In ayurveda, foods are classified into six tastes (rasas)--sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. Many foods have more than one taste--Amla, the Indian Gooseberry, for example, contains five of these six tastes: all except salty, and turmeric contains three--bitter, pungent and astringent. Ayurvedic healers recommend that you include all of these six tastes at each main meal you eat.