When it’s too hot to sleep, eat, work, or engage in activity, you feel lethargic, heavy, aggravated, or foggy-brained and dull. The fiery breath of summer forces us to take extreme measures to get comfortable. To remedy summer heat I look to Ayurveda for what to eat and drink.
Summer’s energy is inflated by fire and water—the heat and humidity we experience.
In summer, air from the sun’s warmth turns blisteringly hot! Days are long. Days and nights are warm. The air stagnates, collecting moisture. And we sweat.
Sweating, they say, is good—it releases toxins. But the dismal consequences of too much heat are loss of moisture—inside and out.
To remedy summer heat, I look to Ayurveda for how to synchronize with nature, for what to eat when it’s too hot for my taste. I can’t dial in the right weather temperature perfect for me. And I really can’t change what happens outside my body. However, making the right choices when it comes to food and drink, I can improve my situation and feel much, much better!
Ayurveda and Excess Body Heat
Ayurveda, a philosophy or science of life, is an ancient wisdom. Ayurveda says that excess body heat is the result of an imbalance of elements inside us.
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Basically, the features common to all life are known as elements in Ayurveda. The 5 elements are Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. In a simple way, the elements are distinguished by the energy they display.
If one element inside you overpowers your body and causes discomfort, that element is over-energized. For example, eating French fries on a hot day forces your stomach to produce enough heat to digest the fried food. And if the fries are digested they’ll keep the body warmer for longer than it requires, sometimes causing congestion. With the result that you sweat, get acne, or itchy skin, hold on to fat and more.
Excess body heat from poor food choices is seen as too much fire, or fire out of control.
Ayurveda cautions us to find our balance, rather than allow things to get chaotic and out of control. Too much of anything can be remedied by different choices in lifestyle, food and drink.
Lemonade, a perfect foil for summer’s heat?
Lemonade, or Limeade, a perfect foil is perhaps the best-known hot-season cooler. And why not? It’s the perfect balance between tart and sweet. And qualities of bitter taste–from the lemon–and astringent taste–also from the lemon serve to refresh those who like it with rebounding energy.
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So says Ayurveda and yoga practitioner Kate O’Donnell, in her cookbook on seasonal Ayurvedic food, on page 22. See more below.
I made mine–a rendition of O’Donnell’s recipe–with 2 small cucumbers, fresh-squeezed lime juice from 1 lime, and about 8 mint leaves, plus water to make about 1 1/2 cups. Its delicious and moistening taste is balanced with sweetness from mint and astringency of the lime.
Therapy for a hot summer
A hot summer is defined by temperature and by color, too. Recall how red represents heat, while green symbolizes a cooler feeling. Often, looking up at the green leaves of a tree, we associate shade and coolness. Or, we imagine coolness in a bunch of herbs like mint, cilantro or fennel.
You can take therapy for a hot summer day now or at any time of the year when your system heats up. You could choose the colors green and purple in flowers, fruits and vegetables because they are cooling. Your taste buds will delight in new flavors, but miss the old and familiar, at first. Be patient, add these new flavors and textures–they are addictive!
The effect is subtle, at first
In summer, whether you are naturally a fire type (Pitta constitution) and uncomfortably hot–or not, there are days when you could use a little cooling down. Cooling happens in a systemic way from the inside. Food and drink you take in could significantly improve your condition in hot weather. Plus, with other things such as fine-tuning your exercise, and setting aside time to relax, you’ll see an improvement in the way hot weather affects you.
Take a look! There’s coolness all around. Cool blue water, blue or purple flowers, cool breezes (I know, sometimes). Sultry, velvety petals of iris, clematis and Japanese maple stay cool no matter the weather.
Why not acquire some of that coolness for yourself? You could eat foods that are blue, purple and green. And these colorful foods will be to your benefit in hot summer months!
Seasonal Ayurvedic Cookbook
A perfect resource for seasonal recipes is Kate O’Donnell’s The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook, published by Shambhala Publications in 2015. For summer, O’Donnell recommends cooling drinks, spices, and cooked foods with an emphasis on lightness. You can use oil (ghee or coconut) in your cooking. But she says that relief from heat naturally comes from less vinegar, salt, alcohol and coffee! Heat-producing foods like raw onions and tomatoes are discouraged for summer, as well as orange juice.
One of the most exotic recipes in O’Donnell’s collection is “Cardamom Limeade” where fresh squeezed lime juice, cardamom powder and coconut sugar combine with clear water to create a refreshing and calming drink.
A second cookbook by O’Donnell is everyday ayurveda cooking for a calm clear mind: 100 simple sattvic recipes, published by Shambhala Publications in 2018. In this cookbook, seasonal cooking is a personal selection for harmony and purity.
These suggestions make a sea-change in your life, distinguishing your diet from the grab-and-go mentality that is not very healthful. As well these recipes make you comfortable even in the heat of summer. Or whenever you’ve indulged in too-spicy foods, or become dehydrated by over-exertion or too little water in your diet, eat vegetables, spices and fruits that are cooling in nature.
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I can’t self-direct the weather to a temperature perfect for me. I can’t really change what happens on the outside of me. But I can improve, I can feel much better, with the right food choices.
Making the right choices in extreme weather is all about what’s good for you. Steering away from convenience foods, deep fried and hot-spicy foods and drinks is likely to be beneficial in hot summer.
Bon appetit!
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