Summer is Pitta season - pitta is also one of the 3 personal constitution types in Eastern medicine: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Each roughly corresponds to what we in Western medicine call serotonin, dopamin and GABA dominant natures.

What Pitta does

Pitta is the bodies fire - it is hot and steamy. Passionately driven and very temperamental.

When it is out of balance

When pitta is out of balance, it affects digestion, intensified cravings, heartburn, rashes and results in impatience and low stress tolerance level. Food addictions and some types of disordered eating can mainly be traced back to a Pitta imbalance - also along with a Vata imbalance as well (a lack of grounding).

When Pitta is balanced

This energy is related to intelligence and clarity. Pitta people are usually very passionate and able to transform and transcend (obstacles). However, when they don't self-care along the way, they crash and burn ever so badly.

Foods that balance Pitta

Favor cool, heavy, dry foods and sweet, bitter and astringent tastes. Reduce pungent, sour, salty tastes and warm, oily and light foods. Carbohydrate, sweet and juicy rich foods help to calm fire pitta - don't go low-carb. Think sweet potatoes, whole grain bread with butter, oatmeal with cream, mango smoothie, water melon, deliciously fried rice and baked apples with whipped cream. You still want to add some fat to ensure to keep your blood sugar stable, otherwise you will get cravings because your blood sugar is fluctuating.