AYURVEDA TIPS TO KEEP YOUR STOMACH COOL AND HEALTHY IN SUMMER

Hello Friends! As we all know summer has arrived and we all need to take care of our stomach to keep it healthy and cool. Summer brings a lot of diseases and infection with it which are caused by eating unhealthy food and following the wrong routine. In summer we need to pay attention towards our eating habits and the quality of food we are taking. Pitta is one of the three physiological elements that govern the different activities of mind and body. It governs digestion, metabolism, and transformation of the body. Pitta is associated with heat and its effects are especially felt during the hot summer season. Ayurveda says that we can avoid a number of diseases by only following some useful practice of eating healthy and nutritious diet and at a proper time. So here I have prepared some beneficiary Ayurveda tips which can help you in keeping your stomach cool and healthy in the summer season.

As the temperature rises our body tends to feel low. Therefore it is essential to make the necessary precautions regarding our diet and nutrition to ward off the possible health consequences. Here are some tips to keep your stomach in a healthy and disease free-state during summer.

Taking Meal at Right Time   

According to Ayurveda, it is necessary to eat food on right time. Breakfast is the important meal of the day and one should never skip it, as skipping it leads to upset of pitta dosha that makes one feel unhealthy and irritated. At lunchtime digestion system is most active so skipping lunch is also not advisable. Lunch should be your heaviest meal of the day. While at night one should avoid taking heavy meal and also go to bed at least after 2-3 hours of having dinner. Consume half a glass of water before going to bed is also a good practice as it avoids the risk of heart attack. Also one should include the proper amount of all essential nutrients like proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, fiber etc. in the diet.  Milk should be taken at night as it helps in digestion. So with these simple tips hope you will maintain good health.

Stay Hydrated all day

One of the important medicines to deal with a number of diseases is WATER. In summer to avoid dehydration, it’s recommendable to drink at least 7-8 liter of water in a day. You can consume water in any form whether it being lime water, digestive lassi, cilantro, watermelon-mint smoothie, mango milk. Water is an essential element for us as it’s the key element of the body. Whenever going outside always carry a bottle of water with you and keep on drinking after a regular interval as it will keep your body hydrated. Those wanted to get flat tummy can take a warm glass of water in the morning and for the effective result can add lemon and honey to it. Avoid taking very cold water or drinks that are ice-cold as it will disrupt digestion. So it’s best to avoid iced drinks, especially during meals.

Intake of Cooling Food

To keep your stomach cool in summer increase the intake of cooling fruits and vegetables. Include water-rich fruits such as Watermelon, plumps, berries, apples, grapes, pears, pineapples, prunes and vegetables like bottle gourd, bitter gourd, celery, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cucumber and asparagus in your diet. These fruits and vegetables will keep your body internally as well as externally cool and healthy. You can also include zucchini as it contains vitamin C and important phytonutrient which leads to healthy bone tissue growth. Freshly blended fruit juices at room temperature are recommended to pacify Pitta during the summer.

Minimize intake of heating foods

To balance Pitta, avoid the food that produces heat in your body. Favor the sweet, bitter and astringent tastes but avoid salty, sour, hot and spicy foods. Sweet foods include bread and rice. Minimize intake of yogurt, sour cream, citrus fruits and spicy foods like cayenne. Vegetables like tomatoes, hot peppers, garlic, and spinach should also be avoided. Cooking with cooling spices like coriander and mint is advisable. Also, reduce using hot spices such as mustard seeds and dried ginger. Favor foods that are liquid rather than dry and cool or lukewarm rather than hot foods. Eat salads, especially during lunch and avoid taking dark meats as they heat up your body.

Avoid excessive intake of beverages

Drinking hot beverages will invite you with an upset pitta dosha.  Avoid excessive intake of caffeine whether in form of coffee, tea etc.  Always choose to drink a beverage at room temperature to balance the digestive system. Up to 400mg of caffeine, a day is safe for consumption. It also leads to increase in blood pressure and increases the risk of heart attacks among young adults. Also, it leads to increase in the odds of developing fibrocystic breast disease and develops incontinence. Excessive intake of caffeine causes insomnia, indigestion, reduces fertility in women, headaches, and allergies. So it’s better to avoid caffeine intake as much as possible. Caffeine leads to increased anxiety and depression. It also inhibits collagen production in the skin.

Avoid fatty fried food

The fatty foods are enjoyed by each one of us but we hardly know its ill effect on our health. It tends to make problem in our digestive system. Fatty fried food like French fries and funnel cakes leads to the production of extra bile in summer which in turn irritates you and increases pitta dosha of your body. So reducing bile production is the key to pacify pitta dosha which you can do by lowering the amount of fatty fried food items. The fatty food should not be the part of your daily routine. Eating fat-rich foods also increases the risk of heart diseases and weight gain. For optimal health, excluding foods that contain unhealthy fats from your diet.

Proper eating habits at right time with the proper amount of healthy food can balance your pitta. So by adopting some of the above tips, you can keep your stomach healthy and cool in summer.