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Pitta is a composite of the elements fire and water, Pitta is characterized by being intense, hot,
oily and sharp.
Balanced
Temper --- Healthy Hair --- Decreased Acid
Pitta governs all heat, metabolism and transformation in the mind and body. It controls how
we digest foods, how we metabolize our sensory perceptions, and how we discriminate
between right and wrong. Pitta governs the important digestive "Agnis" or fires of the body.
Pitta Governs
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
Do I need to balance Pitta
I tend to be demanding or critical
I am a perfectionist
I'm often frustrated, angry
I have skin rashes
I'm often irritable and impatient
My hair is prematurely gray, thinning
I don't tolerate hot weather very well
If you have two or more of the above symptoms you may need to balance your Pitta
Pitta out of Balance
Alochaka Pitta
Blood shot eyes, poor vision
Bhrajaka Pitta
Skin rashes, acne
Sadhaka Pitta
Demanding, perfectionistic, workaholic
Pachaka Pitta
Acid stomach
Olive oil, Sunflower oil and Coconut oil are the best for balancing Pitta. Reduce Sesame,
Almond and Corn oil as they increase Pitta.
Cinnamon, Coriander, Cardamom and Fennel are good for pacifying Pitta. But Ginger,
Cumin Seeds, Black Pepper, Fenugreek, Clove, Celery Seed, Salt, Chilli Peppers and
Mustard Seeds strongly aggravate Pitta and therefore, should be taken in small amounts.
Medicines
Triphala is recommended as the medicine par excellence for maintaining good eye sight (and
for longevity and health in general) [2]. Triphala is a combination of 3 fruits Amalaki
(Indian goosebery), Bibhitaki and Haritaki.
Depending on the type of Dosha imbalance, Triphala can be mixed with ghee, oil or honey
for the most beneficial effect.
Ayurveda emphasizes that to restore the balance of the vein system in any part of the body the
small intestine must first be cleaned with laxative or purgative drugs (see list on page 143),
along with diuretics to flush the urinary system (see page Error! Bookmark not defined.).
Reducing Pitta (with cool, dry, soft, heavy, contained and sweet smelling things)
herbal approach
Brahmi, Guduchi, Bhringaraj, Aloe, Turmeric, Amla (present in Triphala), Shatavari, Punarnava,
Manjishta, Tulsi/Holy Basil, Cumin, Rose, Coriander, Bringaraj, Gotu-Kola, Gokshura, Sariva, Neem,
Licorice, Saffron,
Formulae: Pippaliamla, Nimbadi, Panchatikta Ghrita, Pushyanuga, Madasudarshan, Chyavanprash,
Triphala...
Avoid: Ashwagandha...
Pachaka Pitta
Pachaka pitta is located in the small intestine and the stomach. Its primary function is the
digestion, absorption, and assimilation of foods. Pachaka pitta works in close coordination
withis even considered part ofjathara agni (the central digestive fire), which regulates
agni throughout the body. Pachaka pitta embodies the energy of fire, heat, and transformation,
and is intricately connected to the digestive function of the liver.
Ranjaka Pitta
Ranjaka pitta is located chiefly in the liver and the spleen, but to some degree in the stomach
as well. Of all the subtypes of pitta, ranjaka pitta is most closely related to the liver. The
Sanskrit word ranjaka means, to give color. Ranjaka pitta gives color to the blood and to all
tissues throughout the body (it even influences skin, hair, and eye color). Ranjaka pitta also
produces bile and liver enzymes and governs the transformation of rasa dhatu (plasma) into
rakta dhatu (red blood cells).
Pitta-Pacifying Exercise
Exercise increases heat and, done incorrectly, can easily provoke both pitta and the liver. Pitta
is very active in the atmosphere at mid-day, from about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., which also tends to
be the hottest time of day. Mid-day is therefore not an optimal time of day to exercise.
Exercise in the early morning or evening, from about 610 a.m. or p.m. is far more
supportive. To guard against accumulating heat, it is also important to engage in a pittapacifying exercise regimen that is moderate rather than overly vigorous. Activities such as
walking, hiking, swimming, cycling, and yogaall done with relaxed effortare best for
keeping pitta balanced.
Lemon Water
Drinking warm lemon water first thing in the morning kindles and protects agni and helps to
clear the digestive tract of ama (toxins) that may have accumulated overnight. Despite its
citric and ascorbic acid content, once metabolized, lemon water is also very alkalizing, and
can therefore serve to pacify accumulated pitta and to purify and cleanse the blood. Further,
lemon water is a robust source of anti-oxidants, is considered a liver stimulant, and helps to
encourage liver detox while supporting bile output.
Morning Lemon Water
Upon waking, combine the two cups of water, squeeze the fresh juice into the
water and drop in the rind. Let sit for a few minutes and drink 2 to 4 cups on
an empty stomach (you can continue to sip on whats leftover throughout the
day). Allow about 20 minutes before eating. Note: this ratio of hot to cold
water is a good guideline for the temperature, but it can be adjusted to meet
your individual temperature preference.
Tastes to Favor and Avoid
Pitta is pacified by the sweet, bitter, and astringent tastes and aggravated by the pungent, sour,
and salty tastes. Understanding these tastes allows us to better navigate a pitta pacifying diet
without having to constantly refer to extensive lists of foods to favor and avoid.
Emphasize
Sweet
Favor naturally sweet foods like sweet fruits, most grains, squashes, root
vegetables, milk, ghee, and fresh yogurt.
The sweet taste is cooling and heavy but also anti-inflammatory. It pacifies
heat, satisfies thirst, benefits the skin and hair, and tends to be grounding,
nourishing, strength building, and satisfying.
Emphasizing the sweet taste does NOT require us to eat large amounts of
refined sugar or sugary sweet foods; naturally sweet foods are best.
Bitter
The bitter taste predominates bitter greens like kale, dandelion greens,
and collard greens. It is also found in bitter melon, Jerusalem artichokes,
dark chocolate and pitta pacifying spices like cumin, neem leaves, saffron,
and turmeric.
Bitters cleanse the pallet and improve the sense of taste. They tone the
skin and muscles, benefit the blood, relieve burning and itching
sensations, satisfy thirst, balance the appetite, support digestion, and help
to absorb moisture, sweat and excess pitta.
Astringent
Minimize
Pungent
Pungent is a spicy, hot flavor like that found in chilies, radishes, turnips,
raw onions, and many especially heating spices.
The pungent taste is particularly hot and light, both qualities that disturb
pitta.
Too much pungent taste can cause excess thirst, burning sensations,
bleeding, dizziness, and inflammation (especially in the intestinal tract).
Sour
Minimize sour foods like vinegar and other fermented foods, hard cheeses,
sour cream, green grapes, pineapple, grapefruit, and alcohol (an
occasional beer or white wine is often ok).
Pitta is aggravated by the hot, light, and oily qualities of the sour taste.
Too much sour taste can increase thirst, disturb the blood, create heat in
the muscles, cause suppuration in wounds, and give rise to burning
sensations in the throat, chest, or heart. It can even promote sour feelings
like jealously or envy.
An occasional squeeze of cooling lime juice as a garnish is the best way for
pitta to include the sour taste.
Salty
Much like the sour taste, it is salts light, hot and oily nature that
aggravates pitta.
The salty taste can disturb the bloods balance, impede the sense organs,
increase heat, aggravate the skin, intensify inflammation, lead to the
rupture of tissues, or cause water retention, high blood pressure, intestinal
inflammation, ascites, grey hair, wrinkles, and excess thirst. It can also
intensify our desire for stronger flavors, which can provoke pitta even
further.
But that's not all. The liver produces and secretes bile, using it to break down and digest fatty
acids; it produces blood-clotting factors and at the same time creates protective elements that
keep blood clots from blocking the circulatory system. It converts sugar into glycogen and
stores it for use by the muscles in the form of glucose energy; it synthesizes proteins and
cholesterol. The liver is also the place the body stores valuable trace elements such as iron,
copper and Vitamins A, D and B12.
Pitta pacifying herbs and spices like coriander, cilantro, fennel and
cardamom.
Enjoy foods that are sweet, bitter and astringent. Take foods that are cool
both in energy and in temperature. Avoid drinking mild with the meal;
instead, take it before or after at least an hour of food. Enjoy your food in a
peaceful mind; if not, postpone your mealtime until your mind cool down.
Avoid foods that are pungent, sour and salty. Avoid foods that are hot both
in energy (such as chili and cayenne peppers) and in temperature. Avoid
highly processed foods, deep fried foods, red meat, alcohol, caffeine,
nicotine, and other stimulants.
Tweet
Fruits
Fruits that pacify pitta will generally be sweet and somewhat astringent. Dried fruits are
typically also acceptable, but are best in small quantities, so as not to further accelerate pittas
tendency toward rapid digestion. Fruits to avoid are those that are exceptionally heating or
sour (like bananas, cranberries, and green grapes). Youll find many fruits in both the favor
and avoid columns below because different varieties of the same fruit can truly be pacifying
or aggravating, depending on how sweet or sour they are. When trying to balance pitta,
learning to distinguish between these tastes and choosing sweet fruits over sour ones is
always very helpful.
And remember, fruits and fruit juices are best enjoyed alone 30 minutes before, and ideally
at least 1 hour after, any other food. This helps to ensure optimal digestion. Note: this rule
does not apply to fruits that we typically consider vegetables (avocados, cucumbers,
tomatoes, etc.). You will find these fruits listed among the vegetables.
Favor
Avoid
Apples (sweet)
Apples (sour)
Applesauce
Apricots (sour)
Apricots (sweet)
Bananas
Berries (sweet)
Berries (sour)
Cherries (sweet)
Cherries (sour)
Coconut
Cranberries
Dates
Grapefruit
Figs
Grapes (green)
Kiwi
Limes
Lemons
Mangos (ripe)
Mangos (green)
Melons
Oranges (sour)
Oranges (sweet)
Peaches
Papaya
Persimmons
Pears
Pineapple (sour)
Pineapple (sweet)
Plums (sweet)
Pomegranates
Prunes
Raisins
Strawberries
Watermelon
Plums (sour)
Tamarind
Vegetables
Vegetables that pacify pitta will generally be somewhat sweet and either bitter, astringent, or
both. Many vegetables include some combination of these tastes; so experimenting with a
wide variety of vegetables is a great way to diversify your pitta pacifying diet. Pitta can
usually digest raw vegetables better than vata and kapha, but mid-day is often the best time of
day to have them because digestive strength is at its peak. The only vegetables for pitta to
reduce or avoid are those that are particularly spicy, heating, sharp, or sour like garlic, green
chilies, radishes, onion, and mustard greens.
Favor
Avoid
Avocado
Olives (black)
Beet Greens
Artichoke
Onions (cooked)
Beets (raw)
Asparagus
Parsley
Burdock Root
Beets (cooked)
Parsnips
Corn (fresh)
Bell Peppers
Peas
Daikon Radish
Bitter Melon
Peppers (sweet)
Eggplant
Broccoli
Potatoes
Garlic
Brussels Sprouts
Pumpkin
Green Chilies
Cabbage
Carrots (cooked)
Cauliflower
Celery
Cilantro
Collard Greens
Kale
Squash, Summer
Squash, Winter
Spinach (raw)
Watercress
Wheat Grass
Leafy Greens
Leeks (cooked)
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Okra
Leeks (raw)
Mustard Greens
Olives, green
Onions (raw)
Peppers (hot)
Radishes (raw)
Spinach (cooked)
Tomatoes
Turnip greens
Turnips
Sweet Potatoes
Kohlrabi
Spaghetti Squash
Green Beans
Rutabaga
Dandelion Greens
Jerusalem Artichoke
Horseradish
Radishes (cooked)
Cucumber
Zucchini
Grains
Grains that pacify pitta are cooling, sweet, dry, and grounding. Grains tend to be staples in
our diets, and overall, pitta benefits from their sweet, nourishing nature. Youll also notice
that many of the grains that benefit pitta are rather dry; this helps to offset pittas oily nature.
When it comes to balancing pitta, avoiding grains that are heating (like buckwheat, corn,
millet, brown rice, and yeasted breads) is the most important guideline.
Favor
Amaranth
Avoid
Buckwheat
Barley
Cereal (dry)
Couscous
Crackers
Durham Flour
Granola
Oat Bran
Oats
Pancakes
Pasta
Quinoa
Rice Cakes
Seitan
Spelt
Tapioca
Wheat
Wheat Bran
Corn
Millet
Muesli
Polenta
Rice (brown)
Rye
Yeasted Bread
Legumes
Legumes are generally astringent in taste and are therefore largely pitta pacifying, so feel free
to enjoy a wide variety of them. Beans that are not appropriate for pitta are those that are
especially sour or oily and, not coincidentally also heating.
Favor
Avoid
Adzuki Beans
Black Beans
Black-Eyed Peas
Kidney Beans
Lentils
Lima Beans
Mung Beans
Mung Dal
Miso
Navy Beans
Soy Meats
Pinto Beans
Soy Sauce
Split Peas
Urad Dal
Soy Beans
Soy Cheese
Soy Flour
Soy Milk
Soy Powder
Tempeh
Tofu
White Beans
Dairy
Dairy products tend to be grounding, nourishing, and cooling, so many of them are balancing
for pitta. Those to avoid are exceptionally sour, salty, or heating. As a rule, dairy milks (cows
milk, goats milk, sheeps milk, etc.) should be taken at least one hour before or after any
other food. For this reason, avoid drinking milk with meals. Almond and rice milks are good
substitutes, if you need to combine milk with other foods, or if you dont digest dairy milks
well.
Favor
Butter (unsalted)
Butter (salted)
Buttermilk
Cheese (hard)
Frozen Yogurt
Sour Cream
Cottage Cheese
Cows Milk
Ghee
Goats Milk
Avoid
Ice Cream
Avoid
Charole Nuts
Brazil Nuts
Coconut
Cashews
Chia Seeds
Filberts
Macadamia Nuts
Peanuts
Pecans
Pine Nuts
Pistachios
Sesame Seeds
Tahini
Walnut
Flax Seeds
Halva
Popcorn (buttered, without salt)
Pumpkin Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Avoid
Buffalo
Beef
Chicken (white)
Chicken (dark)
Duck
Fish (freshwater)
Eggs (yolk)
Rabbit
Fish (saltwater)
Shrimp
Lamb
Turkey (white)
Pork
Venison
Salmon
Sardines
Seafood
Tuna Fish
Turkey (dark)
Oils
Despite being oily in nature, pitta does well with a moderate amount of oil as long as it is
cooling. The very best oils for pitta are sunflower oil, ghee, coconut oil, and olive oil. Its also
important to keep in mind that toxins tend to concentrate in fats, so buying organic oils may
be more important than buying organic fruits and vegetables.
Favor
Coconut Oil
Ghee
Avoid
Almond Oil
Apricot Oil
Corn Oil
Safflower Oil
Sesame Oil
Olive Oil
Primrose Oil
Sunflower Oil
Soy Oil
Walnut Oil
Sweeteners
Since the sweet taste is one that soothes pitta, most sweeteners are well tolerated by pitta, but
some are simply too heating or too processed for pitta. In general, naturally occurring sweet
tastes are far more balancing than sugary sweets, so even the appropriate sweeteners should
be used in moderation.
Favor
Avoid
Barley Malt
Date Sugar
Fructose
Honey
Jaggary
Maple Syrup
Molasses
Rice Syrup
White Sugar
Sucanat
Turbinado
Spices
Most spices are heating by nature and therefore have the potential to aggravate pitta. The
spices to favor are only mildly heating, help to maintain a balanced digestive fire without
provoking pitta, and, in some cases, are actively cooling. In particular, the cooling qualities of
cardamom, cilantro, coriander, fennel and mint help to calm pittas heat. On occasion, these
spices can be used to make foods that would otherwise be too hot for pitta more tolerable.
Cumin, saffron, and turmeric, though heating, also offer some particularly valuable pitta
pacifying properties.
Favor
Avoid
Basil (fresh)
Ajwan
Allspice
Cardamom
Anise
Basil (dry)
Bay Leaf
Caraway
Cayenne
Cloves
Fenugreek
Dill
Garlic
Fennel
Ginger (dry)
Ginger (fresh)
Hing (Asafoetida)
Mint
Mace
Neem Leaves
Marjoram
Orange Peel
Mustard Seeds
Parsley
Nutmeg
Peppermint
Oregano
Saffron
Paprika
Spearmint
Pippali
Tarragon
Poppy Seeds
Turmeric
Rosemary
Vanilla
Sage
Wintergreen
Salt
Savory
Thyme
Trikatu
Also, toxins building up in the liver can result in allergies, high cholesterol, hypoglycemia,
constipation, digestive problems, or fatigue. If the imbalance continues for a long time,
serious diseases of the liver, including hepatitis, cirrhosis, jaundice and cancer, could develop.
Q: Are there any dietary and lifestyle tips for keeping the
liver in balance?
A: First, avoid toxins in your food. Eat organic, freshly-cooked foods. If you eat foods that
are laced with preservatives and chemicals, or that are processed or left over, you're just
making your liver work overtime to filter out the toxins. Eventually that's going to tax the
health of your liver.
Also avoid toxic foods such as alcohol (which is well-proven to be the cause of cirrhosis of
the liver, but even in small doses should be strictly avoided by people of Pitta constitution).
Stay away from cigarette smoke, air pollution and exposure to commercial household
cleansers and other toxic substances. These are all taxing to the liver. In general, drink lots of
water to flush out toxins, but be sure it is pure water.
One of the best ways to prevent liver imbalance is to keep Pitta dosha in balance. Eat a Pittapacifying diet in summer, favoring cooling foods such as sweet, bitter and astringent tastes.
These include sweet, juicy fruits, summer squashes, cooked greens, sweet milk products,
lassi, and grains. Avoid sour or fermented foods such as vinegar, pungent foods such as
chilies, and salty foods. If you have a lot of Pitta in your basic constitution, then favor this
diet all year round. Start the day with a stewed apple or pear, to set the metabolism and
cleanse the liver. Just eating a sweet, juicy pear every day can go a long way to soothing Pitta
dosha and cleansing the liver.
Disclaimer
The sole purpose of these articles is to provide information about the tradition of ayurveda.
This information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of any
disease. If you have any serious acute or chronic health concern, please consult a trained
health professional who can fully assess your needs and address them effectively. If you are
seeking the medical advice of a trained ayurvedic expert, call or e-mail us for the number of
a physician in your area. Check with your doctor before taking herbs or using essential oils
when pregnant or nursing.