CHAPTER
16

Breaking Down Digestion

In This Chapter

When most of us think of digestion, we envision food going into our mouths, doing something in our bellies, and somehow ending up in the toilet. We aren’t really sure what went on between those two very different stages but just know our guts have been up to something.

Digestion is a very tricky process, and sort of a miracle when you think about it. It takes your food and somehow turns it into your organs, brain, and energy. Pretty incredible if you ask me!

Ayurveda sees this miracle as the center of your entire well-being. It actually breaks down digestion into six unique stages, each lasting about 1-hour. Additionally, each stage is related to one of the six tastes mentioned in Chapter 15 and a Dosha. Everything in Ayurveda is so perfectly orchestrated, and the more you learn about it, the more you see the synchronicities.

In this chapter, I explain the six stages of digestion, the taste and Dosha each are related to, and what happens after you digest your food.

The Six Stages of Digestion

The moment you put food in your mouth, the digestive process begins, and lasts approximately 6 hours, depending on what you ate. Ayurveda breaks down this entire process into six stages, each related to a taste. These stages are madhura avastha paka (sweet stage), amla avastha paka (sour stage), lavana avastha paka (salty stage), katu avastha paka (pungent stage), tikta avastha paka (bitter stage), and kashaya avastha paka (astringent stage).

These stages are related to the Doshas as well. The first two stages, sweet and sour, are related to Kapha because they are the heaviest. The next two stages, salty and pungent, are related to Pitta because they are when the stomach and intestines digest the food. The last two stages, bitter and astringent, are related to Vata because they are when the body becomes light again. Everyone go through all six stages, regardless of what their Dosha is.

Wisdom of the Ages

There are six stages of digestion, just as there are six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent. In fact, the stages and tastes are related to one another.

Understanding the six stages of digestion helps you better understand your body. Oftentimes, you eat again before completing all six stages, causing digestive issues, toxic accumulation, and constipation. In this section, I break down each of the stages so you can get a glimpse of all the hard work your body has been up to and learn how to heal it if it gets a bit backed up.

Madhura Avastha Paka (Sweet Stage)

The first stage of digestion begins the moment food enters your mouth. According to Ayurveda, digestion starts as soon as your saliva and food meet. Your saliva begins the process of breaking down the food particles, which is why it’s important to chew mindfully and thoroughly to give your saliva time to work.

In the first hour, you absorb your food’s simple sugars and your blood sugar rises, which is why it’s considered the sweet stage. The sweet stage is related to the Kapha Dosha because you often feel full and heavy after eating. Your earth and water elements increase, making you feel sedentary and sometimes a bit bloated after eating, especially after a big meal. However, if you eat the right amount, you’ll just feel happily full and satisfied. That’s why you feel so peaceful after a good meal—your Kapha is up!

Amla Avastha Paka (Sour Stage)

The second stage of digestion is when hydrochloric acid in your stomach takes over to begin the digestive process. While carbohydrate and lipid digestion begins in the mouth, protein breakdown begins in the stomach. The stomach produces hydrochloric acid to denature the protein, destroy any bacteria/virus in the food and convert the digestive enzyme pepsinogen into its active version pepsin.

The second part of digestion is called the sour stage because your food becomes sour in your stomach. The stomach becomes extremely acidic to destroy any potential pathogens in your food, which is related to the Pitta Dosha. That’s why those with a lot of Pitta have high levels of stomach acid and eating animal proteins boost it up.

At the same time, your stomach has to protect it’s lining from the acid to prevent ulcers and other digestive issues, which is related to Kapha. For this reason, the salty stage is related to both Pitta and Kapha, as Pitta creates the acid and Kapha protects the stomach lining.

At this state of digestion, you may still feel a bit full and can sense the food in your stomach, although much less than you could during the first hour. This stage is comprised of both fire and earth energy; Pitta is fire, and Kapha is earth.

Wisdom of the Ages

If you eat excess acidic foods like meat without counterbalancing them with alkalizing foods, especially those high in protective Kapha energy like root vegetables, you may experience hyperacidity.

If you’ve ever broken out in hives or a rash after a meal, it was during the sour stage. The sour stage is when Pitta imbalances such as rashes, itching, and eczema take place.

Lavana Avastha Paka (Salty Stage)

The third stage of digestion is the salty stage. The food, now covered in stomach acid for about 30-60 minutes, enters the first part of your small intestine, called the duodenum. The duodenum prepares the partially digested food for absorption in the small intestine. The innermost layer, the mucosa, secretes alkaline mucus to neutralize the hydrochloric acid in the partially digested food. The food then mixes with bile from the liver and gallbladder, as well as pancreatic juices made by the pancreas to further breakdown the food. Peristalsis takes place, which are smooth waves of stomach contractions to push food through the duodenum, towards the jejunum. It takes about one hour for the food to travel the length of the duodenum.

This powerful stage of digestion is fully Pitta, comprised of fire and water elements. Your acidic food (fire) mixes with bile (fire) and pancreatic enzymes (water). The food is considered “salty” because of the meeting of the acidic food and alkaline digestive juices, like salt water.

The salty stage is extremely important because it’s when you digest the carbohydrates, protein, and fats from your food. The pancreas secretes pancreatic juices that contain digestive enzymes: proteases, including trypsin and chymotrypsin, pancreatic lipase and amylase. Proteases digest proteins, while pancreatic lipase digests fats and amylase digests carbohydrates. Bicarbonate neutralizes the acid

Ayurvedic Alert

It’s in the salty stage of digestion that you must maintain a healthy electrolyte balance to prevent swelling, edema, or low kidney function, which are symptoms of insufficient or excess salt. Be weary of your sodium intake—you want to make sure you don’t have too much or too little.

Katu Avastha Paka (Pungent Stage)

The fourth stage of digestion is the pungent stage and takes place in the jejunum, the next part of your small intestine. This stage is also related to the Pitta Dosha yet transitions into Vata, comprised of both fire and air energy. At this stage, your food is a yellow-brown color and filled with enzymes that have broken it down. This stage is hot, sharp, and subtle in quality.

If you have excess Pitta, the pungent stage is when you may experience overheating, hemorrhoids, skin rashes, or bleeding disorders due to excess fire. If you have excess Vata, you may experience gas and bloating due to excess air.

Tikta Avastha Paka (Bitter Stage)

The fifth stage of digestion is the bitter stage. The food has now traveled down to the final and longest portion of your small intestine, the ileum. It further digests with the help of air and ether, which govern movement and assimilation.

Air stimulates peristalsis, the involuntary constriction and relaxation of the intestinal muscles pushing the food down your intestines. Ether aids in the absorption of nutrients through the villi of the ileum wall.

During this stage, you often think you’re hungry due to the light nature of the air and ether elements. However, it’s important not to eat again until your body is done digesting your last meal so full absorption can occur.

Ayurvedic Alert

You may think you’re hungry during the bitter stage of digestion when your stomach has started to lighten up. Do not make the mistake of eating until you have fully digested! If you put more food in your body before your last meal has been fully digested, you’ll experience symptoms of toxic overload, including constipation, bloating, acne, and other digestive-related issues.

You may feel cold during this stage due to an increase of Vata energy.

Kashaya Avastha Paka (Astringent Stage)

The sixth and final stage of digestion is astringent. This stage is when you come full circle, your body has absorbed all the nutrients from your food, and the food has now turned into waste. This stage is comprised of both air and earth elements. Air causes peristalsis to push the food along your intestines, while earth creates the bulk of the stool.

In this stage, the food enters the cecum and the liquid foodstuff takes shape as it passes through the colon, preparing for elimination. Your stool not only contains food waste but other toxins from your body as well. After the food has been expelled, you begin to feel hungry again.

To make things more clear, the following table breaks down the stages of digestion and related information.

Six Stages of Digestion

Tips for Healthy Digestion

Now that you know the six stages of digestion and the actions that occur during each, you can appreciate how complex the digestive process really is. Your body is performing many tasks just to turn that salad into nutrients, and you can help it work more efficiently.

You might be doing things you think are healthy, like eating small meals throughout the day, that actually can be causing digestive problems. I explain how to avoid these potential disasters in this section. I also share how you can look out for a key indicator of your digestive health—one you probably are purposely overlooking.

Don’t Snack Throughout the Day

Each of the six stages of digestion has a very important process that needs to be executed completely before moving on to the next. However, what happens if you keep eating throughout the day, like many Americans do? Your digestion will suffer, and your health will deteriorate.

Ayurveda is very against the snacking culture that exists today. It isn’t good for you.

Nowadays, everywhere you go, people seem to be eating—while walking down the street, on public transportation, at their desk, at the gym, even while stuck in traffic. It seems like everywhere we go people have a smartphone in one hand and a snack in another. We have turned into a culture that revolves around food, yet with so little appreciation or knowledge about what we are putting into our mouths.

You’ve been taught to eat around the clock. In fact, the most health-conscious people are the ones eating the most often because the latest health fad calls for eating five to seven smaller meals a day to “keep your metabolism going.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. That actually hampers the digestive system and eventually leads to an even more sluggish metabolism, not to mention health imbalances.

Your body is designed to eat a meal, fully digest it, and then let you know when it’s time to eat again. However, many people are too busy shoving food into their mouths to even know whether they actually are hungry or not. Eating has become a habit. But if you are constantly eating around the clock, you don’t let your body perform the necessary six stages, which can cause toxic accumulation.

Ayurvedic Alert

By continually eating, you keep returning to stage one, the sweet Kapha stage of digestion. This suspends your body in a state of heaviness and promotes weight gain, lethargy, and water retention. If you don’t wait the full length of the digestive process, you will never make it to the lightening bitter and astringent stages, when detoxification occurs.

The bitter stage is often when people eat again because they think they’re hungry. What’s really happening is your body is finally entering Vata stage so you feel lighter and emptier. It’s easy to confuse that with hunger, especially if you’re used to feeling full all the time. However, you have to let your body go through those final phases so it can detoxify the food waste in your system.

Wisdom of the Ages

Be sure to eat a meal substantial enough that you don’t feel like you have to snack again 2 hours after. Each meal should contain all six tastes—sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. For example, a bowl of brown rice with vegetables sautéed in sesame oil, ginger, turmeric, and sea salt fulfills all six tastes, preventing you from craving more.

Schedule Your Digestion According to Your Dosha

We don’t all digest food at the same rate. The rate of your digestion is affected by your Doshic constitution.

Pittas digest food faster and need timely meals or they become angry. They can eat every 4 hours and sometimes even get an acidic feeling in their stomach if it’s left empty for too long. If Pittas eat before their digestive process has finished, they’ll experience heartburn, ulcers, inflammation, and excess heat in the system. They don’t do well with missing a meal because of their sharp appetites, which is why they should stick to their eating schedule.

Vatas have a variable digestive fire and should organize an eating routine so their bodies know when to expect food. They should wait 4 to 6 hours between meals. If Vatas eat before their digestive process has finished, they’ll experience bloating, gas, and constipation due to excess buildup. Vatas, who tend to be grazers, should be sure they are eating meals substantial enough that they don’t feel hungry in between. Protein and healthy fats, such as nuts and mung beans, are important to keep Vatas nourished and sustained.

Kaphas digest food the slowest and may be good with just two meals a day. They should wait a full 6 hours or until they truly are hungry before eating again. If Kaphas eat before their digestive process has finished, they’ll experience lethargy, sluggish metabolism, water retention, and weight gain. Kaphas especially need to go through the two last stages of digestion, bitter and astringent. They cannot get away with snacking between meals because it will really add up for them. Their blood sugar levels are more sensitive than the other Doshas, attributing to weight gain. By constantly snacking, they’ll remain in stage one, the sweet stage.

Kaphas should have a light breakfast and dinner and make lunch their biggest meal of the day. If they aren’t hungry for breakfast or dinner, they can skip it. Their bodies store a lot of energy as body mass, so they are fine without a constant influx of calories and actually can benefit from fasting.

Knowing your Doshic constitution can help you determine how often you should be eating so you can allow your body to undergo the six stages. If you are somewhere in between two Doshas, follow the suggestions for that which is imbalanced:

Wisdom of the Ages

Kapha imbalance: If you are struggling to lose weight and have a sluggish metabolism, you are best eating less frequently, perhaps one or two meals a day.

Pitta imbalance: If you have a sharp appetite and get an acidic feeling or sharp hunger pain when you don’t eat, eat regularly every 4 hours.

Vata imbalance: If you have a variable appetite, sometimes feeling hungry and other times not at all, set up a routine so your body knows when to expect food, every 4 to 6 hours.

Notice Your Bodily Cues

Notice your body’s signals for hunger. Rather than eating just because you are tired, you’re bored, or it’s dinnertime, ask your body if it physically needs food.

Before you eat, ask yourself these questions: When did I last eat? Is my stomach grumbling? Am I eating due to physical hunger or an emotional need? Have I waited until the last meal has fully digested? Am I able to sit down and mindfully enjoy this meal?

If it’s been 4 to 6 hours, you are physically hungry, and your answer to most of these questions is yes, then by all means eat and enjoy! However, if you just ate 2 hours ago and you aren’t really hungry but rather just craving something sweet or salty, you’ll inhibit your digestive process if you eat again. Wait until your body has fully digested before introducing more food in your system.

Subtract Before Adding

“Subtract before adding” means eliminating before you add more food to your system. Healthy bowels are key to a healthy body. Bowel movements result when your food has been fully digested, the nutrients have been absorbed, and the waste is eliminated.

Most people don’t pay their stools much attention or even talk about them, but they’re a daily indicator of their health. You should ideally be evacuating at least twice a day, with smooth, formed bowels. A healthy bowel movement has a smooth consistency and a light brown color, maintains its shape after being eliminated, floats, only has a mild odor, and does not stick to the toilet.

Don’t be embarrassed if your stool is less than perfect. Most people’s stools don’t match these criteria. Do keep in mind it gives you an awareness of exactly what is going on in your body.

Your stool is like a stethoscope for your health. If your bowel movements are not up to par, there’s something deeper going on inside of you that needs to be addressed. Instead of ignoring your bowels like they don’t exist, pay attention to them and treat your body accordingly.