Ayurveda’s three doshas—vata, pitta and kapha—are made of a combination of the five elements—air, ether, earth, fire and water. And, the fire element (or, tejos in Sanskrit, but also called agnis in the body) is the source of the Pitta Dosha.
This is the second installment of three in the Ayurveda Nutrition Series, so if you missed Vata Dosha (Part 1 of 3), please check it out now. In this article, we explore the pitta dosha for an understanding of this mind-body type, along with pitta dosha dietary guidelines with a few recipes you can reference and use to keep your pitta dosha in check.
Do you know your most active dosha? All your doshas are important to understand, but knowing which plays the biggest role in your life is important. To learn what your dosha is, there are several online quizzes, such as this popular, free dosha quiz from Dr. Deepak Chopra.
Pitta Dosha
Pitta Dosha comprises of the single element, fire, which makes it a powerful dosha for many reasons. And, if Pitta is your predominant dosha, you likely have a fiery personality! As it manages all things that are derived and powered by heat in your body, including body heat (i.e., thermoregulation), metabolism, digestion, and energy, you are keen to pay attention to how your pitta dosha is interacting diligently with your other doshas.
Pitta dosha governs
- Alochaka pitta—eyes;
- Bhrajaka pitta—epidermal (skin) health;
- Pachaka pitta—decision-making, desire, motivation, and spirit;
- Ranjaka pitta—digestion, metabolizing of nutrients; and,
- Sadhaka pitta—blood-purifying functions, including fighting any rheumatism.
Once you understand what pitta dosha does, now you can become more aware of when it is not operating optimally for you. If these systems go into overdrive or awry, these are commonly linked to pitta dosha:
- (alochaka) your eyes become bloodshot or your vision becomes impaired;
- (bhrajaka) your skin breaks out in acne or rashes;
- (pachaka) you exhibit controlling behaviors, perfectionism, or workaholism;
- (ranjaka) your stomach becomes acidic; or,
- (sadhaka) you feel anger, your hair follicles begin to gray prematurely, and you experience rheumatic symptoms.
If any or a combination of these symptoms crop up, it’s time to look at these upcoming guidelines to combat your overactive or unreactive pitta dosha.
Guidelines for Balancing Pitta Dosha
Pitta-balancing nutrition has the counteracting qualities of pitta, so they tend to be cool, hearty, dry and carbohydrate-rich foods. These foods help to calm the heat from your pitta dosha, are anti-inflammatory, balancing your digestive tract, and absorbing excess liquids and oil in the body. Be mindful of pitta-activating foods and whether those are causing you discomfort so you can make small changes in your nutrition moving forward; no harsh or abrupt changes so you can monitor closely what changes impact your health.
Too much pitta dosha can be bad for your digestion, especially during the summer season when heat accumulates in the body. Pitta-pacifying foods can be raw or cooked, but are cooling in nature, especially in warmer months of the year. And, the inverse is therefore true, that you should avoid dishes that are warming, alcohol and caffeine.
At the beginning, you can gravitate toward grains, milk, butter and ghee (but not cheese, cultured buttermilk, sour cream, or yogurt), root vegetables, seeds, and cooling oils (such as coconut oil). Beans, oats, pasta, popcorn, potatoes, and most vegetables are all going to help you with balancing your pitta dosha. You will benefit from astringent (dryness), sweet and bitter tastes that come from sweet fruits, whole grains, squashes, and (again) those root vegetables. For further guidance, see this resource list of pitta-stabilizing foods.
Let’s look at some pitta dosha recipes that can help you keep your fire just the right flame.
Pitta Dosha Recipes from around the Web
Breakfast
Pitta Tea Recipe – There’s nothing like waking up to too much pitta dosha. So, to soothe that, here’s a lovely tea recipe to calm your pitta and start your day well.
Cinnamon Oatmeal with Almonds & Milk – When you need to start your day with a wholesome pitta-pacifying meal, this cinnamon oatmeal with almonds and milk breakfast is the answer.
Lunch/Dinner
Summer Pasta for Pitta – From the cookbook, Heaven’s Banquet: Vegetarian Cooking for Lifelong Health the Ayurveda Way by Miriam Kasin Hospodar, this pasta dish is not only easy to make, but it is great to make in the summer when your pitta will be hottest.
Sweet Potato with Kale & Ginger – Another easy-to-make, five-ingredient recipe is nutrient-packed while helping to maintain your pitta dosha through the afternoon and evening hours.
Find more pitta dosha recipes here and experiment with what will balance your pitta when needed.
Tempering your pitta passions are not exclusively dietary, so remember that these guidelines need to match your emotional and spiritual states too. Remember to stay away, as best as you can, from canned and processed food as they may not have all the nutrients you’re looking for during an overactive pitta period.
In our final installment we will be covering kapha dosha and how to keep your kapha dosha working for you through the day and night.