What is Pitta Dosha and Home Remedies to Balance it

Ayurveda is one of the earliest versions of a natural and holistic medicinal system widely used in India. According to Ayurveda, the world is made up of five elements – space or aakash, water or jala, earth or prithvi, fire or teja, and air or vayu. Different combinations of these elements result in three doshas of the human health system: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Ayurveda also explains how these three doshas contribute to a person's physical and mental well-being.

Ayurveda emphasizes that when doshas are in balance, we experience health, vitality, and clarity, but when they are disturbed, discomfort and disease arise. Among the three, Pitta Dosha governs transformation, metabolism, and digestion, which makes it especially important for maintaining overall wellness. Understanding Pitta helps us recognize early imbalances and adopt simple remedies before they escalate.

A vata dominant person is a combination of air (vayu) and space (aakash); these people typically will have a lot of energy. They are always light, drying, and in a flowing state of mind. Ayurveda suggests that a vata-dominant person includes activities that would keep their body temperature under control, with calming activities like meditation. Warm food should be a help for them.

A kapha dominant person is a combination of earth (prithvi) and water (jala); these people are strong, heavy, slower, but stable. Ayurveda suggests a kapha-dominant person should have a regularized eating, sleeping, and exercise routine so that their body temperature is warm.

Whereas a pitta-dominant person is a fire (teja) and water (jala), these people are hot, light, sharp, and highly mobile. They are always motivated and have specific goals; even then, due to their highly competitive nature, they can lead to conflict. Ayurveda suggests a pitta-dominant person should maintain a work-life balance and avoid high temperatures and spicy food to keep their body temperature under control. 

When a person has balanced pitta dosha, the person will be balanced in emotions, will have adequate energy, will digest food properly, and will have beautiful skin with high levels of intelligence. But if the pitta dosha is unbalanced, that will lead to anger, irritation, skin rashes, and majorly heartburn. A balance in lifestyle is needed to control high pitta.

This article explores pitta doshas and some home remedies to control pitta dosha.

Causes and symptoms of a Pitta dosha

Common causes of pitta dosha are:

• Overeating of too much oily and spicy food on a regular basis
• Having too much tea, coffee, or a carbonated drink
• Drinking too much coffee
• Skipping meals for a long time or overconsumption of food
• Stressful lifestyle

Common symptoms of pitta dosha are:

• Acid influx, heartburn, high body temperature
• Rashes in the skin, acne, and sometimes sweating
• Body odor
• Ulcers, Diarrhea
• Hair fall
• Irritability, anger, and aggression
• Over competitive
• Irregular sleep pattern

Suggested home remedies for Pitta dosha

There are some very simple home remedies suggested in Ayurveda to neutralize elevated pitta dosha. The remedies are listed as follows: 

1. Remedies with diet

Food is the most important factor to control or balance pitta. The first step is to avoid too spicy, too salty, too sweet, or too bitter food.

·       Recommended food items:

Fruits: apples, ripe mangoes, coconuts (and water), grapes, and melons

Grains: oats, rice, and barley

Vegetables: any green leafy vegetables should work, especially cucumber, zucchini, broccoli, papaya, and more.

Dairy products: cold fresh milk, fresh butter and ghee, cold curd

Oils: natural coconut oil

Sweet: Raw sugar, jaggery, pure maple syrup

·       Foods and food types to avoid during a pitta dosha:

Hot spices, such as high amounts of spices, including chili

Very salty food 

Heavily fried foods

Too much caffeine and alcohol

Too much sour food, like vinegar or more

Carbonated drinks with a high amount of sugar in them

Honey, white sugar

Tomatoes

Cashews and walnuts

Beef (or any red meat)

Garlic

Amla, Triphala, and coconut water might give instant relief from pitta dosha.

·       Drinks that help for pitta dosha:

Hot weather and dehydration can also lead to pitta dosha. To avoid this, staying hydrated is the key. Other than water, drinks like mint tea (any herbal tea), aloe vera juice, and coriander water could be helpful as soothing drinks.

To make a coriander drink and aloe vera juice: soak a spoon of coriander seeds in a glass of water overnight. Drink that in the morning after straining. For aloe vera juice, adding some aloe vera to a glass of water and having that in the morning before eating might help.

·       Herbs and spices that might help with pitta dosha:

Herbs like triphala (a blend of three fruits), neem, fennel seeds, sandalwood, and/or rose (in tea), and cucumber water can help reduce pitta dosha.

Lifestyle changes that might act as a remedy

·       Regular exercise, such as walking, yoga, light cycling, and swimming, can help.

• Some relaxation exercises, such as pranayam and meditation, might help to calm down a racing mind.
• Getting adequate sleep for at least 8 hours can also be helpful
• Too much hot weather will also be helpful
• Certain yogas and asanas might be helpful too. Asanas such as: sukhasana, cat-cow pose, child pose, or balasana, extended triangle pose, down-facing dog pose, cobra pose (bhujangasana), bow pose (dhanurasana), head to knee forward pose (Janu sirsana) might be helpful. Other than this meditation and pranayama practice, controlling breath that can cool body temperature will also be highly beneficial.

External Remedies

Applying aloe vera gel, rose water with sandalwood as a paste, and neem paste on the face and neck also might be helpful for body temperature reduction.

Finally, following a daily routine as follows can prevent the increase in pitta dosha.

Morning: wake up early in the morning, practice yoga for some time (maybe 20-30 minutes), drink some coriander water, and have breakfast with cooling fruits.

Lunch, midday, and afternoon: around noon. Lunch rich with grains, vegetables, and some carbs (may be in the form of sweet potato). Short afternoon walks.

Evening and dinner: herbal tea, dinner with vegetables and proteins. Dinner should be done by 7 or 8 PM.

At night: practice meditation and/or pranayama and sleep between 10-10:30