Cooling Foods in Ayurveda
Updated: Aug 17
Cooling foods to reduce Pitta, heat in your body and mind. 🪭 Learn how to eat and drink your way out of excess Pitta. Food IS medicine.
Explore more on the Saumya Blog, selected top Ayurveda blogs and websites to watch.
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.
Feeling the heat?
Signs of Pitta Imbalance in the body and mind:
Body:
1. Red, burning, or irritated skin including eczema and dermatitis
2. Headaches with burning sensation and migraines
3. Rashes, response to insect bites
6. Inflammation or any of the "itis” conditions
7. Acne
8. Stomach heat increases, causing heartburn, acid reflux, GERD and ulcers
9. Hyperthyroidism
10. Loose stools (soft serve ice cream consistency) or diarrhea
11. Overactive metabolism
12. Nausea or discomfort upon missing meal
13. Heat avoidant or intolerant
14. Heavy, clotty cycles
15. Interrupted sleep
17. Inflammation in the body can lead to joint pain
18. Increased sweating and sour or foul body odor.
19. Increased hunger and thirst
20. Heated digestive system issues: inflammatory bowel conditions and flare ups
21. Excessive thirst, unquenchable thirst
22. Autoimmune disorders
23. Fevers
24. Acute inflammation of the joints
26. Sun avoidant
27. Heavy, clotty cycles
Mind:
28. More argumentative, judgmental, competitive, angry, irritated, frustrated, and nit-picky (short fused)
30. Workaholic tendencies
31. Burned out
32. Jealousy
33. Impatience, criticism, and intolerant
34. Overly attached to goals
35. Ego inflamed
36. Controlling, fiery personality
Explore: Hot List of Common Pitta Imbalances
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.
Related Resources:
How to Cool Pitta and Reduce Body Heat with Ayurveda Ayurveda Treatment for Heartburn, Acid Reflux and GERD
What foods cool down the body (and mind) by reducing Pitta dosha?
Here's What to Eat to Reduce Heat in Body Ayurveda:
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)
Berries (Strawberries, Raspberries, Cherries, etc.)
Melon (Watermelon, Muskmelon, Cantaloupe)
Whole Grains (Rice, Quinoa, Oats, etc.)
Dairy (milk, butter, ghee)
Almonds (soaked and peeled)
Moong dal (sprouted whole green moong makes a great cooling snack, or yellow moong dal)
Flax seed
List of Cooling Ayurvedic Recipes
Saumya Ayurveda Selected Best Ayurveda Recipe Blogs and Websites to Follow. Enjoy Saumya Ayurveda's Online Pitta Recipe Box
Foods can be cooling for Pitta. Here are our client's favorite heat reducing, delicious, easy-to-make, and even easier to drink, beverages.
List of Cooling Ayurvedic Drinks
Refreshing Fennel Sharbat Recipe: Your go-to drink to cool down Pitta Dosha
Melon Juice
Coconut Water and add a squeeze of fresh lime juice
Herbal Teas (Hibiscus and Rose)
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Cooling Foods in Ayurveda can help reduce Pitta, and help you start feeling your best. Fiery Pitta is best balanced through naturally sweet foods like sweet fruit, most grains, squash, root vegetables, milk and ghee. The best tastes for balancing Pitta are sweet, bitter, and astringent. Sour, salty, and pungent tastes should be minimized.
Tips to Cool Pitta and Reduce Body Heat with Ayurveda
Eat Cooling, Pitta-Reducing Foods
Do Light Exercise in the Morning or Evening as part of your Ayurvedic daily routine
Reduce Pitta with Ayurvedic Oil Massage
Dress in Pitta-Cooling Clothing
Hydrate with Cooling Herbs
Reduce Intensity in the Mind and Life
Find Relief and focus with our Nasya Oil
Our Free Guided Practices
How to Reduce Pitta in the Liver?
The liver performs over 500 vital functions. Concerned about cholesterol? Having hot flashes? Irritable? General sense of warmth or heat? Acne? Heavy cycles? Disrupted sleep? Click here to read about 35 signs of excess Pitta, heat.
Related Readings:
Liver Cleanse with Ayurvedic Food
Optimize Your Liver Health with Ayurveda: Natural Remedies and Lifestyle Tips.
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Certain pranayama practices (breathwork) can support balanced Pitta dosha and cool the body and mind. It is best to be guided individually by an experienced teacher. Related Readings: Ayurveda Breathwork Pranayama
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Cooling Foods in Ayurveda
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