Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan

Bg 17.9

kaṭv-amla-lavaṇāty-uṣṇa-
tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ
āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā
duḥkha-śokāmaya-pradāḥ

Synonyms: 

kaṭu — bitter; amla — sour; lavaṇa — salty; ati–uṣṇa — very hot; tīkṣṇa — pungent; rūkṣa — dry; vidāhinaḥ — burning; āhārāḥ — food; rājasasya — to one in the mode of passion; iṣṭāḥ — palatable; duḥkha — distress; śoka— misery; āmaya — disease; pradāḥ — causing.

Translation: 

Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning are dear to those in the mode of passion. Such foods cause distress, misery and disease.

 Here the words themselves are sharp, 

kaṭv-amla-lavaṇāty-uṣṇa-
tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ

the foods also are having that kind of characteristics 

kaṭu — bitter; amla — sour; lavaṇa — salty; ati–uṣṇa — very hot; tīkṣṇa — pungent; rūkṣa — dry; vidāhinaḥ — burning; āhārāḥ — food; rājasasya — to one in the mode of passion;

āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā, these foods are dear to the people in the mode of passion.

duḥkha-śokāmaya-pradāḥ, this cause distress ,misery and decease. 

Sometimes people are taking extremely spicy food so that even tears comes out and they says it is wonderful, what is wonderful here when tears are coming out. This is like people watching horror movie and feel stimulus. 

Now a days food contains excess of salt, sugar and spices which harms. 

After industrialization such problem has increase as for selling to make things more tasty they increase such ingredients, there are millions of people who are starving but millions of people are eating too much.

End of transcription.