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In Western culture, the concept of “basic tastes” dates back to at least the time of Aristotle.

In adults, mixed saliva located in the oral cavity has a pH \u003d 6.8 ... 7.4, so the tongue can feel more or less acidic zones in the mouth. If the product has a pH<7, мы ощущаем кислый вкус. При рН>7 we feel the so-called “Soapy” taste. A convenient standard of acidity is acetic acid solutions (for comparison, the acidity of gastric juice is normal at pH ~ 1).

Sweet

Sweetness is usually associated with the presence of sugars, but the same sensation arises from glycerin, certain protein substances, amino acids (aspartame). One of the chemical carriers of the "sweet" are hydroxo groups in large organic molecules - sugar, as well as polyols - sorbitol, xylitol. Sweet detectors - G-proteins located in the taste buds. A system of "secondary intermediaries" is used, specifically cAMP, associated with H ± channels, that is, the reception of "sour taste".

Bitter

Bitterness, like sweetness, is perceived through G-proteins. Historically, the bitter taste has been associated with an unpleasant sensation, and possibly with the health hazard of certain plant products. Indeed, most plant alkaloids are simultaneously toxic and bitter, and evolutionary biology has reason for this conclusion.

The synthetic bitter substance denatonium (known under the trademark Bitrex) is synthesized in. Its derivative (Denatonium benzoate) is used as a “repellent agent” to prevent accidental internal use of toxic substances, such as children or animals.

Tart

This taste is associated with the reception of tannins (tannins in tea, in thorns, etc.). The mechanism of its occurrence is associated with the binding of tannins and proline-rich proteins. With insufficiently developed terminology in individual social or language groups, this taste does not stand out and is assessed as a bitter variant.

Notes

References

1. "Taste bud" for fatty foods found. BBC News (November 2, 2005). Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2010.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what "Basic tastes" is in other dictionaries:

This term has other meanings, see Taste (meanings). Taste in physiology is one of the types of chemoreception; sensation arising from the action of various substances mainly on taste receptors (located on taste buds ... ... Wikipedia

Taste in physiology is one of the types of chemoreception; sensation arising from the action of various substances mainly on taste receptors (located on the taste buds of the tongue, as well as the back wall of the pharynx, soft palate, tonsil, ... ... Wikipedia

  - (旨 味 味?) the taste of protein substances, the “fifth taste”, traditionally used in Japanese culture, in other countries of the east. The sensation of "minds" is created by monosodium glutamate and other amino acids. These are food additives of the E600 E699 group. Due to the fact that ... ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Sour. Sour Village Country RussiaRussia ... Wikipedia

The question of tastes (races) requires special consideration, because they contain the primary information about food. According to Ayurveda, each of the six tastes communicates directly with the body and carries a special signal. Language recognizes them through instincts. Taste causes a chain of reactions stretching from the mouth to all the cells of the body. All tastes should be contained in food - “stimulating” the body (bitter and astringent) and “calming” it (mainly sweet). To activate digestion, sometimes "hot" tastes are needed - spicy, sour and salty, and to slow down digestion - "cold" tastes - bitter, astringent and sweet.

Each product and food as a whole have their own flavor spectrum. Sugar, vinegar and salt have a unique taste, but the vast majority of products have two or more: lemon - sour, sweet and bitter, cheese - sweet and sour, carrots - sweet, bitter and astringent. Milk is considered to be “complete” food, since it contains all six flavors, although with a predominance of sweet. Therefore, milk is recommended to be drunk separately from other products or combined only with sweet foods - fruit, flour, as well as sugar.

Using the flavor spectrum, you can describe any food in terms of increasing or decreasing doshas. Since all three doshas are interconnected, the growth of one of them is of fundamental importance. Therefore, Ayurveda describes each type of food based on its effect on a particular dosha. For example, cabbage increases Vata, carrots - Pitta, all types of oil - Kapha.

Below is a description of the six tastes (races).

Sweet taste

All the main types of food are somehow related to the sweet taste. This taste is most active in healing possibilities. It strengthens and increases the strength of the body.

Sweet taste increases Kapha and reduces Vata and Pitta. Examples of sweet foods: sugar, honey, rice, milk, cream, butter, wheat bread. Fruits are mostly sweet and astringent, but there is a sour taste in citrus fruits. Vegetables are mostly sweet, but vegetables with green leaves also have a bitter taste. Dairy products are mostly sweet, but kefir and cheese have a sour and spicy taste. The meat is mostly sweet and astringent, as are legumes. Seeds and nuts are sweet. In general, any nutritious and pleasing food includes, as a rule, a sweet component.

A sweet taste greatly increases Kapha, and any sweet food tells the body the quality of this dosha. People like Kapha are easier to satisfy than others, as the sweet taste is the most satisfying. If a person is nervous or very upset (a sign of irritated Vata), sweet can soothe him. At the same time, Pitt is dulled. However, an excess of sweets destabilizes the body. Dullness of feelings, swagger, greed, emotional instability, drowsiness are also the consequences of an excess of sweets.

With Kapha imbalance, sweet food is undesirable. The exception is honey, which helps balance Kapha. People like Kapha are given a sense of satisfaction and well-being, which representatives of Vata and Pitta have to draw from sweets. The best way to balance Pitta is with sweet foods such as ghee.

Salty taste

This taste increases Kapha and Pitta and reduces Vata. Presents the salty taste of table salt, which gives the taste of food, supports appetite, causes the release of saliva and gastric juice. Salt, like Pitta, is hot, so the digestive process warms the body. The salty taste has cleansing properties, it “pulls” something stuck in it and hardened from the body.

Excessive salt intake suppresses all other taste sensations, distorting each of them. Salt makes tissues heavier, as it binds water in them. Excess salt creates problems for Kapha with the release of fluid from the body, leads to the accumulation of fat and obesity, and

also to inflammation of the skin. However, Ayurveda believes that salt is not an enemy and a healthy person can eat it as much as necessary without harm to blood pressure. It is not salt that raises pressure, but the imbalance of doshas that occurs before salt does any harm. At the same time, Ayurveda advocates moderate salt intake. If a person like Pitt or Kapha is out of balance, then salty foods are undesirable.

Sour taste

This taste, like salty, increases Kapha and Pitta and reduces Vata. Examples of acidic foods: lemons, tomatoes, plums, grapes, other acidic fruits, berries and vegetables, kefir, cheese, vinegar, etc.

Sour taste has a refreshing property, enhances appetite, promotes the digestion of food, inhibits the release of fluid from the body and adds heaviness to the body (makes it more Kapha). Too much acidic food upsets the acid-base balance and negatively affects the body.

If Pitta and Kapha are not balanced, then acidic food is undesirable. Fermented products with a sour taste (cheese, vinegar, etc.) can be consumed occasionally and in small quantities.

Bitter taste

This taste increases Vata and reduces Pitta and Kapha. Examples of bitter food: leafy vegetables, bitter cucumbers, lettuce, chicory, lemon peel, some spices, a tonic drink, etc.

According to Ayurveda, the bitter taste improves digestion and appetite, warms the body and stimulates the release of fluid from it, dilates blood vessels and helps cleanse body cavities. This taste gives the body lightness, cold and dryness. In its effect, it is more Vata than other tastes. The bitter taste balances the craving for sweet, sour and spicy. Bitterness before eating is an effective remedy for people with poor digestion; bitterness in the mouth causes a desire for more satisfying tastes.

If the body is inflamed, hot or itchy as a result of an exacerbation of Pitta, then a bitter taste can correct the situation. In excess, the bitter taste exacerbates Vata, which in people of this type causes health problems (headaches, weakness, loss of appetite, weight loss, etc.). The reason that brings Vata off balance is bitter.

Pungent taste

This taste increases Vata and Pitta and reduces Kapha. Examples of spicy foods: capsicum, onion, garlic, radish, any spicy food.

In Ayurveda, it is believed that hot and spicy food has its own taste - spicy. Acuity is recognized by a burning sensation (Pitta increases) and thirst (increasing Vata causes dryness). Acuity warms the body and stimulates the release of fluid from the body. As a result, the digestion process is enhanced, stagnant tissues are cleansed. With the appearance of acute in the body, blood, saliva, mucus, sweat, tears begin to move. By cleansing all cavities, spicy food is the best way to balance Kapha. But too spicy food brings the body not irritation, but irritation. With the imbalance of Vata and Pitta, spicy food is undesirable.

Astringent taste

This taste increases Vata and reduces Kapha and Pitta. Examples of astringent foods: apples, pears, different types of cabbage, potatoes, carrots, beans, lentils, etc.

The astringent taste that dries and tightens the mouth is the least common of the six flavors. Like the bitter, astringent taste is inherent in Vata. Astringent food calms, cools, stops discharge (sweat, tears). For example, beans and peppers are well combined, offsetting the effects of each on body functions, in particular lacrimation. The astringent taste contributes to contractions, so its excess can lead to Vata ailments - dry mouth, bloating due to increased gas formation in the intestines, constipation. With imbalance in the body of Vata, astringent food is undesirable.

In a balanced diet, each meal should contain all six flavors. D. Chopra (1992) gives an example of a balanced tasting dinner:

lettuce salad (bitter, astringent);

whole fried chicken with steamed rice (salted, spicy, sour, sweet);

ice cream (sweet).

It is noted that even without ice cream, the intake of such food helps to maintain balance, since all six flavors are present in it. When replacing fried chicken with baked chicken, two tastes are lost - spicy and sour, you can restore them by adding tomatoes (sweet and sour taste) and radish (spicy taste) to the salad. You should not give preference to the same tastes day after day. The main thing is to supply the body with all six flavors daily, so that it can fully respond to food.

We note two provisions regarding “balanced nutrition”. Firstly, the reasons for the attribution of various products to the corresponding gunas (natural qualities) and races (tastes) in Ayurveda are not explained. For example, why is wheat assigned to the heavy Huns and barley to the light, why are legumes and meat predominantly sweet and astringent? There are no answers to these questions, and, therefore, it is assumed that the characteristics of the gunas and races are not subject to analysis and doubt. Secondly, according to Ayurveda, one should not remember these characteristics exactly, since their knowledge is embedded in the human body. We should not calculate the content of these signs in a particular food, but we must take them on faith. On the one hand, this complicated work can be done by an Ayurveda specialist, on the other hand, own instincts can tell a person information about races and gunas. Ayurveda emphasizes that her knowledge of nutrition comes directly from nature, in contrast to the knowledge obtained by scientific medicine as a result of laboratory and other studies.

Ask any person how many tastes he distinguishes, and you will probably hear the standard answer: four. And indeed, most of us know only four tastes, namely, bitter, sweet, salty and sour. However, everything is not so clear, because the fifth taste is known under the name “umami”.

How we distinguish tastes

The body of each person reacts differently to different tastes and their combinations. Taste receptors that respond to a particular product are developed in different ways, and the products themselves may have flavor combinations. For example, an ordinary apple is more acidic or sweeter. We like some more taste sensations, but not others. Mostly bitter-sour or bitter-salty tastes are unpleasant, and sweet-sour or salty-sour tastes are not bad.

At the tip of the tongue are peculiar onions, which make it possible to distinguish tastes. Papillae do not transmit information about the taste properties of the product directly to the nervous system, but first secrete special substances that are responsible for the sensation of basic tastes.

What chemical processes or which part of the body is responsible for the combination of taste sensations, scientists still do not know. In addition to the four elementary tastes and the fifth by minds, scientific researchers are discussing the recognition of another new taste - fatty. So far, scientists attribute it to textures, and not to tastes. So, let's look at the key of the perceived tastes: salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and also talk about the taste with the minds.

What tastes can a person distinguish

Sweet

For most, they are favorite. Sweets in different quantities contain glucose, which acts as a fuel for the body. When eating sweet food, taste cells transmit a signal to the nervous system, as a result of which the hormones endorphin and serotonin begin to be produced. They give people pleasure.

Sour

Sour food contains ascorbic acid. Thus, when a person wants such a meal, probably the body lacks vitamin C. Sometimes such taste addictions portend a cold. The main thing is not to overdo it, as acidic food harms the digestive organs.

Salted

Many can not do without a salty taste, and often pulls on the salty after sweets. An example of this taste is table salt. If everything pulls you to add, listen to yourself. Scientists were able to find out that this indicates an insufficient content of minerals.

Bitter

The bitter taste is unpleasant among other tastes. It has toxic and all kinds of toxic substances. The sensitivity in taste buds (bulbs) in people is different, so various bitter substances for some are intolerable, while others normally perceive them. Scientists explained this by the fact that taste buds have the ability to evolve.

It is noteworthy that the bitter taste has a “reference bitterness” - this is the substance of quinine, which is used to make drinks, including gin.

What is the taste of minds

If we know about the existence of bitter, salty and sour tastes, then only a few know about minds. It was discovered and recognized about 30 years ago in Japan. When conducting experiments with traditional cuisine, components were discovered that add a spicy flavor to dishes. It differs from all other known tastes, including sour, sweet, bitter and salty.

We will not delve into complex chemical reactions and processes, but we note that the taste of the minds depends on sodium glutamate. So the enterprising Ikeda, who discovered the taste with his minds, patented the manufacture of a flavoring additive, which is today found in different products.

Describing its taste is not easy, but we will try. For example, it has dried mackerel, dried shiitake mushrooms or tomatoes. By itself, the minds are not always pleasant, but in a minimal concentration and in combination with other tastes, it becomes pleasant.

Interesting Taste Facts

So, today it is believed that a person perceives five tastes of different nature, and we told you about them in detail. In addition, chemical reactions occur in our brain with combinations of tastes, but all this is very complicated. Finally, we offer interesting facts about the perception of tastes by the human body:

• Taste papillae on the surface of the tongue have a short period of life - no more than 10 days. At the end of the term, they die, and new ones appear in their place. This explains why we perceive the same taste differently after a while.
• According to scientists, from 15 to 25% of people taste is extremely sensitive due to the greater number of taste buds in the language.
• The body perceives pure tastes in the same way, so there are no different types of sweet or sour tastes. In addition, each of them is saturated or faded.
• The receptors become most sensitive at food temperatures in the range of 20-38 degrees.
• Taste addictions depend on the gender and age of the person. For example, girls prefer sweets, vegetables and fruits, and boys like meat and fish, and they are mostly indifferent to chocolate.

We hope we answered your question how many tastes a person’s language distinguishes and what sensations this or that food will cause. Everything is quite complicated, and even scientists did not find answers to all questions, but you now know the general principles.

Ayurveda has a unique integrated approach to food. Understanding some of the principles of this approach will help you identify those products that will help restore and maintain balance between doshas.

Food properties

The table below lists the main properties inherent in all doshas, \u200b\u200bas well as food products.

20 core qualities or doshas

Like doshas, \u200b\u200beach type of food contains certain properties, qualities; for example, popcorn is light and dry, cheese is heavy and smooth.

These properties are perceived by the body and have a direct effect on the digestion of each particular type of food. Even an emotional mood can be directly influenced by the food eaten, such as exacerbation of mental perception and painful sensitivity after eating hot chili.

Summarizing, we can say that when the properties of food are similar to the properties of the dosha, then it acts excitingly, irritating the dosha. For example, if a vata-type person (who is dry) eats popcorn (having dry qualities), this will cause vata dosha upset. The opposite properties of food and dosha have a calming effect, for example: a person of the pitta constitution (fire) drinks mint tea (cooling effect). This fundamental position will help you choose the right food for you.

Examples of the properties of some products

Race, Virya, Vipak and Prabhava

According to Ayurvedic philosophy, the moon is the goddess of water. The water in the atmosphere in its pure form is cold, light, transparent and absolutely tasteless. Water enters the soil, interacts with other elements and passes into plants. Water - lunar nectar - brings and creates different tastes in each plant. Thus, water is the mother of all tastes. Tastes are perceived by the language, our sense organ, which defines the element of water.

Each substance that is food, each medicinal herb has its own special taste. In the instant when the substance enters the tongue, we taste. Taste is the most important property that has a direct effect on the dosha in our body. Ayurveda identifies 6 main tastes: sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter and astringent.

All of these flavors are present in plasma. Each type of food is created from a combination of the main 5 elements, from which it follows that these elements are present in six tastes. Certain compounds of elements create the taste of different foods. The relationship of elements and tastes is given in the following table.

The connection between the five elements and tastes

Fire and air are light elements and tend to move upward, so the tastes containing these elements also move upward, warming the upper parts of the body, creating lightness. Conversely, earth and water are heavy elements and move downward, so the sweet taste cools the lower body, urinary tract and can create heaviness in the body.

The presence of elements in some products

Race (taste)

A unique combination of elements in the product will determine its taste and the effect that it has on the body. The concept of taste ( race), its effects ( virya) and the effect after digestion ( vipak) will promote your understanding of the basic principles of healing with daily nutrition.

Sweet
  Sweet taste is present in such products as sugar, milk, rice, wheat, dates, maple syrup, licorice root. Sweet taste arises from the combination of earth and water. Usually it has moisturizing, cooling and heavy properties. Sweet taste enhances vitality. If you use foods with a sweet taste in moderation, then its effect on the body will be beneficial, anabolic, contributing to the growth of plasma, blood, muscle, adipose tissue, bones, bone marrow and reproductive fluids. Proper use of a sweet taste benefits and increases life expectancy, aggravates feelings and improves complexion, has a healing effect on skin, hair and voice. It brings stability and cures exhaustion.

But despite all these wonderful properties, excessive consumption of sweets can lead to disorders of all doshas. Sweet foods especially worsen kapha and cause colds, coughs, congestion, heaviness, loss of appetite, laziness, obesity, as well as abnormal growth of muscle tissue, congestion in the lymphatic system, swelling, swelling and diabetes.

Sour
Sour taste is typical for products such as citrus fruits, sour cream, yogurt, vinegar, cheese, lemon, unripe mangoes, green grapes, and for food prepared using fermentation processes. Sour foods are flowing, light, with a warming effect, moist in nature and anabolic in action. With moderate use, these products act refreshingly, they are tasty, stimulate appetite, improve digestion, energize the body, nourish the heart, enlighten the mind and promote salivation.

With excessive consumption of products with an acidic taste, the teeth become brittle, there is increased thirst, rapid, reflective blinking, the acidity of the gastric juice increases, heartburn, acid indigestion, ulcers and perforations appear. Since the sour taste causes fermentation processes, it is toxic to blood and can cause skin diseases such as dermatitis, acne, eczema, edema, furunculosis and psoriasis. Its hot properties lead to a shift in acid-base balance towards acidification, acidosis, which is expressed in a burning sensation in the throat, chest, heart, bladder and urethra.

Salty
  Sea salt, rock salt, fucus are common examples of substances with a salty taste, the dominant elements of which are Water and Fire. Salty taste has a warming effect, it is heavy, moist and hydrophilic in nature. With moderate use, it reduces vata and stimulates kapha and pitta. Thanks to the element of water, it has a laxative effect, and the element of fire reduces spasm and pain in the large intestine. As well as sweet and salty tastes, it has an anabolic effect. In moderate amounts, it helps to maintain water-electrolyte balance. The salty taste is so strong that it “eclipses” all other tastes. It stimulates salivation, improves the taste of food, helps digestion, absorption and excretion of waste.

However, too much salt in the diet leads to excitement of pitta and kapha. It makes the blood thick and viscous, causes an increase in blood pressure and worsens the condition of the skin. With excessive salt intake, sensations of heat, fainting, premature appearance of wrinkles, and baldness can occur. Due to its hydrophilic properties, it can cause swelling and water retention in the body. Islet hair loss, ulcers, bleeding, cracks in the skin, high acidity and high blood pressure can be the result of excessive salt intake.

However, in addition to the positive effect, the pungent taste with its excessive consumption in everyday nutrition can lead to negative reactions. It can have a detrimental effect on sperm and eggs, leading to sexual weakness of both men and women, cause burning, choking, fainting, fatigue with heat and thirst. If pitta is excited, diarrhea, nausea and heartburn can occur. Dizziness, tremors, insomnia and pain in the muscles of the legs are possible with vata arousal from the abuse of spicy foods. Peptic ulcers, colitis, skin lesions can also result from an excess of acute in nutrition.

Bitter
  We will find examples of bitter taste in bitter melon, turmeric and dandelion, aloe, yellow sorrel, fenugreek, sandalwood, rhubarb and coffee. Least bitter taste is found in North American cuisine. It consists of elements of air and ether and by its nature has cooling, light and dry properties. It increases vata and reduces pitta and kapha. Being tasteless in its pure form, the bitter taste enhances, emphasizes other tastes. It has an anti-toxic effect, kills germs, soothes burning and itching, helps with fainting and difficult to treat skin diseases. The bitter taste reduces fever, strengthens the skin and muscles. In small doses, it acts as a carminative and tonic for digestion. Due to its drying properties, it reduces the amount of fat, bone marrow, urine and feces.

Excessive consumption of bitter taste can deplete plasma, blood, adipose tissue, bone marrow, semen, which leads to sexual impotence. Extreme dryness and rudeness, exhaustion and fatigue can be the result of abuse of the bitter, at times dizziness and loss of consciousness can be observed.

Astringent
  Unripe bananas, pomegranates, Turkish peas, green beans, yellow crushed peas, okra, golden seal, turmeric, lotus seeds, alfalfa sprouts, alfalfa seeds, mango seeds, arjuna and alum are all examples of astringent-flavored products. The astringent taste causes a characteristic crushing sensation of dryness in the throat. It comes from combining the elements of fire and earth and by its nature has cooling, dry and heavy properties. In small amounts, the astringent taste soothes pitta and kapha, but excites vata. It absorbs water and causes dry mouth, difficulty speaking and constipation. It also helps in the healing of ulcers and, by stimulating blood coagulation, stops bleeding.

Excessive consumption of food with an astringent taste can cause suffocation, untreatable constipation, weakness of the intestines, weakening of the voice, heart cramps, stagnation of circulation. It can deplete the ability to produce sperm and reduce sexual desire, exacerbate such neuromuscular disorders like Vata, such as cramps, Bell's paralysis, neuromuscular exhaustion, stroke-induced paralysis, etc.

The Impact of Flavors on Doshas

Enhances and may cause excitement
   - reduces and calms

According to Ayurveda, a properly used taste or combination of tastes leads to a balance of all body systems, good and a sense of happiness in all living beings. However, if used improperly, great harm can be done. Therefore, it is so important to know the positive and negative effects of these 6 tastes for their proper use in food.

Virya (taste effect)

When a food or medicinal herb enters the mouth, the first thing we feel is taste. Then, and in some cases immediately, we feel its warming or cooling effect in the mouth or stomach, due to the energy contained in it, called Virya.

Each of us, based on our own experience, can formulate general rules for how he “feels” taste in the body. For example, a sweet taste produces a cooling effect due to its severity. This effect has a stimulating effect on kapha and is beneficial for pitta and cotton. There are rare exceptions. Honey and molasses, for example, have a sweet taste, but have a warming effect. This unexpected effect that goes beyond the general rules is called Prabhava. Another example is limes, which, having an acidic taste, have a cooling effect instead of the warming characteristic of an acidic taste.

Vipak (effect after digestion)

The final effect that taste has on the body, mind and consciousness is called the effect after digestion, or "Vipakom". Sweet and salty tastes have a sweet vipak, a sour taste - a sour vipak, and a vipak of sharp, bitter and astringent tastes are all spicy.

If the taste, thermal effect and effect after digestion of a particular food or medicinal herb is known, then its effect on the body systems is easy to understand. This knowledge is the essence of healing and cooking.

Summarize all of the above: the first subjective sensation of a product in a language is taste ( race); A little later, a feeling of warmth or coolness appears ( virya); and finally, the effect of the product on urine, feces and sweat ( vipak) For example, when eating hot chili, you will instantly feel its sharp taste, warming effect, and the next day, burning sensation during bowel movements and urination.

Prabhava (special effect, paranormal)

When 2 products with similar taste, thermal effect and effect after digestion produce a completely different effect, this phenomenon is called "Prabhava". There is no explanation for this phenomenon. It does not lend itself to the logical justification of theories known to us. Ghee (melted butter) in an amount of 2 tsp. with a glass of milk acts as a laxative, but in a lower dose, for example 1/2 teaspoon, has a fixing effect. Why? The answer should be sought in prabhava. All gems, minerals and mantras help healing through prabhava. Prabhava is a special active hidden action of awareness present in matter.

Agni (digestive fire)

Ayurvedic medicine is based on the amazing concept of digestion, which begins with external processing and cooking. The main requirements for this are the availability of cooking space, fuel, air, fire, dishes, water, food and the organizer of the process. The same conditions are necessary for internal "cooking" - the digestion of food. The intestine becomes the place of "cooking", and agni becomes fire. The role of fuel is played by the food digested yesterday, which kindles agni; cooking utensils - the stomach, where the mucous secretion plays the role of water, while the grain symbolizes the food eaten today. The cook or organizer of the process is prana. The ventilating, fanning air is called "Adobe"  (subtype of cotton wool). In the stomach (in our analogy, the pan), food is on fire. Water in a pan (kapha) provides “access” of fire to each grain. The big fire in the hearth is the central fire, the fire of digestion. Digested food yesterday gives energy to the intestinal wall to produce digestive enzymes. These enzymes become fuel for agni. But no processes occur without an organizer (prana). The following figure illustrates the above.

Our food carries solar energy, which can only be absorbed during digestion. Food coming from outside should be turned into substances that are absorbed and nourish the body's tissues. The processes of this transformation are responsible for many different enzymes. Term Agni used in Ayurveda to describe these enzymes and their participation in metabolic processes. Without agni, it is impossible to assimilate either food or impressions.

In a normal balanced state, agni maintains vitality, good health and long life expectancy. It provides life essence ( ojas), protects the breath of life ( prana) and keeps the body in excellent condition. If the agni does not function properly, the person begins to feel unwell. If this fire of life goes out, death will soon come. The central agni is in the stomach. The total number of agni that control the entire process of digestion and metabolism is 13. Of these, 5 agni are in the liver and one agni is found in each of the 7 main tissues of the body.

Many factors, such as lifestyle-damaging lifestyle and eating habits, eating poorly matched foods, and suppressing emotions, can worsen doshas in the body, which soon leads to agni upset and the inability to fully digest the food consumed. Undigested food turns into a pathogenic, toxic, sticky substance called "and mine".

Ama  - This is the root cause of many diseases. The presence of ama in various body systems leads to a feeling of fatigue and heaviness. It can cause indigestion, constipation, gas formation in the intestines, diarrhea. At times, it becomes a cause of halitosis, a perversion of taste and causes a feeling of confusion and confusion. A thick coating appears on the tongue (look at the tongue in the mirror!), Characteristic generalized pain in the body and lack of flexibility. A strong craving for a particular food can also reflect the state of agni.

Ayurvedic recipes require detailed knowledge of the concept of agni. Depending on the nature of the person’s agni, one can help to “ignite” the agni and thereby improve digestion by using certain spices, herbs, additives, and pikules. Depending on which arousal takes place, agni is balanced, erratic, too high or too low.

Types of Agni

Agni itself (balanced metabolism)
When all doshas are balanced according to this constitution, agni is in a state of equilibrium and provides a balanced metabolism. In such a person, the digestion of food, qualitatively and quantitatively, takes place without any adverse effects or symptoms. That is, there is an excellent state of health. People gifted with agni itself do not suffer due to food, weather conditions, or any bad habit. They are endowed with good health and long life. They have a calm, friendly character, clarity of consciousness and a sense of happiness. Stable health, a large amount of ojas, tejas and prana, as well as strong immune defenses are inherent in this state of agni.

Vishama agni (promiscuous metabolism)
  Agni can change a lot as a result of reinforcing vata. It becomes unstable, making the digestive process erratic, causing intestinal dystonia, constipation and intestinal colic, sometimes diarrhea, a feeling of heaviness after eating, and rumbling in the intestines. Dry skin, crunching in joints, sciatica and lower back pain, insomnia, and a feeling of intense fear and anxiety may appear. Sometimes there is a strong craving for fried foods. The cold properties of cotton wool slow down agni, and the mobile qualities of cotton wool lead to its oscillation, which makes the metabolism erratic. As a result, ama forms, which can be detected by the appearance of a brownish coating on the tongue. With vishama agni, various symptoms of vata disorders can occur, such as dry mouth, loose gums, muscle cramps, and so on.

Agni tikshna (increased metabolism)
Agni can intensify when a pitta dosha is excited, which has hot, sharp, and penetrating properties. Increased agni leads to an increase in metabolic rate. In this state, a person often wants to eat a lot. After digestion, dry throat appears, dry lips, palate, heartburn, as well as sudden sensations of heat and symptoms of hypoglycemia. The flowing, acidic and hot properties of pitta can lead to increased acidity of gastric juice, gastritis, colitis and dysentery. Symptoms of inflammation may occur, such as nausea, vomiting, pain in the liver, and the like. Tikshna agni leads some people to a state of anger, hatred and envy. A person begins to criticize and condemn "everyone and everything." This state may be accompanied by a strong craving for sweets - candy, liver, chocolate. According to Ayurveda, many diseases associated with Pitta disorder are based on thixna agni.

Manda agni (low metabolism)
  The elements of Earth and Water that make up the kapha dosha, heavy, slow and cold, suppress the light, sharp and hot properties of agni, which makes agni weak and slow, which slows down the metabolism. In a person with this type of agni, ordinary food cannot fully digest. Even without eating, there is a feeling of heaviness in the stomach, symptoms of a cold, stuffiness and cough. Salivation, loss of appetite, nausea, and even vomiting of mucus are observed. In some cases, swelling, obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes appear. Characteristic are lethargy, drowsiness, the skin becomes cold and sticky, weakness occurs throughout the body. In a psychoemotional sense, feelings of possessive attachment and greed intensify. This condition may be accompanied by a strong craving for hot, spicy, dry food with spices. Almost all kapha-type diseases are caused by manda agni.

Digestion process

It is useful to try to understand how the digestion process begins, starting with chewing food in the mouth. Chewing food makes it soft, liquefied, warm, and easily swallowed. An important role in this process belongs to saliva ( bodhaka kaphe) Then the food enters the stomach. In the next 90 minutes or so, the slimy secretion from Kapha Kapha liquefies food even further and splits it into small pieces. At this point, the food becomes sweet. A person feels satisfaction and satiation. This stage of the digestive process is carried out using kapha kapha, when the sweet taste penetrates the plasma, resulting in an increase in blood sugar.

Over the next 90 minutes of digestion in the stomach, the food becomes acidic due to the release of hydrochloric acid ( pachaka pitta) The mucous secretion mentioned above protects the walls of the stomach from burning pitta. Sour taste consists of elements of fire and earth. The fire element helps pitta in the process of digesting food. It makes the stomach somewhat “lighter.” The food becomes softer and liquefies even more, which makes it possible for the absorption of light molecules of food substances through the wall of the stomach. At this stage, an acidic taste penetrates into the plasma.

At the end of the third hour, the pyloric valve opens with the help of an adobe (a vata subtype), and the contents of the stomach begin to empty into the duodenum, duodenum, the first part of the small intestine. Here, mixing occurs with bile, produced in the liver and coming from the gallbladder. Thanks to bile salts, food becomes salty in taste as a result of reactions between the acid of the gastric juice and the alkaline properties of bile. Here overcooked food becomes watery and salty. The elements water and fire contribute to its absorption, and now the salty taste penetrates into the plasma. The salty taste persists until food enters the jejunum, the middle section of the small intestine. Food is in the small intestine for approximately 2.5 hours. At this point, the pungent taste penetrates the plasma, causing heat to be released.

After the digestive process in the small intestine is over, food material enters the cecum - the beginning of the large intestine, where it acquires bitter properties. Air and ether, the elements that make up the bitter taste, help further grinding the food mass. The absorption of minerals is also controlled by these elements. As a result, food enters the ascending part of the large intestine. At this stage, the astringent taste becomes prevailing and its properties make the food mass dense thanks to the elements of earth and air. Penetrating into the plasma, astringent taste brings a feeling of lightness. The combination of cotton wool and pitta provides the necessary and less valuable nutrients. Bitter and astringent tastes contribute to absorption and stimulate the motility of the colon, acting through apana, a subtype of cotton wool. When processed processed products enter the rectum, cotton wool causes muscle contractions in the intestine, leading to emptying.

The complete digestion process takes from 6 to 8 hours, during which the food goes through various stages in accordance with the change in taste. However, the digestive process does not end with the absorption of nutrients and water in the colon. Now, the subtlest processes occur that ensure the delivery of nutrients and their use by blood cells, bone, fat, muscle, nervous and reproductive tissues and plasma. With the help of another agni, the digested food undergoes further changes at the cellular level, turning into the pure energy of consciousness that nourishes the mind.

Do you know the FIFTH and SIXTH tastes distinguished by man? September 8th, 2016

The sense of taste in the course of evolution arose not by chance. The unpleasant bitter taste of poisons or the sour taste of spoiled food protected a person from poisoning. With the help of receptors of sweet taste, our ancestors determined the sweetest, and therefore the most energy-rich fruits. Salt in small quantities is necessary for our life. Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was believed that the taste of a person is limited to four tastes - sour, bitter, salty and sweet. But there are SIX tastes!

I myself didn’t even know the FIFTH taste. He is called minds. But you all know its other name.

Let's get more details about this ...

Just a few years ago, studies confirmed that our mouths contain taste buds for this relatively new piquant taste (the other four “base flavors” have been widespread for several thousand years), and many recipes in our history suddenly made sense. Umami was the reason for the Romans' love for garum, a fermented fish sauce that they used the way we use ketchup today. This is a key element of warming bone and the soul of gravy, meat juices and caramelized meat. This is the reason for the popularity of food warmers.

Glutamic acid (left) and sodium glutamate (right) are the very substances that tell our taste buds about the presence of protein in food.

In 1907, in Japan, the chemist Kikune Ikeda became interested in the taste of the ingredient in many traditional Japanese dishes - kombu seaweed. From 40 kg of algae, he isolated 30 g of glutamic acid, which, as it turned out, was responsible for the characteristic taste. Ikeda came to the conclusion that it is an independent, fifth taste, which was called "umami" (Japanese "appetizing taste"). For a hundred years, this term entered the vocabulary of the food industry around the world, but only in the XXI century was it finally established that taste receptors specific for glutamic acid were found in the language, and Ikeda's conclusions were confirmed at the highest scientific level.

Realizing the significance of his discovery, in 1908 Ikeda received a patent for a method for the production of this amino acid from gluten. A year later, his company Ajinomoto (“Essence of Taste”) launched a new seasoning on the market - the sodium salt of glutamic acid, or monosodium glutamate. Currently, this substance is one of the most mass-produced foods in the food industry.

The taste of protein

In fact, we have long been forming our taste preferences based on the content of glutamic acid in the products. Even our distant ancestors, wandering around the expanses of the African continent, noticed that slightly “laid down” meat is tastier than fresh. Today we understand why - during the “ripening” of meat, part of the protein undergoes fermentation, which leads to an increase in the content of free glutamic acid. The selection of many cultivated plants went in the direction of selecting the most delicious, and therefore rich in this substance varieties.

Glutamic acid-rich foods have long been used to improve the taste of food, whether it is seaweed or tomatoes. Culinary specialists invented cooking methods that lead to an increase in the content of free glutamate in the finished dish, and even learned how to “correct” the composition of the products by subjecting them to special processing and turning, for example, taste-neutral milk or soy protein into glutamate-rich cheese and soy sauce.

Why is this taste so pleasant for us? Everything is very simple: “umami” is the taste of protein. Given the possible variety of natural proteins, it is impossible to create a universal receptor for their determination in food (as opposed to sweet or salty taste receptors). Nature has found a more elegant solution - it has provided us with taste buds that are specific not to proteins, but to their structural elements - amino acids. If there is protein in food, then there is a certain amount of free amino acids. The most common amino acid in nature, glutamic (in the composition of any protein from 10 to 40%), has become a kind of “marker”, indicating to us the high content of necessary protein in food (by the way, some other amino acids also have a “mind” taste).

Not stronger, but better

Consumers misunderstanding the effects of sodium glutamate due to inaccurate determination. In law and in everyday life it is called a “taste enhancer." In fact, glutamate is not a “booster”, but a carrier of one of the basic tastes, like salt, sugar or citric acid. The only taste that can be enhanced with glutamate is "umami." In English, by the way, its functions are described more precisely - a taste enhancer, that is, a “taste enhancer” rather than an “enhancer”.

Monosodium glutamate is not appropriate at all in any dish. Nobody adds it to sweets, chocolates, yogurts or soft drinks - there is no point in introducing a new taste where it is simply not needed. Glutamate is responsible for the perception of the taste of many familiar dishes, be it homemade patties, a hamburger in a roadside cafe, or a Peking duck in an expensive restaurant. It is not added there specifically - it is formed from protein in the process of cooking food.

Natural and synthetic

The origin of glutamate is associated with the most popular myth about it. “Natural glutamic acid and its salts are not the same as synthetic glutamate,” say the proponents of this myth. Sometimes an argument is added about the existence of isomers of molecules that differ in the spatial configuration of atoms or groups of atoms (for example, they are chiral, that is, mirror images of each other).

Indeed, the glutamine amino acid, like all other amino acids, can exist as two isomers. One of them (L-, from Latin laevus, left) is found in nature, is necessary for our life and takes part in biochemical reactions in our body. The second (D-, from Latin dexter, right) isomer does not occur in nature and is useless from the point of view of our biochemistry. Our taste buds are specific to the L-isomer, which is responsible for the taste of "minds", and the D-isomer does not irritate these receptors. It is well known to manufacturers of food and food additives, so adding the “wrong” isomer to food makes no sense.

The first industrial method of producing glutamate was the hydrolysis of natural plant protein (gluten), the natural content of glutamic acid in which can exceed 25%. This process repeated on an industrial scale the traditional culinary processing of products. Later, other methods were developed, including chemical synthesis from acrylonitrile (this process is not widespread). And since the late 1960s, glutamate has been produced using Corynebacterium glutamicum bacteria, which can process carbohydrates into glutamic acid (the natural L-isomer) in up to 60% yield.

According to modern food law, a substance obtained from natural raw materials (carbohydrates) using biotechnological methods (fermentation) is considered natural. So all the E621 glutamate currently used in the food industry, from the point of view of both law and common sense, is not synthetic, but completely natural. Although in reality this is not important, since the origin of the substance does not affect its properties.

SIXTH TASTE

Scientists from the University of Oregon have described a new category of taste, distinguished by man - "starchy." This taste is independent of the five main ones recognized by scientists - sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami - and is described by volunteers who participated in the study as “rice” or “flour”. You can meet it with products containing starch and other polysaccharides. Carriers of taste are products of partial degradation of polysaccharides.

Scientists offered 22 volunteers to try solutions of oligosaccharides - molecules in which several sugar fragments are connected in a chain. In the experiment, chains of 7 and 14 glucose molecules were used, as well as a glucose polymer. In order to make the taste perception independent of the sweet receptors, acarbose was added to the solutions, which prevented glucose from being cleaved from the molecules by saliva enzymes. In addition, the researchers gave subjects lactisol, a substance that blocks sweet receptors. Even after these actions, volunteers successfully distinguished the tastes of oligomer solutions from water. The taste of glucose polymer from water could not be reliably distinguished.

According to the subjects, the taste of the oligomer solutions was similar to rice, bread, cereals or crackers. The authors note that the mechanism of reception should be different from the perception of sweets, but it is not known which receptors are involved in this process.

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