Ayurveda for Summer

Summer is hot, bright and the time when Pitta Dosha dominates the constitution. Pitta Dosha is composed of the elements Fire & Water and as the environment around us heats up, so Pitta Dosha will increase within us - remember one of the golden rules of Ayurveda ‘like increases like’. For people with a predominantly Pitta constitution, Summer can be a particularly uncomfortable time. For those with more Vata and Kapha constitutions, there will be a relief in the heat which comes with Summer. If you’re in balance you should naturally start to crave cool, refreshing and light foods - tune in and see what nature has to offer, Pitta season foods will be in abundance all around us. Below is a guide to help you through this wonderful season with ease.

Signs of Pitta aggravation

  • diarrhoea

  • anger/irritability

  • skin rashes or burning/itching of the eyes

  • indigestion/acid reflux

General guidelines to pacify Pitta

  • Introduce cooling, neutralising, relaxing and drying foods and activities

  • Reduce heating, acidic, intense and oily foods and activities

  • Increase foods with the tastes sweet, bitter & astringent

  • Reduce foods with the tastes sour, salty & spicy

  • Wear clothes favouring the colours white, blue green (think light & airy)

  • Keep cool when practising yoga or other exercises and rest more in between postures. Moon salutations, left nostril breathing and shitali breath are all excellent for pacifying Pitta. Swimming and walking in the outdoors are perfect at this time

  • Don’t detox or fast during the Summer. If Pitta becomes excessively high you can do a gentle purgation using ghee and castor oil followed by water basti (see a practitioner for this)

  • Lassis are particularly helpful for reducing Pitta. This is 1/4 yoghurt and 3/4 water whisked up. Add rose water to make this especially beneficial for Pitta. Yum

  • Switch to coconut oil for your Abhyanga (unless you feel cold even in summer) and add a few drops of sandalwood, jasmine, lavender or rose essential oils

  • A pure rose water facial mist is lovely and can even be dropped in the eyes after you’ve splashed them with cold water first thing

  • Make sure showers and baths are cool and avoid salts in the bath at this time, better with a mix of your coconut oil with essential oils

  • Stay out of the midday sun

  • Drink lots of room temp water, no iced, cold drinks

Foods to favour

  • Bitter & astringent vegetables - think broccoli, dark leafy greens, celery, green beans and courgette

  • Sweet dairy like milk & ghee (no sour dairy or fermented drinks)

  • Light grains like quinoa, white basmati rice & barley (Kitchari is ideal)

  • Sweet, light fruits like grapes, stoned fruit, pomegranate, melons, limes and grapes

  • Light proteins like mung beans (whole and split yellow), tofu, and white meat and fish

  • All coconut products

  • cooling spices like fennel, coriander, cardamom, mint, turmeric

  • Take 30-60 mls of pure Aloe Vera juice on an empty tummy in the morning

Foods to reduce

  • Spicy food

  • Coffee

  • All fermented food (inc vinegar) or sour dairy

  • Alcohol (hard spirits and red wine are the worst offenders, try beer or cool white wine)

  • Salty food

  • Raw tomatoes

  • Raw onion

  • Red meat

  • Egg yolks

  • Orange juice (too acidic)

  • Foods which heat the body like chillies, sour tomatoes, honey

  • Anything fried or oily

Summer Shopping List

  • Avocado, beetroot, corn, cucumber, fennel, lettuce, courgette

  • Parsley, coriander, thyme, basil, mint, dill

  • Cardamom, coriander, fennel, turmeric

  • Apples, berries, coconuts, dates, melons, peaches, plums

  • Barley, quinoa, white basmati rice, mung dal

  • Chickpeas, white beans

  • Coconut oil, ghee

  • Goats cheese, home made yoghurt

  • Chickpea flour

  • Rose water, coconut water

Happy Summer!

Mairead Moodie