anger, and confusion Ca Sū 12/ .

States of Agni related to the doshas: There are four states of agni; one normal state and 3 abnormal states. Normal healthy agni is called samāgni/samaagni. When agni is healthy proper meals can be digested in the proper amount of time.

The three abnormal states of agni correlate to a state of one of the doshas being in a state of excess. Typically a disturbance in agni is one of the first indicators that the doshas are being increased in the body. If agni is left in an abnormal state it can lead to the formation of Ama or improperly digested food waste material that can buildup in the body and ultimately lead to disease states. During the Sacred Window of postpartum, it is imperative that agni is gently strengthened and tended to ensure optimum healing, healthy tissue formation (dhatu formation), and to ensure breastmilk is easily digested by the birther’s baby. The three abnormal states of agni based upon the doshas include:

Copyright © 2019 Center for Sacred Window Studies www.sacredwindowstudies.com 1. Vata dosha: Variable agni (viṣamāgni/vishamaagni)= agni can either be fast or slow to digest a meal that would otherwise digest at a normal rate of time. Symptoms include: sometimes: producing distention, colic, belching, diarrhea, heaviness, gurgling in the stomach. Gunas prevalent: mobile, light 2. Pitta dosha: Fast agni (tikṣnāgni/tikshnaagni) = agni is fast and can digest even heavy or large meals quickly. Symptoms include: quickly digesting all manner of food, depletion of tissues occur if insufficient food is eaten. Gunas prevalent: fast, hot, sharp 3. Kapha dosha: Slow agni (mandāgni/mandaagni) = agni is slow, it takes a long time to digest even small meals. Symptoms include: heaviness in the abdomen, heaviness in the head, fatigue, difficulty breathing, cough, salivation, regurgitation, dry mouth, bloating, abdominal distention, does not tolerate inconsistent meals. Gunas prevalent: slow, stable, heavy

The state of one’s agni can change throughout the day, the month, and the seasons.

What affects the state of one’s agni? ● The climate/environment where the birther lives/births- if one lives in a very moist, forested environment with lots of bodies of water around, there will be more heavy, stable, unctuous, cold gunas present. If one lives in a dry, arid, warm environment there will be more dry, rough, warm, light gunas present. This is important to consider when planning a birther’s food plan. ● Season - looking at the gunas of the season can give you clues about the gunas that will be increased in your clients during their Sacred Windows ● Consuming too much food with gunas similar to the doshas in excess ie eating dry food increases dry quality in the body leading to dry skin, constipation, rough dry gunas, and vāta is increased. ● Lack of Sleep during the night - staying up all night or having interrupted sleep can increase the rough/dry guna and will alter one’s agni causing vāta to get disturbed leading to variable agni ● Day sleep - sleeping excessively during the day especially directly after eating causes the unctuous guna to increase, increasing kapha and leading to a slow agni (sitting upright directly after eating until food

Copyright © 2019 Center for Sacred Window Studies www.sacredwindowstudies.com has digested does not cause kapha dosha to increase and does not hinder the normal physiological downward movement of apana vayu) ● Snacking throughout the day interrupts the normal digestion cycle and leads to āma/ama - incompletely digested food. Snacking is similar in our bodies to the results of starting to cook rice, then 20 minutes later adding uncooked rice to the simmering pot- the added rice will not be cooked properly and will impair the proper cooking of the original rice. ● Stress ● Eating while moving ● Improper food combining (more to come on this later) ● Eating then showering or bathing immediately afterward - when the liquid portion of pitta is removed, agni is strong and can properly digest food, when we bathe or shower after eating the liquid portion is not able to be dried up by samana vayu and our food is not properly digested. ● Eating then laying down to sleep/nap before digestion of food has finished ● Eating food one’s body is not acclimated to eating - our bodies have a certain diet that is satmya (healthy when eaten regularly and consistently) for each of us, when we eat food/flavors which are foreign, our bodies have a harder time processing and properly metabolizing those food substances. ● Eating when the digestive process has not been completed

Ama Ama is the byproduct of agni that is not functioning properly and is not fully digesting or processing the food that comes into the body. Ama begins in the GI tract but can move throughout the body and become lodged in tissues that are weakened or in an impaired state. During the Sacred Window, ama formation can lead to acute and chronic health conditions in the birthing parent and in their breastfed baby. Because Ama can cause so many issues, we strive to strengthen a postpartum person’s agni to prevent ama formation and to ensure healthy digestion, elimination, metabolism, and tissue formation. We also aim to provide the proper food and education to ensure our clients are less likely to have perpetual ama formation during their Sacred Window.

Copyright © 2019 Center for Sacred Window Studies www.sacredwindowstudies.com There are many symptoms indicating the presence of ama in the body. It should be assumed that ama is being formed anytime digestion is impaired and anytime there are disease manifestations in the body. The generalized symptoms of ama include: decreased sweating, decreased elimination (constipation), decreased urination, reduced strength, fatigue, exhaustion, increased expectoration (mucous), heaviness in the head and limbs, and accumulation of waste products. Ama can often be assessed by inquiring about how a person feels upon waking - if someone experiences achy, stiff joints, mucous, and heavy/fogginess upon waking, they likely have ama present in their bodies. The best way to address ama is to strengthen agni with light, easy to digest, warm, cooked foods and beverages with a predominance of pungent, bitter, and to some degree, astringent flavors.

How does birth affect agni? The process of labor and birth can have variable impacts on a birther’s agni but typically agni is lower postpartum despite the huge energy expenditure during labor and birth. Hormone changes at the onset of labor often cause digestive changes which begin with loose stools followed by a reduced appetite and slow gastric emptying leading to low appetite during active labor. It is common for a laboring person to have bouts of nausea and or vomiting as labor progresses which further empties the gastrointestinal tract of any food from the stomach. Immediately post-birth, the presence of the natural cortisol stress hormones during labor often inhibits appetite, while causing birthers to be exceptionally alert and awake post birth in an unmedicated labor and birth. When pain medication is used, the birther may experience a decrease in the alert and awake presence immediately postpartum. In addition, the baby’s arrival provides ample opportunity to forget about food and to instead fall deeply in love and to focus on more important endeavors like bonding and counting tiny fingers and toes.

Some birthers, typically those with Pitta predominant in their constitution, will birth their babies and be incredibly hungry immediately after birth. However, most birthers will be less hungry or not hungry at all for a few hours postpartum. The birther’s state of appetite after birth is a good indicator for understanding their state of agni and for providing them with appropriate nourishment at that time.

Copyright © 2019 Center for Sacred Window Studies www.sacredwindowstudies.com How do we feed a birther immediately postpartum? If a birther has strong agni/strong appetite and a strong body in an environment or season that is dry, the birther can digest a heavier first meal including: ● 1-2 cups of Chicken/beef/or goat Bone broth with black pepper and ample marrow fat or ghee or sesame oil (1-3 Tbsp). ● Chicken soup made with chicken bone broth and spices (black pepper, ginger, etc) ● Rice or another grain gruel (1 cup grain: 16 cups water or broth) with 1-3 Tbsp oil and some spicing- either sweet (cinnamon, clove, ginger, cardamom…) or savory (ginger, black pepper, coriander, turmeric, etc). ● For vegetarian/vegan clients we can provide a warm almond beverage with ghee, coconut oil, sesame oil or butter, dates, and chai like spices. ● Freshly boiled hot water, digestive teas, fenugreek tea, ginger tea, black pepper tea, panchakola ghee in hot water or hot milk If a birther has a weak agni or is not very hungry and lives in a moist climate or births in a moist season we will need to provide lighter, easier to digest meals including: ● lighter food with less oil to gently enkindle jatharagni - gruel with less oil (2 tsp instead of Tbsp) ● Bone broth with a small amount (1-2 tsp) of oil/marrow and black pepper, or an herbal digestive tea with milk and sweetener like raw sugar are appropriate first beverages. We have to be careful though, if agni is not strong and we give food and beverages that are too hard to digest, the food can further impair agni. ● Rice gruel/ congee/ kanji with 1-2 tsp of oil and ample spices ● Stewed dried fruit with ample water for cooking and ample spices ● Digestive teas- panchakola churna in freshly boiled hot water, ginger tea, black pepper tea, herbal chai tea.

What food is appropriate for a recent birther? General guidelines for postpartum birthers from the Ayurvedic perspective, eat and drink foods and beverages that are:

Copyright © 2019 Center for Sacred Window Studies www.sacredwindowstudies.com ● Warm ● Nourishing ● Freshly cooked (if possible) ● Simple ● Recognizable ● Unctuous (as long as agni is strong) ● Moist ● Delicious ● Easy to digest ● Properly spiced ● Appropriate to one’s heritage (if known) ● Prepared and presented with love

How is a birther’s agni affected after the first days postpartum? A birther’s agni is influenced by many things, see the list below. As an Ayurvedic Postpartum Caregiver our job is to assess what state our client’s agni is in and to cook or provide food recommendations accordingly.

Factors contributing to a normal healthy state of proper digestion:

Factor Effect: How to support this factor?

Heat/Pitta Provides the fire for Eating warm, cooked cooking/digesting food meals and warm beverages

Movement/ Vāta Moves the food down Eating the proper food through the GI tract for in proper quantity at proper digestion and the proper time. elimination, fans the flames of agni

Moisture/ Kapha Loosens the food to be Eat foods that are not properly digested. Aids dry. Drink enough in perception of taste in fluids throughout the the mouth. day.

Unctuousness/ Oiliness Softens the food as it Eat the proper amount moves through the GI of oils based upon agni.

Time Allows proper digestion Allow time for digestion to occur. between meals, snacks, and beverages. Eat snacks appropriate to meal times between meal times.

Proper intake of food Provides agni with Proper quantity is quantity. appropriate amount of based upon one’s agni fuel for digestion. and the food being consumed. Strong agni can handle more food, weak or variable agni needs less food at regular intervals.

Proper combining of Provides agni with the General Food food proper combination of Combining fuel for digestion. Recommendations, Do Not Mix: ● meat and milk ● Fish and milk ● Salt and milk ● Citrus and milk ● Raw and cooked food ● Fresh food with leftovers ● Ghee and honey in equal weight proportions ● Fresh fruit after your meal (generally causes gas)

Copyright © 2019 Center for Sacred Window Studies www.sacredwindowstudies.com ● Fresh fruit with other things even other fruits _ generally it is best to eat one fruit at a time alone and away from meals.

Textbook of Ayurveda: fundamental principles, Dr. Vasant Lad, M.A.Sc.

Tri-Guna Theory and the Doshas of the Mind Sattva ~ Rajas ~ Tamas are the three gunas or qualities of the mind. Sattva is the pure field of the mind, Rajas is the activity of the mind, and Tamas is the inertia of the mind. All three gunas of the mind are necessary- Sattva to bring clarity and proper perception, Rajas to bring enough motion to help us think and do throughout our day, and Tamas brings the heaviness needed to bring proper sleep in the evenings. Just like the doshas in the body, the doshas in the mind can bring stability when in a normal state or can bring a state of abnormality, or “imbalance” when they are in excess or deficiency. We need all three gunas to provide us with the human experience.

● Sattva is the energy of purity and clarity. Sattva is the moderator of rajas and tamas. With sattva our capacity to perceive and to discern is clear, our internal communication with our higher self, our Buddhi, is unencumbered. ● Rajas is the energy activity and motion in the mind. Rajas brings passion, envy, anger, rage, wrath, fury, and clouds the clear perception of sattva with its activity and motion Ca SA 4/36. ● Tamas is the energy of Inertia and stability in the mind. Tamas in excess brings confusion, delusion, foolishness, inability to discriminate, error in thinking and can be experienced as depression, heaviness, sleepiness, lethargy, lack of zest, and cloudiness in the mind Ca SA 4/36. www.carakasamhitaonline.com

The Gunas of the mind and Food

Copyright © 2019 Center for Sacred Window Studies www.sacredwindowstudies.com In the context of food and food preparation the tri-guṇa philosophy plays out in the following ways: ● Sattva relates to foods that are freshly prepared, easy to digest, generally moist, and nourishing while still being light. Sattvic foods tend to be predominant in Ether, Water, and Fire elements. Sattvic foods include: sweet juicy fruits, fresh vibrant vegetables, most unprocessed grains, small beans, fresh organic dairy products that are not processed, ghee, coconut oil, most nuts and seeds, venison, lightly processed sweeteners (dehydrated cane juice- “raw” cane sugar, maple syrup, coconut sugar), spices that are not overly stimulating. Sattvic food preparation methods include simmering, baking, lightly sauteeing, mixing by hand, slow and low heat. ● Rajasic foods are foods that incite movement in the mind and in the body. Rajasic foods tend to be predominant in Fire and Air elements. Foods that increase rajas in the mind include: fried foods, sour fruits, nightshade vegetables, spicy vegetables including radish, pickles, fermented food, processed grains, dry grains especially corn, millet, buckwheat, large beans, eggs, cultured dairy products, aged dairy products, avocado in excess, salt, vinegar, hot sauce, chili peppers, pungent spices in excess, wild-caught fresh fish, grass-fed beef/bison/chicken/pork, white sugar, brown sugar, molasses, caffeine, bubbly water, alcohol, packaged foods. Rajasic food preparation methods include frying, high heat stir-frying, commercial processing, fermenting, smoking. ● Tamasic foods are foods that tend to be heavy, harder to digest, and can cause lethargy. These foods tend to be made up of earth and water elements. Tamasic foods include: leftovers, canned food, fast food, frozen food, microwaved food, frozen fruit, overripe fruit, out of season fruit, mushrooms, pumpkin in excess, frozen vegetables, GMO vegetables, wilted/past their prime vegetables, wheat in excess, hard and soft cheeses, eggs, homogenized milk especially if consumed cold, conventional meat products, farmed seafood, old animals that are past their prime, processed sweets and sugary drinks, artificial sweeteners, cooked honey Resources: “Everyday Ayurveda Cooking for a Calm, Clear Mind 100 Simple Sattvic Recipes, by Kate O’Donnell”

Copyright © 2019 Center for Sacred Window Studies www.sacredwindowstudies.com 6 Tastes The 6 tastes are composed of a predominance of two elements and their gunas (qualities). Because each taste has a predominance in two elements, the doshas made up of those elements tend to be increased by the taste especially in excess. Doshas with opposing qualities or gunas to the taste are reduced by tastes with opposite qualities. The virya or potency of food when it comes in contact with the body is literally the experience felt when the taste on its own is placed upon the tongue. The vipaka or post-digestive effect is the food’s ultimate effect upon the feces in the colon and can best be understood and observed by seeing what happens to one’s stool after eating a meal predominant in one of the tastes. Sweet vipaka provides mass to the stool, sour vipaka provides a loose and somewhat acidic effect on the stool, and a pungent vipaka dries up the stool leaving the stool harder and drier than the other vipakas. The 6 Rasas (Tastes)

Rasa (Taste) Doṣik Elemental Guṇas Virya Vipaka (post Examples: Impact Mahābhūta (Qualities) (Potency digestive effect) Composition when in contact with the body)

Madhura (Sweet) VP-K+ pṛthvi + ap Heavy, cold Sweet grains, starchy vegetables, Earth + Water Oily, Cold oil, meat

Amla (Sour) V-PK+ pṛthvi + tejas Oily, Hot hot sour lemon, lime, tamarind, green Earth + Fire mango, amla

Lavaṇa (Salty) V-PK+ ap + tejas Hot, Oily, hot sweet sea salt, soy sauce, miso, Water + Fire Liquid celery

Tikta (Bitter) KP-V+ vāyu + ākāśa Dry, Light, cold pungent bitter gourd, dandelion Air + Ether Cold greens, neem, kale

Kaṭu (Pungent) K-PV+ tejas + vāyu Light, Hot hot pungent black pepper, ginger, Fire + Air cayenne

Kaśāya KP-V+ pṛthvi + vāyu Dry, Cold cold pungent Unripe banana, beans, (Astringent) Earth + AIr cranberries, pomegranate, unripe persimmon, unripe apples Foundations of Ayurveda, Volume II: Core principles & the human body in Ayurveda. Published by the American Ayurvedic Council of Health, a Public Benefit Corporation

The gunas or qualities of the flavors have specific actions in the body and each quality has a rasa that is superior, moderate, and inferior in the given action of the flavor. The actions and the flavors in order of superiority to inferiority are listed below: Heavy —-> Difficult to digest (Sweet, Astringent, Saline) Light —-> Easy to digest (Bitter, Pungent, Sour) Dry —-> causes constipation, encourages retention of gas, urine, and reproductive fluid (Astringent, Sour, Saline) Oily —-> encourages the elimination of stool, urine, gas, reproductive fluids (Sweet, Pungent, Bitter) Hot —-> heating virya (Salty, Sour, Pungent) Cold —-> cooling virya (Sweet, Astringent, Bitter)

According Caraka Samhita Sutrasthana, Chapter 26 lines 43-44, each of the six flavors have specific actions on the body. These actions are as follows:

Rasa Actions (Karma) when used Excessive use causes: appropriately

Sweet - Madhura nourishing and wholesome, Kapha promoting growth of all increase/vitiation, dhatus including reproductive obesity, laziness, heaviness, loss of fluids and ojas, promote appetite, reduced strength and complexion, digestive capacity alleviate vata and pitta (mandagni - sluggish doshas, relieves thirst, digestion), abnormal relieves burning sensation, growth of muscles in promotes healthy skin, hari, the mouth and throat, voice, strength,brings fever preceded with cold constipation, stability, soothing, sweetness in mouth, invigorating, nourishing, vomiting, loss of soothing to the nose, lips and sensation and voice, tongue. Unctuous, cold, and and a variety of heavy pathogenic disease states.

Sour - Amla Adds deliciousness to food, Causes thirst,

Copyright © 2019 Center for Sacred Window Studies www.sacredwindowstudies.com stimulates appetite (agni sensitivity of teeth, enhancer), nourishes and goosebumps, squinting invigorates the body, of eyes (sour face), enlightens the mind, liquification of kapha strengthens the sense organs dosha, aggravation of (tongue, eyes, ears, nose, pitta dosha, vitiation of skin), promotes strength, rakta dhatu, alleviates vata dosha, decomposition of nourishes the heart, causes muscle, edema in salivation, aids swallowing, patients suffering from moistens and digest food, emaciation and refreshing, light, unctuous, weakness. hot

Salty - lavana Aids in carmination (reduces Causes vitiation of pitta gas), produces stickiness, dosha and rakta dhatu, increases digestion increases thirst, (strengthens agni), fainting, heating antispasmodic, works as a sensation, erosion, laxative, alleviate vata dosha, depletion of muscle reduces stiffness, obstruction, tissue, aggravation of and accumulation, nullify the poisonous symptoms, effects of all other tastes, bursting of inflamed cause salivation, liquifies parts, dislodgement of kapha dosha, clarifies the teeth, reduction of channels of circulation, brings reproductive fluid, tenderness to the bodily obstruction of the organs, causes deliciousness sense organs, of food. premature wrinkling, premature graying, premature baldness, skin diseases, bleeding diseases, acidic digestion

Pungent - katu Keeps the mouth clean, Destroys reproductive promotes digestion, aids in capacity due to the digestion and absorption of pungent vipaka, causes food, causes secretions of the unconsciousness, nose (runny nose), weariness, asthma, lacrimation, supports proper emaciation, fainting, function of the sense organs, choking, giddiness, reduces obesity, aids in burning sensation in

Copyright © 2019 Center for Sacred Window Studies www.sacredwindowstudies.com elimination of waste products throat, production of that are sticky in nature, great heat and thirst, causes deliciousness of food, diminution of strength alleviates itching, reduces by virtue of their growth of ulcers, germs, specific action, tremors, corroded muscle tissues, stabbing pain breaks up clots and other obstructions, clarifies the passages, alleviates kapha dosha

Bitter - tikta Promotes deliciousness when Depletes the plasma, added to other rasas, blood, muscle fat, antitoxic and germicidal, bone-marrow and cures: fainting, leprosy, reproductive tissues; thirst, burning sensation, produces roughness in itching, obstinate skin the circulatory disease, and fever; promotes channels, reduces firmness of the skin and strength, causes muscles, promotes emaciation, weariness, carmination and digestion, unconsciousness, purifies milk, causes drying giddiness, dryness of and helps in the depletion of: the mouth and moisture fat, muscle fat, produces other disease bone marrow, lymph, pus, due to the vitiation of sweat, urine, stool, pitta and vata dosha kapha.

Astringent - Sedative and constipative; Dryness of mouth, kashaya causes absorption and affliction of the heart, stiffness, alleviates kapha distention of the and raktapitta (bleeding abdomen, obstruction disease), absorbs body fluids; of speech, constriction predominance of dry, cold, of circulating channels, heavy gunas black complexion and destruction of reproductive fluids. Obstructs digestive process, slowing digestion, and leading to blockage of passing gas, urine, stool, and reproductive fluids;

Copyright © 2019 Center for Sacred Window Studies www.sacredwindowstudies.com causes emaciation, weariness, thirst, stiffness, vitiates vata dosha. Ca. Su. 26/43-44 Proper quantity of food and the proper combination of food substances are of most importance. We need all six tastes or flavors, however, the proportion of the flavors will vary depending on the state of the doshas in our body and on our circumstances. During the Sacred Window we focus on the rasas or flavors which aid in building the body, supporting the digestive fire (agni), and support the elimination of waste products. To fully understand the concept of the six tastes we also must understand the virya or potency, and the vipaka or post-digestive effect on the body.

Virya is the potency of a substance experienced when the substance is in contact or ingested in the body and is classically described most commonly as being either hot or cold. According to Bhavamishra, the author of Bhava Prakasha (one of the laghu trayi or lesser classical Ayurvedic texts), hot virya mitigates vata and kapha doshas while giving rise to giddiness, thirst exhaustion, perspiration, burning sensation, quick digestion, and aggravates pitta dosha. Cold virya gives rise to pleasure and enlivens the body while purifying pitta dosha and aggravating vata and kapha diseases (BP Pu. 6/238-240).

Vipaka is the post-digestive effect of a substance on the body. It is literally the effect the substance has on one’s elimination. Typically sweet, sour, and salty rasas have an unctuous quality and undergo sweet and sour vipaka or post-digestive effect in the body. This unctuous quality aids in the elimination of gas, urine, and feces. The remaining three rasas, pungent, bitter, and astringent have a drying quality and a pungent vipaka so these flavors cause dryness in the eliminatory channels reducing the efficacy of elimination.

As a postpartum caregiver, you are not required to become an expert on the virya and vipaka of all food substances however it is important for you to have a good understanding of the six rasas or flavors and their typical impact on the human body.