Ayurvedic Nutrition and Your Dosha: The Healthy Summer List

Excerpt from Healthy Happy Sexy

by Katie Silcox

The Healthy Summer List—Reduces Pitta

Everyone can eat from the pitta-reducing list if it is summer and they are healthy. You may also choose to eat from this list when you need more cooling, drying, grounding, spaciousness in your body. This list is a medicine for most people who suffer from inflammation, hyperacidity, anger, intensity, overheated body, loose stools, acne, skin rash, or other pitta conditions.

Basic idea: Increase the sweet, bitter, and astringent tastes.
Avoid: Pungent (hot), sour, salty tastes

Grains

It is best to eat these grains cooked.

Best: Barley, white basmati rice, millet, oats, white rice, unprocessed whole wheat
Small amounts: Brown rice
Avoid: Buckwheat, corn flour

Dairy

Best: Unsalted butter, cottage cheese, cream cheese, ghee, milk
Small amounts: Hard unsalted cheeses
Avoid: Buttermilk, salted cheeses, sour cream, kefir, cultured milks, yogurt

Sweeteners

Best: Maple syrup, rice syrup
Small amounts: Honey
Avoid: Molasses, raw sugar, white sugar

Oils

Best: Ghee, olive
Small amounts: Avocado, canola, corn, coconut, soy, sunflower
Avoid:Almond, castor, flaxseed, margarine, mustard, peanut, safflower, sesame

Fruits

Best: Apples, avocados, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, coconut, cranberries, dates, dried fruit, figs, grapes, lemons, limes, nectarines, pineapple, prunes, raisins, raspberries, strawberries
Small amounts: Apricots, bananas (very ripe only), cherries, grapefruit, oranges, pineapple
Avoid:All sour fruits, such as sour oranges (mandarin), sour pineapple, sour plums, papaya, olives, tangerines, and all unripe fruit

Vegetables

Vegetables should be eaten cooked in the winter. But pitta types can get away with eating them raw in the summer. Fresh green vegetable juices are also good for pitta.

Best: Alfalfa sprouts, artichoke, asparagus, bean sprouts, bell peppers, bitter melon, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cilantro, cress, cucumber, green peppers, kale, leafy greens, lettuce, mushrooms, onions (well cooked), peas, pumpkin, seaweed, squash, zucchini
Small amounts: Avocado, beets, carrots, corn, eggplant, garlic (well cooked), parsley, potatoes, spinach, sweet potatoes, vine-ripened tomatoes
Avoid: Chilies, hot peppers, mustard greens, onion (raw), radishes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and any hot or pungent vegetable

Nuts and Seeds

Best: Coconut, sunflower, pumpkin seeds
Small amounts: Pine nuts, sesame seeds
Avoid: Almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, peanuts, and any other nut not mentioned

Meats

If you choose to eat meat, limit consumption to 2–3 times per week.

Best: Chicken, egg whites, freshwater fish (trout), turkey
Small amounts: Beef, duck, egg yolk, lamb, pork, sea fish, venison, any other red meat

Legumes

Best: Black lentils, chickpeas, mung beans, split peas, soybeans (soy products), tofu
Small amounts: Aduki beans, kidney beans, navy beans, pinto beans
Avoid:Red and yellow lentils

Spices

Best: Cardamom, chamomile, coconut, coriander, dill, fennel, lemon verbena, peppermint, saffron, spearmint, turmeric
Small amounts: Basil, bay leaf, black pepper, caraway, cinnamon, cumin, ginger (fresh), oregano, rosemary, thyme
Avoid:Anise, asafetida, calamus, cayenne pepper, cloves, fenugreek, garlic (raw), ginger (dry), horseradish, hyssop, marjoram, mustard seeds, nutmeg, poppy seeds, sage, star anise

Condiments

Best: Carob sweetened with the best sweeteners noted above
Small amounts: Mayonnaise, sweet mustards
Avoid:Chocolate, salt, vinegar

Beverages

Best: Water, milk, coconut milk, coconut water, bitter and astringent herb teas such as alfalfa, chicory, dandelion, hibiscus, and strawberry leaf, wheatgrass, and other green juices
Small amounts: Chai tea or black tea, fruit juice diluted by half with water
Avoid: Alcohol, carbonated water, coffee, sweet fruit juices, spicy herb teas, soft drinks, tomato juice