The Ayurvedic Approach to Weight Management

Tips for Pitta-related Weight & Skin Imbalances

You would think that since Pitta dosha is associated with the fire element, a person with high Pitta would not have any problem burning up carbohydrates and sugars.

Yet if the person doesn't take care of the digestion, that can create problems. For instance, if someone who is predominantly Pitta by nature skips breakfast or other meals that can create ama, digestive impurities, because the digestive fire becomes too strong. In this situation, stomach acids can "burn" the food and even damage the stomach.

To understand how this happens, think of setting an empty pot on the stove. The heat is on, but there's nothing to cook. Instead, the pot itself gets burned. In the same way, if you have a strong digestive fire but you don't feed it regularly, then the digestive enzymes go out of balance, burn the food and create ama the next time you eat.

Many people with high Pitta dosha are overweight, precisely because they are not eating regularly and as a result ama has coated their digestive system. When ama blocks the channels of digestion and the channels that circulate nutrients throughout the body, then metabolism slows down and weight accumulates.

In this situation, it is very important to consult an expert in Maharishi Ayurveda, as it is necessary to repair the pot first, so to speak, and stop the damage to the stomach area from excess digestive acids before dealing with the weight aspect.

Dietary Recommendations

First of all, the person with high Pitta should get into the habit of eating three meals a day, starting with breakfast. This is very important, as otherwise the stomach will continue to be burned by digestive acids. Eating a cooked apple or pears with cooked prunes or figs for breakfast is a good idea, because it will soothe the digestive fire but not overload it. Raw pears or other sweet, juicy fruits are also good for people with high Pitta. Other recommended breakfast ideas include a cup of milk boiled with a pinch of powdered liquorice and then cooled, or cooked oatmeal.

A vegetable that is good for weight management is daikon radish. This white radish can be grated and added to dhal soups for a mildly spicy flavour. Include sweet vegetables for lunch and dinner, such as squashes that are white inside (zucchini, loki or yellow squash). Steam them well and then sauté them in ghee with mild, cooling spices such as powdered fennel, small amounts of cumin and small amounts of turmeric. You can add 1-2 cloves to dhal soups, vegetables or grains as you cook them, because even though clove seems to be pungent and sharp, it actually has a cooling effect if you cook with it but don't chew it.

You can also boil water and let it steep with liquorice root and fennel seed. Drink it throughout the day to help digestion and cool Pitta dosha. Liquorice pacifies Pitta dosha, and fennel opens the channels of digestion and circulation without aggravating Pitta. (Please note: If you have high blood pressure or are retaining water, liquorice is not recommended--consult an expert trained in Maharishi Ayurveda.) Yellow split mung dhal is a good source of protein when cooked as a soup with spices. Quinoa and basmati rice, cooked with a little olive oil or ghee, are recommended grains. If you are overweight, and wonder why ghee or olive oil is recommended in cooking, remember that in this case the stomach has been damaged by hyperacidity, and healthy fats such as ghee and olive oil will lubricate the area and help repair the damage.

Avoid eating pungent spices such as chillies, cayenne, and black mustard seed. These will only increase the acidity. A person in this situation may be drawn to heavy, cold, sweet foods to cool the acidity. But heavy, cold foods will only make the problem worse by creating more ama and blocking the channels of digestion and metabolism. It's better to cool the digestive fire by cooking with cooling spices, eating light desserts with your meal such as fruit crisps, and by drinking light dairy drinks such as sweet lassi.

Sleep is Important

People who are predominantly Pitta should go to sleep before the Pitta time of the evening (10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.). Even if you feel like you have a lot of energy then, or feel more creative, it's not a good idea to stay awake during the Pitta time of night, because this only aggravates Pitta dosha further. And if you stay awake during the Pitta time of night, you will invariably get hungry and thirsty and may eat packaged cookies or salty snacks, or drink soft drinks or alcohol. All of these things will only disturb Pitta dosha further and contribute to weight gain.

Herbs that Balance

If you feel intense hunger due to stomach acid, and are having trouble curbing your appetite, then Be Trim 2 tablets (MA1007) are made for you. When fat metabolism is out of balance, it can cause an excess of stomach acid that stimulates the appetite for sweet, heavy and cooling foods. Unfortunately, eating excessive amounts of these foods is exactly what causes an imbalance in fat metabolism in the first place. Be Trim 2 helps balance fat metabolism and stomach acid so you can lose weight naturally and keep it off.

This herbal formula curbs the appetite and slows the absorption of carbohydrates, enhances liver function and the assimilation of food, and aids digestion. Be Trim 2  helps balance stomach acid and naturally decreases the excessive craving for sweet, heavy foods. It helps break the cycle of ravenous hunger.

Stress and Your Skin

Day-to-day emotional stress, in the form of anger, irritation, frustration or suppressed grief or anger can show up on your skin, causing it to look drawn and tired. Take our quiz to find out if you have a Pitta-related skin imbalance. Give yourself one point for never or seldom, two for sometimes and three for often or always.

• Does your skin look blotchy or inflamed in spots?
• Do you have breakouts or rashes frequently?
• Does your skin look red and raw?
• Does your skin feel excessively warm to the touch?
• Are your pores clogged?
• Do you notice increased photosensitivity and quicker damage from exposure to short periods of sun?
• Do cooling treatments make you feel temporarily better?

If your score added up to ten points or higher, your skin may benefit and look clear and healthy if you keep Pitta in balance.

Follow a Pitta-pacifying diet:

• Eat plenty of fresh juicy fruits to cool and cleanse from within. Fully ripe, sweet fruits, such as pears, grapes, melons, coconuts, pomegranates and mangos are good Pitta-balancing fruits. Avoid partially ripe or sour fruits.
• Drink lots of pure room temperature water through the day. Pitta Tea made with rose petals and cardamom or Rose Petal Jam in milk are cooling herbal beverages.
• Eat cooked green leafy vegetables. Reduce hot peppers, radishes and spinach. Season cooked vegetables with Pitta-balancing spices such as fennel and coriander or use Pitta Churna.
• Include a little Ghee in your diet - it's cooling.

Follow a Pitta-pacifying routine:

• Go to bed by 10 p.m. and follow a regular sleep-wake routine so that you get enough good quality rest. Take the Blissful Sleep – Pitta (MA1684) herbal tablets if you tend to wake up in the wee hours and can't go back to sleep again.
• Eat three regular meals a day, with lunch the heaviest meal.
• Twenty minutes of Transcendental Meditation®, twice a day, can help combat all types of stress.
• A daily warm oil massage balances both mind and body -- the Pitta Massage Oil contains herbs and essential oils that help pacify Pitta.
• The Blissful Sleep – Basic (MA1778) herbal tablets help balance Sadhaka Pitta, which governs the heart and the emotions.
• Make sure bowel movements are regular.
• Make time for leisure and don't let deadlines rule you.

Ayurvedic skincare products that balance Pitta:

• The Pitta Skin Care Cream and Pitta Body Lotion both nourish and balance the skin. If your skin is extremely sensitive, mix the cream with a couple of drops of pure Rose Water and then apply it.
• Skin Soother (MA3508) is a herbalised oil containing twenty different cooling and skin supporting herbs that supports the skins response to stresses such as sun, cold and drying.

• The Youthful Skin tablets (MA989) nourish the skin from within, promoting healthy skin cell growth and modulating skin temperature and moisture.

Edited from MAPI Newsletter May 2002 – www.mapi.com