The ancient Indian science of medicine Ayurveda emphasizes that every individual requires balance. The practitioners of Ayurveda recommend that diet is an essential tool for achieving balance. The practitioners generally suggest individualized diet for people, which depend on various factors like age and gender, the doshic tendencies that needs to balanced at a given time, the potency of the body tissues and the digestive abilities. The Ayurvedic diet had its origin in India, five thousand years ago. It is a holistic health treatment that includes, herbs, mediation, massage and yoga.

Food or diet is an important form of Ayurvedic treatments as foods provides the nutrients, which are necessary to carry out the activities pertaining to digestion and metabolism. Ayurvedic food is not merely a mixture of proteins, vitamins, fats and carbohydrates but is a basis of energy for the mind and soul. According to Ayurvedic diet there are six types of tastes namely, madhur, amla, lavan, katu, tikta and kashay. These rasa`s or tastes are present in all types of food.

In Ayurvedic foods, time plays an important factor and therefore there are different diets for different seasons. Charaka, the great Ayurvedic practitioner recommends ten rules for food intake, which is known as aharavidhividhanam. It is also necessary to keep in mind that while preparing Ayurvedic food one must be equipped with certain utensils in the kitchen. Typically referred as the Ayurvedic kitchen, this further adds to the holistic development of the body. The selection of spices is also important for preparing a healthy diet. There are also different diets for the three different doshas like the basic quality for vata dosha is rough, dry and cold which can be balanced with food, which are warm, moist, heavy, oily and soft. Pitta dosha is characterized by hot, sharp, light, sticky and oily, which is balanced by cool, dry and naturally sweet food. The features of kapha dosha are cold heavy something sticky and this can be balanced by smaller amounts of food.

In Ayurveda it is said that with the combination of certain foods, the digestive system gets affected and can be poisonous. Therefore, the diet should be taken properly at the correct time. It can be said without doubt that a healthy diet helps to build the immunity and defense mechanism, which the body needs to fight against foreign bodies.