Diet and Dosha: Breakfast

Breakfast is always difficult for me. I am not hungry in the mornings and most of my life have skipped breakfast. Since starting Weight Watchers, I have a habit of eating in the morning, but I have to do it within an hour of waking or I miss it. In Perfect Health, Dr. Chopra says I can miss breakfast if I want to. Wow. Permission to skip breakfast. How will that afect my day?

In an Ayurveda practice, diet is an important part of maintaining balance. I find that knowing what to eat is VERY confusing. I know that the more I practice the easier it will become. Although I am pretty sure I am a Pitta type, everyone has all three doshas and they must all be in balance. So though I am a Pitta, I have a lot of disorder around my diet now. So do I need to focus on balancing my vata, my pitta or my kapha? I truly don't know, but I think I need to focus on balancing my kapha and pitta.

As a pitta, I need to avoid excessive caffeine and processed sugars - so no coffee and doughnut breakfasts. No fried foods, no fatty meats, no yogurt or cheese. Pitta is the only dosha that favors cold and astringent foods. But if I need to balance my kapha, I should pick hot over cold foods. Spicy is good for kapha but not for pitta. I have four different books with slightly different ideas and prescriptions.

Until I meet with a practitioner, I know that the best thing I can do is to balance kapha while sticking as closely as possible to the Pitta diet. Cutting out sweets and reducing my red meat intake are huge, and really just common sense. But I also eat a lot of pickles and yogurt and cheese- all no-nos. I already like whole foods, so I will start to conscoiusly choose them for every meal. Fruit is confusing to me. Neither Pitta nor kapha are supposed to eat bananas? Fruits should not be eaten with cooked foods?

So, I have started having grains for breakfast. My favorite is a whole oat/flaxseed oatmeal with gourmet blend of raisins and a cup of tea. Or a slice of toast with tea.  My focus next week will be adding in an appropriate breakfast. Until next time, namaste.