Ayurveda - pitta dosha - tips and diet for balancing pitta from Maharishi Ayurveda Products

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

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

Ranjaka Pitta
Early graying, anger, toxins in blood

Do you need to balance Pitta?
Pitta dosha governs metabolism and transformation in the body. Answer these questions to see if you need to balance Pitta.
  1. Do you tend to be demanding or critical?
  2. Are you often frustrated, angry or intense?
  3. Is your skin ruddy and prone to rashes and eruptions?
  4. Are you often irritable or impatient?
  5. Is your hair prematurely gray or thinning?
  6. Do you wake up in the early hours and find it difficult to fall asleep again?
  7. Do you feel discomfort in hot weather?
  8. Are you a perfectionist?
  9. Do you experience hot flashes?
  10. Do you have excess stomach acid?
  11. Do you experience loose bowel movements?
If you answered yes to most of these questions, you need to balance Pitta

Here are some tips for balancing Pitta:
  • All Pitta products: drink Pitta Tea and season meals with 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.

Pitta-Pacifying Diet :
  1. Dairy. Milk, butter and Ghee are good for pacifying Pitta. Reduce yogurt, cheese, sour cream and cultured buttermilk (their sour tastes aggravate Pitta).
  2. Sweeteners. All sweeteners are good except honey and molasses.
  3. Oils. Olive, sunflower and coconut oils are best. Reduce sesame, almond and corn oil, all of which increase Pitta.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.