In ayurveda three pillars for good Health and Immunity are explained..as 1 Aahar 2.Nidra 3.Bramhacharya When we talk about Aahar..it is said that our meal should comprise of all six rasa (madhur, amla, lavan, Katu, tikta and kashaya rasa). Then only our doshas-vata pitta and kapha ( the dynamic bio constituents of our body) will be maintained in a balanced state. An imbalance to them is called as 'Disease' in ayurveda and the balanced state as 'Health'. As said in this sloka-- "Rogastu dosha Vaishamyam, dosha saamyam Arogata" Now how are 'rasa' the different tastes connected with our inner constituents 'doshas' are also explained beautifully. Madhur-amla-lavana pacifyies or balances vata while katu-tikta -kashaya aggravates Vata Madhur-tikta-kashaya pacifyies Pitta while Katu-amla-lavana aggravates it. Katu-tikta-kashaya pacifyies Kapha while madhur-amla-lavana aggravates it. This is how our inner body constituents and the physiological functions are depending on the kind of food we have with respect to their tastes. Every food item represents one or more taste and each taste has got a property and potency associated. For example rice posses madhur rasa, the property is heaviness opposite to lightness and potency is cold opposite to hot, and chilly is just opposite in potency and property, thus rice adds kapha and pacifyies pitta while chilly pacifyies kapha and aggravates pitta. --Dr.Rajeev Nambiar MD(Ay.) www.drnambiarsayurveda.com