JULY diet guide

July in the northern Hemisphere is a month where the outer ecosystem shifts from hot and humid to hot and dry. The remaining dampness from spring melts off and we enter into what is referred to in Ayurveda as Pitta (fire and water) season. (Download a pitta lifestyle tip sheet here and your July diet tip sheet here.) As we are a microcosm of the macrocosm, our physiology is also releasing this remaining dampness whilst heating up. The result of too much heat can lead to hot headed emotions, a rapid heartbeat, dehydration, acidity, low blood sugar, lethargy, acne, rashes, and trouble falling asleep. During this time it is helpful to cultivate a diet and lifestyle that is cool, calm, nourishing, and moist. 

Part of feeling chilled out is cultivating the mindset…so…work your practice:  Meditate! Take a back seat on some projects, or better yet, allow yourself to take some time off, go for a mindful walk, or moonbathe. Relinquish control and your perfectionist tendencies. Your affirmation these days is, “I embody ease. I am cool, calm, and collected.” During this time of year many tend to travel, be sure to maintain stable routines before, after, and during your travel to help yourself maintain balance. The following tips will also help with those hot headed tendencies, as it’s all connected…

For dehydration, consume more fluids and infuse your water with electrolytes. Add some cucumbers or watermelon to your water or enjoy coconut water to keep cool and hydrated. These do have a diuretic quality; so, if you notice you are getting dry, start to cut back on those and add in sweeter fruits like peaches, nectarines, pomegranates, and cranberries. Adding in demulcent foods will also add a lubricating quality to the body that will help you stay moist in late July and August. Things like soaked chia, soaked flax, or aloe vera gel are demulcent and are thereby soothing and lubricating to the tissues – these taste great as a pudding and mixed into breakfast barley, smoothies, or juices. 

The imbalance of electrolytes and the water element in the body can also lead to sleepless summer nights, so keep those in balance! If you are struggling with sleep, please check out these Ayurvedic tips for better sleep AND be sure to do a nice evening foot massage with coconut oil or a pitta pacifying oil to help you cool down and ground your nerves. An evening meditation or breathing practice such as nadi shodhana, sitali (extra cooling), or bhramari breathing, can do a lot for settling the mind.

One of the side effects of heat and dehydration is having weak digestion, you may notice a feeling of sluggishness in your body. Simplify your meals. Enjoy foods that are sweet, bitter, astringent, cold, and nourishing. Food like salads, steamed veggies, fruit, well dressed with lubricating oils like avocado, sunflower, olive, or coconut oil. Enjoy grains like barley and rice. You may also enjoy oats, rye, or wheat. Continue to keep your consumption of greens high. Too much fire element can incinerate your food making it easy to get malnourished. Be sure to add in some nourishing roots and nuts like sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, cashews, and soaked and peeled almonds to your diet. Shift from red meat or poultry to fish, egg whites, tofu, and tempeh. 

The liver is on overdrive releasing toxicity and creating acidity in the body. Additional discomforts from this acidity are reflux, ulcers, diarrhea, and more. If you are suffering from diarrhea be sure to make sure you are taking in plenty of minerals, try something like this Ayurveda-Ade recipe to ensure that not all food gets incinerated on its way out. To balance acidity and heat: eat less foods that are sour, salty, hot, light, or dry like caffeine, ferments, fried, processed, canned, and hot, spicy foods.

Cool down with summer foods by honoring nature’s bounty – the varieties are endless, just check out what’s growing at your local market – everything from zucchini, to yellow squash, okra, and sweat peace, cauliflower, a variety of lettuces, cucumber, coconut, melons, and tropical fruits can all help cool you down. Nature is abundant and trying to feed you and keep you balanced, healthy, and vibrant as it shifts. 

Adding herbs to your cooking or making teas with licorice, cilantro, marshmallow root, or shatavari are also cooling. You may also enjoy mint, hibiscus, and dandelion tea in July.

Other ways to cool down include adding sweet, cooling oils to your diffuser such as sandalwood, rose, jasmine, mint, lavender, fennel, and chamomile will balance pitta dosha. You can also keep a bottle of rose hydrosol spray in your bag, it helps cool down your skin when sizzling in the hot hot sun. The rose subdues anxiety, is an aphrodisiac, and opens the heart. 

When exercising, maintaining the “cool, calm, and collected” mindset is key. No need to overachieve at this time, meet yourself where you are and take a baby step forward. Keep it consistent and don’t overdo it. 

Pitta governs transformation in the body including digestion, metabolism, and energy production. Let’s keep it strong by cultivating balance with each decision we make. Enjoy, laugh, and chill out.