Summer Ayurveda: Cooling Clothes, Colors, and Foods for Pitta

• Wear cotton or silk clothing; it is cooling, light, and allows the skin to breathe. Loose- fitting clothes are best; they permit the air to pass through and cool the body. • The best colors to wear in hot weather are white, gray, blue, purple, and green. Avoid red, orange, dark yellow, and black, which absorb and retain heat and will aggravate pitta.

• Follow the pitta-pacifying diet from the food guidelines in chapter 8. Good fruits for summer include apples, pears, melons, plums, and prunes. Watermelon and lime juice are also good in summer. Try steamed asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cucumber raita, and basmati rice.

Kitchari made of basmati rice and mung dal, with a little ghee and grated coconut, makes a delicious light meal. Avoid sour fruits, citrus fruits, and even beets and carrots, which are all heating. Garlic, onion, chili, tomato, sour cream, and salted cheeses are also not recommended. You can eat more salads in summer than at any other time, as they are cooling, but they are best eaten for lunch.

If you eat meat, you can have some light meat—chicken, turkey, or shrimp—once a week. Avoid dark meats, which are heating. • Don’t drink hot water or hot drinks in the summer. Room-temperature or cool drinks are best.

Ice and iced drinks, however, inhibit digestion and create toxins (ama) in the body; it is best never to drink them. • A refreshing drink is cool lassi. Mix 1 part yogurt with 4 parts water, and blend 2 or 3 minutes until creamy. You can add ¼ teaspoon roasted cumin seed before blending, or for a sweet-flavored drink, add 2 tablespoons Sucanat or other sweetener and 1 drop of rose water.