The Six Tastes According to Ayurveda- Know about Bitter Taste

A flavour that is actively avoided and few people relish the taste. The bitter taste is quite familiar. It is a flavour when used appropriately has innumerable therapeutic benefits.

About the fourth rasa– Bitter

This rasa is created from a combination of elements of space and air and has cool, dry and light properties. The reason that the bitter flavour is found in plants is often attributed to its ability to defend itself. The bitter taste receptors are at the back of the tongue and are the body’s way of giving us a last line of defence.

The bitter rasa creates space in the body by draining and drying excess fluids. It also supports daily cleansing processes but too many bitter herbs can literally ‘space you out’ and leave you feeling fearful and anxious. So, like with the salt, it’s all about the right dose for the right person.

Location on the Tongue: Middle edges on the left and right sides (and a small band across the middle of the tongue, connecting these edges)
Affinity for Organs: pancreas, liver, spleen
Associated positive emotions: introspection, self-awareness, clarity, healthy detachment from worldly things

The Role of the Bitter Taste

Bitter taste is composed of Air and Ether and is light and dry by nature but has a cooling effect. It is found in leafy vegetables (such as spinach, kale, and green cabbage), other vegetables (including zucchini and eggplant), herbs and spices (like turmeric, fenugreek, and dandelion root), coffee, tea, and some fruits (such as grapefruits, olives, and bitter melon). While Bitter taste is often not very appealing alone, it stimulates the appetite and helps bring out the flavour of the other tastes. It holds a powerful detoxifying agent, and has antibiotic, anti-parasitic, and antiseptic qualities. It helps in reducing weight, water retention, skin rashes, fever, burning sensations and nausea.

Foods that illustrate Bitter taste

Vegetables like bitter melon, burdock root, leafy greens (like spinach kale, collards, dandelion greens or yellow dock), eggplant, jerusalem artichokes and other food items include sesame seeds, sesame oil, coffee, dark chocolate. Spices like cumin, dill, fenugreek, saffron, turmeric. This rasa is found in courgette, aubergine, spices (dandelion), tea and certain fruits like grapefruits and olives.

Benefits of Bitter rasa

• The bitter taste is deeply cleansing to the body because it flushes out extra fat and toxins.
• It improves all other tastes, alleviates thirst, and stimulates a healthy appetite
• It kills germs, and clears parasites from the GI tract
• It serves to reduce heat, dry ama (toxins), clears congestion
• It purifies the blood, cleanses and supports the liver, while draining excess moisture from the body.
• It also benefits the skin, relieving burning, itching and swelling.
• It also tones the muscles and skin
• It relieves intestinal gas, promotes peristalsis, and serves as a digestive tonic
• The bitter taste even improves the release of digestive secretions and digestive enzymes.

If consumed in excess

If overused, the bitter taste can induce nausea, weaken the kidneys and the lungs (due to the extreme drying quality), deplete the tissues, and cause dry mouth, bone loss, osteoporosis, and reduced sperm production. It can also cause excess coldness, extreme dryness, constipation, malaise, confusion, giddiness (as in being spaced out), disorientation, dizziness or loss of consciousness.

Footnote

The bitter taste can aggravate the situation if there is elevated vata in the body, reduces cold, extreme dryness or roughness, or a serious deficiency of any kind. Consumption of bitter taste should be reduced during pregnancy.