March-June + Kapha Diet
Are you a kapha body-mind type? Or just feeling extra kapha due to the season, time of life, or lifestyle activities? Read on to learn about the symptoms of excess kapha, what to avoid, and how to build a kapha-balancing diet.
Don’t know your body type? Take our quiz!
Why Live + Eat Seasonally?
When we adjust our diet and lifestyle to match the season, health-promoting digestive microbes dramatically change. Spring microbes support balanced immunity, digestion, mood, energy, blood sugar, weight, sleep, and much more.
Spring is associated with the qualities of kapha: heavy, cold and oily. To stay balanced, focus on foods and activities that are light, dry, and warm.
Kapha Tips
- During spring, eat more foods from this list.
- Eat more foods that are pungent (spicy), bitter, astringent / light, dry, and warm: such as flavorful steamed veggies, brothy soups, and brown rice.
- Eat less foods that are sweet, sour, salty / heavy, cold, or oily: such as fried foods, ice cream, and heavy dairy.
- Follow our Short Home Cleanse for a 4-day personal cleanse.
- For 6 weeks, take 500 mg of manjistha, Turmeric Plus, and tulsi twice per day to cleanse your lymphatic system,
heal your digestion, boost immunity, and nourish your nervous system. - Tired? Schedule an Ayurvedic Consult to treat the root cause of your fatigue, which is different for each person.
Daily Routines (Dinacharya) for Spring / Kapha
- Self-massage with warm Lymphatic Massage Oil or raw sesame oil.
- Three or more times per day, practice Bellows Breath: breathe quickly and with strength in and out through your nose for 30 seconds while expanding and contracting your diaphragm. Then, sit in silence for one minute.
- Exercise in the morning to increase circulation, mood, and immunity.
- Perform neti by irrigating your nasal passage with warm salt water. Always follow with nasya.
- Perform nasya by dipping a Q-tip in warm herbalized oil or warm sesame oil, swirling it inside your nostrils, and inhaling deeply.
Signs of Excess Kapha
- Cold
- Cough
- Allergies
- Congestion
- Flu
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Weight gain
If you experience some of these signs, schedule a consult with Dr. Douillard and follow the above guidelines!
Spring/Kapha Grocery List
- Choose organic and non-GMO when possible.
- Curious about a food not on this list? Taste it. If it has two of the three spring tastes (pungent/spicy, bitter, astringent), it is balancing. Prepare it in a way that is light, warm, and dry.
- Eat more of your favorite foods from this list.
- Though these are not the only items you can eat, they are the most beneficial foods for this season/dosha.
- These foods are most beneficial for spring because they have qualities that balance spring (kapha). Even if they are not harvested in your region during spring (or any season), their qualities are still balancing. If you wish to take it to the next level, you can choose to eat more local foods, but you do not have to.
- *An asterisk means that this food is a Spring Superfood. If you like it, eat more of it.
Follow the above kapha diet and let us know if you feel more balanced!
Join Dr. John Douillard and tens of thousands of others for The 3-Season Diet Challenge. It’s free! This challenge takes you through a year of eating seasonally with month-to-month support and guidance. Nature provides the ideal harvest for each season to keep you strong, healthy, energized, and focused.
New research suggests that our gut microbes are meant to change seasonally with the foods we eat. Seasonal microbes optimize digestion, mood, and immunity, the way nature intended!
Tom Jackson says
I can’t decide what to do. I’m told on quizzes I am Pitta or Pitta-Vata. I currently have diabetes type 2 and am overweight, which I am told are Kapha imbalances. Do I follow the Kapha diet or the Pitta diet?
LifeSpa Staff says
Hi Tom,
Overall, Dr. John recommends to eat off the current seasonal grocery list and supplement with foods that are balancing for your dosha or doshic imbalance, so you would eat primarily from the kapha grocery list for the season and supplement with pitta-balancing foods from the pitta/summer grocery list.
Hope that helps!
Best,
LifeSpa Staff
Virginia Van Pay says
May I have your permission to print 12 copies of the Spring Grocery List. I am having a workshop this weekend about eating with the cycles of nature and see that there is a copyright on the bottom of the page. I would like to hand out copies if possible.
Thank you.
Virginia
LifeSpa Staff says
Hi Virginia,
Thanks for asking on this. So sorry for the delay in our reply, your comment was filtered out into our spam folder for some reason.
As long as you don’t sell the print outs, that is fine. We also offer printed versions in our online store here:
https://store.lifespa.com/product/spring-grocery-list/
Best,
LifeSpa Staff
convegni napoli says
An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a colleague who was
conducting a little homework on this. And he in fact ordered me breakfast because I
found it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this….
Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this issue here on your internet site.
สมัครสโบ says
Wonderful article! We are linking to this great
post on our site. Keep up the good writing.
Lauren says
Hi John, I am based in Australia and would love to follow along with the 3 season diet. Our seasons are opposite of course sonwondering whether you have a Southern Hemisphere version at all? Thanks
Pax says
Great reference, thanks! I am wondering about the listing of ‘oats, dry’ on the spring grocery list – does that mean we should eat them dry? If so, can you suggest ways?
Thanks!
Joanne says
Hi Dr. Douillard. Is it possible to order copies of the seasonal lists for our health coaching clients?
LifeSpa Staff says
Hi Joanne, thanks for reaching out. Yes! You can find them in our store here: http://store.lifespa.com/search.asp?keyword=list&search.x=0&search.y=0&search=GO
Darlene says
Dr. what is your intake on eating the ketosis way? At age 67 I find it hard to drop my weight. Is this a healthy way to lose? Thankyou
John Douillard says
You will lose weight, but we have seen problems with eating this way long term. From an ayurvedic standpoint this diet is best in the summer, but it is not sustainable or healthy to do consistently. I’d recommend researching our free weight balancing ebook https://lifespa.com/ayurvedic-weight-loss-ebook/
Anon says
What kind of problems??? I’m very interested in this diet as a kapha
Anon says
Interested in the keto diet, I mean. It’s the only one that keeps me satiated and not thinking about food. But it seems to contradict everything about the kapha constitution. What are some of the issues? *** Thanks!!!
Deborah says
Hello!
I noticed you mention soy milk in this list. My understanding is soy is one of the most mucous forming foods there is, so I was surprised to see it here. Does soy milk have different qualities so it is considered a Kapha food? What about flax milk? I like it the best, taste-wise but since flax seeds are not encouraged on the Kapha diet, I try to consume small amounts.
Thank you
John Douillard says
Hi Deborah,
Thanks for pointing that out. The error has been corrected on the list above. There are so many better dairy milk alternatives out there these days that we don’t recommend soy anymore. Yes, flax or rice milk would be better for Kapha types.
Parmjeet says
It’s too nice and health wisely too good please send me 3season diet plan
John Douillard says
Of course, Parmjeet. Thank you for your interest. You should receive a confirmation email shortly regarding your enrollment in the 3 Season Diet Challenge.
Karen says
Hello. Thank you for all the springtime food lists and information. I am enjoying the seasonal challenge.
In springtime is a cardamom lassi (after 11am lunch) around midday ok? What about a warm saffron milk in the evening with honey and ashwangdha? Or should I just avoid dairy all together during springtime? I am drinking dandelion, ginger, nettle, hibiscus and tulsi teas during the day.
Thanks
Karen.
Josie Guarino says
Hi,
This will be my third year participating in the Colorado Cleanse. I love it more and more each year. However last year Epsom salt with lemon (not sure the exact recipe) was replaced with the castor oil. The Epsom salt did nothing for me. I found the castor oil far more effective. I’m primarily a Pitta. I’m not sure if that helps you in answering this question but is it still ok if I return to the castor oil during the last stage of the cleanse? Thanks
Wendy says
Any cautions or recommendations regarding herbs for March if I plan to do the Colorado Cleanse? In one of the preparation resources I read not to take any herbs until the cleanse starts…is that just to make sure you have enough for the cleanse?
John Douillard says
Hi Wendy, Actually I like the idea of starting the herbs early if you are needing more of a digestive reset. I also suggest taking advantage of these weeks before the Colorado Cleanse to change the microbiome with Gut Revival (1 packet 2x/day) before and during the Cleanse and after the Colorado Cleanse ends, switch to 1 capsule of the Flora Restore Max per day for a month. Follow that with regular strength Flora Restore (1 cap a day for another month or two).
Hope that helps.
Enjoy,
John
Judith H says
Years ago I did a yoga for lymph drainage video daily that you did with your daughter who looked about 17 or so. I loaned it out but it was never returned. Is this still available? I would love to resume doing this. If not is there another that you could recommend to improve lymph drainage?
Thank you.
John Douillard says
Hi Judith, The video with Dr.John’s daughter is available here: https://lifespa.com/ayurvedic-daily-home-oil-massage-abhyanga/. If you prefer to purchase instructions on a DVD, there are instructions for abhyanga as part of the Natural Detox DVD available here: http://store.lifespa.com/ayurveda_for_detox_dvd.html
I hope that helps!
[email protected]
teri harms says
Thank you for this information. . 1.Since I’m a vata, are you saying these are the foods I should eat now? 2. Has coffee always been allowed in moderation for vata’s? 3. Isn’t sesame oil excellent for vata’s & it’s not listed on this list or is it just good in wintertime?
Thank you for your help. “a new learner of ayervedic medicine”
John Douillard says
Hi Teri,
If you are primarily vata, DURING THE WINTER, you should be especially be focusing on the Winter Grocery List and vata-balancing activities:https://lifespa.com/winter-grocery-list-vata-balancing-diet/. The goal is to get all 3 doshas into balance, and not have one or two doshas way high or low. Regardless of your dosha, you should strive to be eating with the seasons. In about 2 weeks, we are publishing an article that will give you the superfoods for the spring for your primary dosha. Keep an eye out. And, yes you are correct about coffee being ok in moderation for vatas. Check out this article I wrote on coffee: https://lifespa.com/coffee-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ayurvedic-perspective/. Sesame oil is great for vatas as well, both for self-massage as well as for cooking with.
Hope this helps,
John
Amanda says
Do you have any ideas or resources for recipes that fit the seasonal foods?
John Douillard says
HI Amanda,
Yes, in fact, we have created a completely free 3-Season Diet Challenge that provides seasonal recipes and tons of other really cool seasonal eating information each month for a full year. You can sign up and learn more here: https://lifespa.com/3seasondietchallenge/. The recipes come from Food Network star, Emma Frisch. We also have a Recipes category on our site, where these seasonal recipes are being archived: https://lifespa.com/category/recipes/.
~ jen @ lifespa