Do you often feel irritated, hot, and hangry? Are you struggling with acne breakouts or skin rashes? Do you constantly feel tired due to sleepless nights? If this sounds like you, there might be an excess of pitta dosha in your body. According to Ayurveda, the world is made up of five elements – space, water, earth, fire and air. These elements combine into three doshas or energies in our body, namely, vata (air, space), pitta (fire, water), and kapha (earth, water). We all have a unique ratio of these doshas that determines our personality and health. But do you know what happens when fiery pitta takes the lead?

Related: Everything You Need To Know About Pitta Dosha And How To Balance It Naturally

How the excess of pitta affects our body

Consisting of fire and water elements, pitta is hot, sharp, acidic, and intense by nature. Its excess makes you edgy and overheated. The imbalance of pitta dosha causes indigestion, raises body temperature, and even disrupts your metabolism and mental state. Is there any simple way to balance pitta dosha naturally? Yes. You must avoid foods like salty buttermilk, spicy dishes, salted butter, cranberries, and grapefruit if you have pitta dosha. Here are some foods that you should eat to balance pitta dosha in your body.

1. Sweet and cooling fruits

While fruits are considered good for health, not all of them suit every body type. The consumption of citrus or warm fruits like oranges, berries, and mangoes triggers the acidic pitta. This will lead to increased heat, acidity, and irritation. So, you should consume fruits that are sweet and refreshing. Fruits like watermelon, dates, pomegranate, cherries, coconut, fig, avocado, prunes, pineapple, and raisins, will balance the pitta in your body.

2. Leafy green vegetables

If you have an imbalanced pitta dosha, avoid vegetables like raw onion, garlic, green olives, hot pepper, green chillies, raw beetroot, and tomato. Such vegetables are either citrusy or have high sulfur, leading to acidity or aggravating heat. Instead, you should eat veggies like broccoli, cabbage, sweet potato, sweet pepper, black olives, lettuce, and kale. You can consume boiled or cooked onions, beetroot, radish, and carrots. This will reduce their heat and pungency, aiding in better digestion.

3. Spices with cooling properties

Warm spices trigger the heating nature of pitta. This is why people with imbalanced pitta experience hot flashes after eating spicy foods. So, avoid dishes that have a lot of chilli, black pepper, and salt. Consuming cinnamon, cumin, cloves, cardamom, fennel, turmeric, and saffron is preferable.

4. Selective dairy products

Unsalted and sweet milk-based products are the most suitable for people with pitta dosha. Sweet lassi, sweet cream, sweet yoghurt, and homemade ghee from milk improve digestion. You must avoid salty butter, sour buttermilk, sour curd, and sour cream.

5. Nuts and oils

If you’re dealing with pitta dosha, you must avoid all types of nuts as they are warm and oily. Their consumption will increase the heat in your body, causing skin conditions. If you love nuts, you can eat them in moderation once in a while. Similarly, avoid warm edible oils obtained from nuts and seeds like almond, sunflower, and sesame. Instead, include ghee, coconut oil, and olive oil in your meals to balance the pitta dosha. Their cooling nature will calm your body’s excessive heat.

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Related: What’s Your Ayurvedic Dosha? Take This Quiz To Find Out