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Cooling Foods in Ayurveda

Updated: Sep 3

Cooling foods to reduce Pitta, heat in your body and mind. Learn how to eat and drink your way out of excess Pitta.

woman with an armful of freshy picked zucchini

Explore more on the Saumya Blog, selected top Ayurveda blogs and websites to watch.


Explore More on Pitta:

How to Cool Pitta and Reduce Body Heat with Ayurveda Ayurveda Treatment for Heartburn, Acid Reflux and GERD Hot List of Common Pitta Imbalances



Cooling Foods in Ayurveda


It’s been a long, sweaty, smokey, hot summer and Pitta may have accumulated in your body and mind.


It’s time to alleviate that excess heat with cooling foods in Ayurveda. Before we learn how to to reduce excess heat from the body and mind with Ayurveda, let's learn about where this heat comes from and how it manifests in the mind and body.


Which Dosha is Responsible for Body Heat?


In Ayurveda, Pitta dosha is responsible for body heat. Pitta is described as hot, sharp, oily, and penetrating. When fiery Pitta flares up – we burn up and burn out. That’s why reducing body heat with Ayurveda starts with reducing Pitta dosha.

Pitta heat manifests in many ways, including inflammation, skin conditions, migraines, acid reflux, loose stools, nausea, constipation, body odor, excessive sweating, unpleasant menstrual cycles, burn-out, and more. Beyond physical symptoms, Pitta shows up as mental heat – think short-fuses, hot tempers, burn-out, and fatigue.


Signs of Pitta Imbalance in the body and mind:


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woman overheating and fanning herself

Believe it or not, it’s easy to get heat out of the body with Ayurveda. Here are some ways to eat your way out of excess Pitta.


How to Cool Pitta and Reduce Body Heat with Ayurveda


Eat Cooling, Pitta-Reducing Foods

Your diet is one of the best ways to reduce body heat with Ayurveda. Foods with high water content, like watermelon and cucumber, can be both cooling and hydrating. You may want to start making your own green juices as well. Make a point of eating around noon, when your digestive fire is strongest. It's important to feed that fire, so you don’t burn up!


Along the same lines, you'll want to avoid foods that will heat up your body. Ingredients that can warm your body include chili, garlic, and most citrus fruits. If you normally enjoy hot beverages like tea, allow them to cool to room temperature before you drink them. While ice-cold drinks may seem like a great way to cool off, you should stay away from these beverages as well. Overly cold beverages can inhibit digestion, which can lead to overheating and discomfort.


Enjoy our popular article How to Cool Pitta and Reduce Body Heat with Ayurveda

bowl of zucchini pasta

What foods cool down the body (and mind) by reducing Pitta dosha?

List of Cooling Ayurvedic Foods

  • Water-Rich Foods (Cucumber, asparagus, squash, zucchini, celery, etc.)

  • Beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cilantro, green beans, okra, parsnip, peas, potatoes, and rutabaga

  • Bitter greens (Dandelion greens, kale, spinach, chard, and beet greens. Avoid mustard greens)

  • Juicy Fruits (Mango, Papaya, Grapes, etc.)

  • Berries (Strawberries, Raspberries, Cherries, etc.)

  • Melon (Watermelon, Muskmelon, Cantaloupe)

  • Whole Grains (Rice, Quinoa, Oats, etc.)

  • Dairy (milk, butter, ghee)

  • Coconut

  • Almonds (soaked and peeled)

  • Moong dal (sprouted whole green moong makes a great cooling snack, or yellow moong dal)

  • Flax seed (cooling and helps relieve constipation)

  • Cooling Herbs (Dill, Cilantro, Corrainder, Rose)


rose pistachio kheer pudding

List of Cooling Ayurvedic Recipes


Enjoy Saumya Ayurveda's Online Pitta Recipe Box

mango smoothie

List of Cooling Ayurvedic Drinks


cucumber limeade

Cooling Foods in Ayurveda can reduce Pitta, heat and help you start feeling your best.


man chilling out in a  hammock

More Tools to Help Your Maintain or Regain Your Cool

  1. Eat Cooling, Pitta-Reducing Foods

  2. Do Light Exercise in the Morning or Evening as part of your Ayurvedic daily routine

  3. Reduce Pitta with Ayurvedic Oil Massage

  4. Dress in Pitta-Cooling Clothing

  5. Hydrate with Cooling Herbs

  6. Reduce Intensity in the Mind and Life

  7. Practice Pranayama Breathwork

  8. Find Relief and focus with our Nasya Oil

  9. Our Free Guided Practices


Saumya Ayurveda's 3 step s for transforming your daily life image of a woman meditating by a lake

There is a saying, "The mind is more in the body, than the body is in the mind." The Saumya 3 step meditation process shifts us from fight-flight-freeze mode, to rest-restore-relax mode. Give it a try for forty days and observe the changes. The more grounded and relaxed we are, the smoother life flows.


"The breath is the connection between the mind and body, so by training the breath, we become calm, focused, and grounded, we slow down the aging process by decreasing stress. These practices are so simple and easy to have as part of our daily life. We actually feel and look younger."

- Veena, Saumya Ayurveda


1. Learn Diaphragmatic Breathing and Change Your Life. When we re-learn to breath diaphragmatically, we move from the flight-fight-freeze mode, to rest, restore, relaxation mode from where we want and need to live.

2. Daily Guided Practices: 11 minutes in the morning and in the evening, as anchors of your daily Ayurveda routine.


3. Ayurveda Daily Routines: --Ayurvedic Morning Routine | 6 Rituals for a Calm and Centered Day

--10 Ayurvedic Evening Rituals for a Calming Night


"Choose a couple of practices from the routines that provide you with the greatest support. Perform them while applying our two minute meditation technique and your mundane tasks, just transformed into a mellifluous meditation. This is meditation applied to daily life." - Veena, Saumya Ayurveda

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---Chris Schirber, Yoga Teacher, Minnesota


 

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Veena at Saumya Ayurveda

Veena is a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and meditation teacher, and monk.


She is President Emeritus of the Meditation Center and former staff member of the Minnesota Institute of Ayurveda.


Veena fell in love with the traditional medicine used in her family’s home learning herbal remedies at her grandmother's knee. She remains passionate for over 30 years, helping clients feel their best physically, emotionally, and spiritually with Ayurveda.


Veena individualizes treatment plans to each person, rather than offering a one-size-fits-all approach, so it fits your life and becomes woven into your daily life, naturally.

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