AJWAIN

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Ajwain is native to the Middle East and is still common in Egypt as well as Indian cooking. Like turmeric, ajwain is a spice used to enhance digestibility rather than flavor.

ALCOHOL

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 3 ratings, 234 likes

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Alcohol is a hot depressant. Initially, the heat combined with the relaxing qualties of alcohol dilate blood vessels, an aid to circulation. The heart, which is a naturally affectionate and social organ, predisposes one to fun and perhaps risky social...

ALLSPICE

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 2 ratings, 445 likes

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Highly aromatic & spicy, Allspice is an ideal appetizer that refreshes the mouth. It is a delicious addition to meats and desserts, where it doubles as a digestive aid. It's taste and astringency closely resembles cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and it...

ALMOND MILK

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 5 ratings, 926 likes

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Almond milk is a wonderful soothing drink that builds strength, immunity, and grounded energy. Its cool, heavy sweetness creates a sensation of stability and calm in the body, while offering easily accessible energy. For those suffering from lactose...

ANISE

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Anise is sweet and very aromatic.

APPLE (COOKED)

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 rating, 1149 likes

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In Norse mythology, apples are said to provide eternal youthfulness. Apples appear in many religious traditions, including the bible, often as a forbidden fruit. Apples originated in Western Asia, where its wild ancestor still grows today. There are...

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 7 ratings, 631 likes

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Often used for weight loss, vinegar strongly increases the flow of bile. Bile is a fatty, oily substance made by the liver, and stored in the gall bladder. It helps you digest fats. Since bile is also a fatty oily substance, draining bile from the...

AVOCADO

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 3 ratings, 868 likes

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The avocado fruit grows on trees, but does not ripen until after it has been picked. It has a pear shape, and a rough, dark green to black skin with tiny bumps, which earned it the name "alligator pear". Unlike other fruits, avocado isn't sweet at all,...

BALSAMIC VINEGAR

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Vinegar heats up digestion, but aids fat metabolism. Balsamic vinegar is made with red wine, which is hotter than other vinegars.

BANANA

(4.00 out of 5 stars) 5 ratings, 810 likes

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Replenish Electrolytes and RehydrateYou have spent a long hot afternoon tending your garden or chasing the kids and you're feeling parched. But sometimes, no matter how much water you drink, your body still feels thirsty. Simple...

BARLEY MALT

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Half as sweet as sugar, with a distinct 'malty' taste. Dark brown, thick and sticky. Produced from sprouted barley. When seeds sprout, some of the carbohydrates get converted to simple sugars.

BASIL

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Basil's warm and spicy aroma adds a passionate flare to any dish, bringing the heat of the Mediterranean sun to your table. Its bright green color and vigorous flavor is unmistakable in pesto. It adds verve to a home-made tomato sauce, and is a perky...

BASMATI RICE

(4.00 out of 5 stars) 2 ratings, 763 likes

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Rice builds ojas. Ojas is said to have the smell of burnt rice. Of rices, Basmati is the most sattvic and aromatic. Rice is nourishing and easy to digest giving more 'bang for the buck'. Rice offers more calories with less effort from digestive...

BLACK PEPPER

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The word 'pepper' is dervied from the South Asian word 'pippali'. Pippali (long pepper) is a famous herb in Ayurveda for lung and heart conditions, and is a close relative of black pepper. The word pepper gradually came to include the unrelated New...

BLUEBERRY

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 3 ratings, 618 likes

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Pop a few blueberries in your mouth and you'll notice reduced agitation, a relaxing sensation in the eyes, and cool feeling in your skin. These visceral signs are your personal cue indicating blueberries' beneficial effect on your liver, and their...

BONE BROTH

(4.00 out of 5 stars) 3 ratings, 570 likes

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Bone broth is made from bones, water and vinegar. The vinegar helps leach important minerals from the bones.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH

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Winter squashes, including butternut, are eaten in the autumn after they have absorbed the sun's energy over the summer. This stored energy gives squashes a warm ojas building heartiness that can comfort you through colder weather. Where most tonic...

CARAWAY SEEDS

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In the Middle Ages, caraway seeds were served with a bit of sugar as a digestive after a big meal, much the way sugar coated fennel is eaten after a meal in India.

CARROT

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Ancestors of the wild carrot came from Iran and Afghanistan, the center of genetic diversity for carrot. Carrots were bred from a species of wild carrot, called Queen Anne's Lace. Originally they were grown for their aromatic leaves and seeds. Since...

CAYENNE PEPPER

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The entire nightshade family (solanaceae) aggravates Vata and Pitta, due to the weak liver of these two body types. All peppers aggravate Pitta due to heat. Note that black pepper...

CHERRY

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 rating, 404 likes

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Berries arrive just in time for late spring, early summer. Berries are lymphatic movers that complete the spring process of cleansing your liver. They are also liver tonics to protect your liver during summer. Berries are rich in anti-oxidants that...

CHIPOTLE CHILI

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Smokey and sharp, tastes like a campfire.

CILANTRO

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Cilantro is the leaf of the coriander seed. Both the leaves and the seeds have citrus overtones. Cilantro, as a cooling herb, pairs well with hot spicy dishes.

CINNAMON

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Cinnamon is a small evergreen tree in the Lauraceae family native to Sri Lanka. Other members of this family include sassafras, avocado, camphor, and spicebush. Trees of the laurel family, including cinnamon, predominate in the world's laurel forests....

CLOVES

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Cloves are native to India and Indonesia. They are the aromatic dried flower bud of a tree in the same family as Eucalyptus and Guava (Myrtaceae family). Cloves resemble a nail in shape. The English name 'clove' derives from the latin 'clavus'...

COCONUT WATER

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Replenish ElectrolytesAt any corner market in sweltering India, Thailand or Bali, you can drink fresh coconut water out of the nut with a straw, and dig out the sweet meat with a spoon. Coconut water quenches even the strongest...

CRYSTALLIZED GINGER

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Hot, pungent, antiemetic, appetizer, digestive, spleen tonic; stimulates saliva.

CUMIN

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 4 ratings, 433 likes

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Appreciated since ancient times, cumin's aroma has wafted through kitchens since at least the second millennium BC, even flavoring breads and soups mentioned in the Bible. The highly valued spice was a currency to pay tithes to priests. The ancient...

EGG WHITES

(2.00 out of 5 stars) 1 rating, 261 likes

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Egg whites are pure protein - ojas. Without the cholesterol egg whites are better than yolks for Kapha. The gel like nature of egg white may be whipped to trap air bubbles as in a meringue. These air bubbles act as a leavening agent in many batters...

FENNEL SEEDS

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 3 ratings, 546 likes

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Cool and soothing, verdant and fragrant, fennel is a member of the carrot family that includes other popular spices such as cumin, coriander, dill and celery. Fennel is used as a flavoring in some natural toothpastes and mouth fresheners. Fennel seeds...

FISH

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Fish is lighter than poultry or meat. Although all meat is considered heavy and tamasic, we are labeling fish as sattvic relative to poultry and red meat.

FRUCTOSE

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Fructose is found naturally in tree fruits, honey, some root vegetables like beets, and in other foods. However, in commercial food products, it appears as high fructose corn syrup. It is found in many sodas.

GARLIC

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Regarded as both a force for good and evil, folklore and superstition abound when it comes to this little but poignant member of the onion family. A garland of garlic kept evil spirits and vampires away in the west. In an eastern Islamic myth, garlic...

GHEE

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 3 ratings, 519 likes

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Trying to cut down on butter at the movies? Try popcorn with ghee and cinnamon. Ghee is golden and delicious. Children love it. It is also great as a garnish drizzled over food. For details on how to make ghee yourself search for "ghee" in the recipe...

GINGER (DRIED)

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 1 rating, 335 likes

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Ever reach for dried ginger as a quick replacement for the fresh root and assume it's an apt substitute? Ginger is ginger, right? Actually, not at all. Dried ginger packs a...

GINGER (FRESH)

(5.00 out of 5 stars) 5 ratings, 903 likes

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IntroductionA steaming hot mug of ginger tea on a damp day warms up your bones and burns away thick, heavy congestion. When the weather is soggy, you feel tired and groggy. You naturally crave sunlight and heat. Pungent and light,...