Pitta - Dosha (Fire & Water)

Pitta dosha governs metabolism and transformation in the body. Answer these questions to see if you need to balance Pitta.

• Do you tend to be demanding or critical?
• Are you often frustrated, angry or intense?
• Is your skin ruddy and prone to rashes and eruptions?
• Are you often irritable or impatient?
• Is your hair prematurely gray or thinning?
• Do you wake up in the early hours and find it difficult to fall asleep again?
• Do you feel discomfort in hot weather?
• Are you a perfectionist?
• Do you experience hot flashes?
• Do you have excess stomach acid?
• Do you experience loose bowel movements?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, you need to balance Pitta.

• All Pitta products: drink Organic Pitta Tea and season meals with Organic Pitta Churna; practice cooling aromatherapy with Pitta Aroma Oil.
• Keep cool. Avoid hot temperatures and food.
• Favor cool, heavy, dry foods and sweet, bitter and astringent tastes.
• Reduce pungent, sour, salty tastes and warm, oily and light foods.
• Moderation; don't overwork.
• Allow for leisure time.
• Regular mealtimes, especially lunch at noon.
• Abhyanga (ayurvedic oil massage) with a cooling oil such as coconut.

• Dairy. Milk, butter and ghee are good for pacifying Pitta. Reduce yogurt, cheese, sour cream and cultured buttermilk (their sour tastes aggravate Pitta).
• Sweeteners. All sweeteners are good except honey and molasses.
• Oils. Olive, sunflower and coconut oils are best. Reduce sesame, almond and corn oil, all of which increase Pitta.
• Fruits. Favor sweet fruits, such as grapes, cherries, melons, avocados, coconuts, pomegranates, mangos, and sweet, fully-ripened oranges, pineapples and plums. Reduce sour fruits such as grapefruits, olives, papayas, and unripe pineapples and plums.
• Vegetables. Favor asparagus, cucumbers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green leafy vegetables, pumpkins, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, okra, lettuce, green beans and zucchini. Reduce hot peppers, tomatoes, carrots, beets, onions, garlic, radishes and spinach.
• Spices. Cinnamon, coriander, cardamom and fennel are all right. But the following spices strongly increase Pitta and should be taken only in small amounts: ginger, cumin, black pepper, fenugreek, clove, celery seed, salt and mustard seed. Chili peppers and cayenne should be avoided.

• Alochaka Pitta: Functioning of the eyes.
• Bhrajaka Pitta: Healthy glow of the skin.
• Sadhaka Pitta: Desire, drive, decisiveness, spirituality.
• Pachaka Pitta: Digestion, assimilation, metabolism for healthy nutrients and tissues.
• Ranjaka Pitta: Healthy, toxin-free blood.

• Alochaka Pitta: Bloodshot eyes, poor vision.
• Bhrajaka Pitta: Skin rashes, acne.
• Sadhaka Pitta: Demanding, perfectionist, workaholic.
• Pachaka Pitta: Acid stomach.
• Ranjaka Pitta: Early graying, anger, toxins in blood