Last updated: December 21, 2023
What Does
Madhura Mean?
Ayurveda identifies six predominant tastes; sour (amla), salty (lavana), bitter (tikta), astringent (kashaya), pungent (katu) and sweet (madhura). Each of these tastes is made up of a combination of the five elements, and madhura is considered to be predominantly earth and water.
Madhura means appealing or pleasant, and sweet foods tend to be cooling, heavy and oily in nature. Madhura is known to pacify Pitta and Vata doshas, but can be aggravating to Kapha.
Yogapedia Explains Madhura
According to Ayurveda, the experience of taste (rasa) influences every aspect of the mind and body. Taste can have a pacifying or aggravating effect on the doshas, be cooling or heating to the body, impact emotional wellbeing and even influence the nourishment of individual cells.
Madhura or sweet taste promotes strength and stability in the body, as well as an increased sense of compassion, cheerfulness and love. When consumed in moderation, sweet foods can promote longevity, enhance growth of tissues and benefit all five senses.
Madhura foods include:
- Sugar
- Honey
- Sugarcane juice
- Maple syrup
- Dates
- Rice
- Wheat
- Milk
- Fruits
Sweet foods should be consumed in moderation, as excess madhura can be particularly aggravating to Kapha. Obesity, diabetes, lethargy and high cholesterol are all caused by the consumption of too much madhura.
During These Times of Stress and Uncertainty Your Doshas May Be Unbalanced.
To help you bring attention to your doshas and to identify what your predominant dosha is, we created the following quiz.
Try not to stress over every question, but simply answer based off your intuition. After all, you know yourself better than anyone else.