Balancing Pitta Diet
Balancing Pitta Diet
Balancing Pitta Diet
Dietary recommendations:
The following guidelines are to be utilized as a general indication of a proper diet according to your specic doshic balance. These guidelines may be adjusted to suit your individual needs as determined during your initial consultation. Other factors are seasonal, food allergies, and specic doshic imbalances that must be corrected by diet. Include a few dry foods in your daily diet to balance the liquid nature of Pitta, some heavy foods that offer substance and sustained nourishment, and foods that are cool to balance the ery quality Pitta. So what exactly does this mean in terms of foods you should choose and foods that you should stay away from? Here are some specic dietary tips: 1) If you need to balance Pitta, choose Ghee, in moderate quantities, as your cooking medium, (1/4 teaspoon per dish, per person). Ghee, according to the ancient Ayurvedic texts, is cooling for both the mind and body. Ghee can be heated to moderately high temperatures without effecting it nourishing, healing qualities, (dont let the Ghee burn or smoke), so use ghee to saute vegetables, spices or other foods. You can even season dishes like soups with 1/4 teaspoon of Ghee while serving. 2) Cooling foods are wonderful for balancing Pitta dosha. Sweet, juicy fruits, especially pears, can cool a ery Pitta quickly. Milk, sweet rice pudding, coconut, and coconut juice, and milkshakes made with ripe mangoes and almonds or dates are examples of soothing Pitta-pacifying foods. 3) The three ayurvedic tastes that help balance Pitta are sweet, bitter and astringent, so include more of these tastes in your daily diet. Milk, fully ripe, sweet fruits, and soaked and blanched almonds make good snack choices. Eat less of the salty, pungent and sour tastes. 4) Dry cereal, crackers, granola and cereal bars, and rice cakes balance the liquid nature of Pitta dosha, and can be eaten any time hunger pangs strike during the day. 5) Carrots, asparagus, bitter leafy greens, fennel, cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliower, and brussels sprouts, green beans and bitter gourd (in very small quantities) are good vegetable choices. They become more digestible when chopped and cooked with Pitta-satisfying spices. Vegetables can be combined with grains or mung beans for satisfying one-dish meals. Avoid nightshades, or use very sparingly. (Nightshades are tomato, white potato, eggplant and bell pepper). 6) Basmati rice is excellent for balancing Pitta. Wheat is also good- fresh atbreads made with whole wheat our (called atta or chapatti our and available at Indian grocery stores) combine well with cooked vegetables or Pitta-balancing chutneys such as coriander or mint, (green), chutney. Oats and amaranth are other Pitta-balancing grains. 7) Choose spices that are not too heating or pungent. Ayurvedic spices such as small quantities of tumeric (1/8th teaspoon), cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cardamom and fennel offer avor, aroma and healing wisdom.
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8) Drink sweet lassi (home made yoghurt drink: blend 1 part yoghurt to 2 parts cool water, and sweeten with maple syrup or raw sugar), with lunch to help enhance digestion and cool, not ice-cold water to quench thirst.
Grains:
Rice (Basmati, white or wild) Amaranth Barley Cereal, dry Couscous Wheat Bran Durham (Wheat) Flour Granola Oat Bran (Cooked) Oats (Cooked) Pancakes Pasta Quinoa (Cooked) Rice Cake Seitan (Wheat Gluten) Spelt Sprouted Wheat Tapioca (Sago) Wheat Polenta Brown Rice Muesli Dry Oats Oat Bran (dry) Crackers Buckwheat Bread made with yeast Corn Millet Oat Granola Rye
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Foods to Favor Foods to have in Moderation Foods to Avoid
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Foods to Favor Scallopini Squash Spaghetti Squash Sprouts Squash (Summer & Winter) Yellow Crook Neck Squash Zucchini Wheat Grass Foods to have in Moderation Foods to Avoid
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Foods to Favor Raisins Watermelon Foods to have in Moderation Foods to Avoid
Dairy
Cows Milk (2% or 1% is best) Goat Milk Unsalted Butter Hard Cheeses Sour Cream Ice Cream Yoghurt (Frozen or with fruit) Butter (Salted) Buttermilk (Commercially made)
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Foods to Favor Cottage Cheese Mild, soft cheeses (Not aged, unsalted) Goat Cheese (Soft, unsalted) Ghee Yoghurt (Freshly made, diluted with water/ homemade Buttermilk) Paneer (Indian Cheese) Foods to have in Moderation Foods to Avoid Feta Cheese
Condiments
Black Pepper Coconut Coriander Leaves (Cilantro) Mango Chutney (Sweet) Mint Leaves Lime Dulse (Red Algae) Hijiki (Sea Vegetable) Kombu (Kelp) Seaweed Daikon Radish Black Sesame Seeds Chili Peppers Mango Chutney (Spicy) Ketchup
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Foods to Favor Mint Chutney Sprouts Lettuce Ghee Carob Foods to have in Moderation Salt Tamari Scallions Tamarind Chutney Foods to Avoid Mustard Lemon Mayonaisse Soy Sauce Vinegar Gomasio (Un-hulled Sesame Seeds) Lime Pickle Horseradish Chocolate Pickles
Nuts
Coconut Charole (Indian nut) Almond (Soaked & hulled) Pecans Pine Nuts Macadamia Nuts Almonds with skin Walnut (All kinds) Brazil Nuts Cashews Hazelnut Peanut Pistachio
Seeds
Flax Seeds Buttered Popcorn (no Salt) Psyllium Pumpkin Seeds Sunower Sesame Seeds (light Brown) Black Sesame Seeds Chia Tahini
Oils
Sunower Oil Almond Oil Corn Oil
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Foods to Favor Ghee Canola Oil Soy Oil Olive Oil Flax Seed Oil Primrose Oil Walnut Oil Coconut Oil Foods to have in Moderation Safower Oil Foods to Avoid Sesame Oil
Beverages
Almond Milk Aloe Vera Juice Apple Juice Apricot Juice Berry Juices (Sweet) Cherry Juice (Sweet) Coconut Milk Coconut Smoothies Cool Dairy Drinks (Not IcedCold) Date Shake Goat Milk Grape Juice Mango Juice Mixed Vegetable Juice (Freshly Made) Grain Teas (Barley, Cax, Pero, Roma) Soy Milk Chai Black Tea Miso Broth Orange Juice Alcohol (Beer, Dry White Wine) Carrot Juice Carrot/Vegetable Combination Juices Ginger Tea Chocolate drinks Banana Shake/Smoothie Coffee Apple Cider Berry Juices (Sour) Caffeinated Beverages Carbonated Drinks Carrot/ Ginger Juice Cranberry Juice Grapefruit Juice Cherry Juice (Sour) High Sodium Drinks Ice-Cold Drinks Lemonade Papaya Juice Pungent Teas Sour Juices and Teas Tomato Juice Iced Tea
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Foods to Favor Peach Nectar Pear Juice Pomegranate Juice Prune Juice Rice Milk Foods to have in Moderation Foods to Avoid Chocolate Milk Pineapple Juice V8 Juice Alcohol (Hard, Red & Sweet Wine)
Herbal Teas
Alfalfa Bansha Blackberry Barley Borage Chamomile Chickory Chrysanthemum Corn Silk Elder Flower Dandelion Fennel Yarrow Hibiscus Hops Jasmine Kukicha Lavender Lemon Balm Lemon Grass Hawthorne Burdock Rose Hips Basil Orange Peel Comfrey Cinnamon Anise Ajwan (Indian Spice) Eucalyptus Yerba Mate Clove Fenugreek Ginger (Dry) Ginseng Hyssop Juniper Berry Mormon Osha Penny Royal Red Zinger Sage Sassafrass
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Foods to Favor Licorice Lotus Nettle Oat Straw Passion Flour Peppermint Raspberry Red Clover Rose Flowers Saffron Sarsaparilla Spearmint Strawberry Violet Winter Green Foods to have in Moderation Foods to Avoid
Spices
Fresh Basil Leaves Black Pepper Coriander Seeds Cumin Seeds Cardamom Dill Fennel Mace Mint Peppermint Saffron Orange Peel Anise Caraway Cinnamon Parsley Cilantro Leaves Tarragon Bay Leaves Fenugreek Rosemary Thyme Ajwan (Indian Spice) Asafoetida (Hing) Basil (Dried) Cayenne Cloves Garlic (especially raw) Ginger (Dry) Horseradish Marjoram Mustard Seeds
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Foods to Favor Spearmint Tumeric Wintergreen Rose Water Neem Leaves Vanilla Foods to have in Moderation Almond Extract Allspice Nutmeg Oregano Onion (especially raw) Paprika Pippali (Indian Spice) Poppy Seeds Sage Savory Mint Amchoor (Indian Spice) Foods to Avoid
Sweeteners
Barley Malt Brown Rice Syrup Dried or Fresh Sugar Cane Juice Maple Syrup Turbinado (Unrened Raw Sugar, Sugar in The Raw) Date Sugar Honey Fruit Juice Concentrates Jaggery (Indian Brown Sugar) Molasses White Sugar High Fructose Corn Syrup
Food Supplements
Aloe Vera Juice Barley (Green) Brewers Yeast Blue Green Algae Spirulina Bee Pollen Royal Jelly Amino Acids
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