Sweet (wet, cold, heavy)

The sweet taste is the flavour of sugars such as glucose, sucrose, fructose, maltose, and lactose and can be found in many carbohydrates, fats and proteins. But the sweet taste is often more subtle than we might initially imagine. For instance, rice and milk are predominantly sweet and many herbs have the qualities of sweet as demuculents and emollients.

Sweet taste is good for Vata and Pitta and aggravates Kapha. It is the earth and water element being nourishing, cooling, heavy, cold, soft and grounding.

The sweet taste benefits the mucus membranes throughout the body, including those lining the mouth, the lungs, the GI tract, the urinary tract, and the reproductive system. This taste is strengthening, nutritive, energizing, tonic, and soothing to the mind. In fact, the sweet taste is often used to enhance clarity and awareness in spiritual realms. It also relieves thirst, soothes burning sensations, and has a sustained cooling effect on the body. The sweet taste benefits the skin, hair, and complexion, hastens the repair of wounds, is pleasing to the senses, and lends melodious qualities to the voice. It also enhances the integrity of the immune system, improves longevity, and ultimately, increases ojas.