“Dear Vaidya Mishra – I read online that for pitta people, particularly in the summer time, in order to keep things cool, bitter things are good. So I went online and ordered a bitter ghee preparation called “pancha tikta ghritam” and I started using it on an empty stomach first thing in the morning with some warm water as per the recommendation. I immediately developed nausea and felt like I had a hangover. It felt like instead of pacifying my pitta, it aggravated it? Can you please address this? If ayurvedic texts and experts say that bitter is good for pitta then why did it not help me?
Also, how should I take care of my pitta dosha in the summer? I read your article on cooling pitta in the summer and it gave a different approach. You were recommending sweet things like rose petal preserve. Is the sweet taste enough for pacifying pitta in the summertime? Can you please comment on this?
Thank you,
Christina P.”
Vaidya Mishra answers:
In Ayurveda we acknowledge six total possible tastes: madhur or sweet; amla or sour; lavana – salty; kattu – pungent; tikt or bitter; and kashaya or astringent. These tastes are not only for flavor. They work in close relation to the activities of our body and mind to pacify them. In addition, did you know that carry an important hierarchical relationship amongst themselves?
Verse #171 from Bhava Mishra’s Bhavaprakash says:
As the verse explains, these tastes are hierarchical:madhuramlalavan pacify vata dosha, and last three (kattutiktkashay) pacify kapha. In addition, “kashaya” astringent, “tikt” or bitter, and “madhur” or the sweet tastes pacify pitta. So, in theory, as you found out online, to say that the bitter taste is pacifying for pitta is correct. Based on the ayurvedic ancient texts, the 3 tastes: astringent, bitter, and sweet, do pacify pitta. However, experiental knowledge needs to be applied. In practical situations, many times, textbook knowledge is not enough. Your experience is a case in point.
In the process of pacifying your pitta dosha, you inadvertently aggravated your vata dosha. To find out what really happened, I would like to highlight two major aspects by referring to the same text, the same shastra-s.
Based on my experience as an ayurvedic expert practicing in the West for the past almost 20 years, in 90% of situations where pitta was aggravated, it was a case of also high agni, or digestive and metabolic fire element in the body, particularly in the digestive system.
When kledak kapha – the balancing kapha subdosha in the stomach that keeps things moist and lubricated – goes low in the stomach, then saman vata – which also resides in the stomach area – can get aggravated.
When Samana Vata is aggravated, it pushes udana vata – that resides in the chest – more forcefully upwards, and then one experiences nausea. In such scenarios, in most cases, wherever pitta is aggravated, vata also gets aggravated.
Thats why there are not one or two BUT three options in terms of rasa, or taste, for pacifying pitta. Those three tastes as indicated in the shastra-s are: astringent, bitter and sweet. Practically speaking, you have to choose among those three, based on the specific condition or situation.
Verse #171 says that the first three rasa-s or tastes: madhur (sweet), amla (sour) and lavan (salty) pacify vata dosha. So madhur or sweet rasa pacifies both vata and pitta, and that’s why I personally use madhur rasa or the sweet taste to pacify pitta in the summer time. With rose – and intelligent rather than dumb or dead sweets loaded with preservatives and synthetic chemicals such as processed white sugar – and sweet juicy seasonal fruits like pears, blueberries and blackberries, as well as a little amla or sour rasa like orange, or lime, one can work wonders for pitta and vata. Of course, the sour taste has to be in moderation, specially in the summer time, because it contains more agni, and can thus aggravate pitta as well. It has to be in balance in relation to the sweet taste.
Another point to consider comes up in verse number #190 that says:
The bitter rasa, or bitter taste, can aggravate vata. That’s why, when you consumed that bitter ghee to pacify your pitta dosha, it aggravated your samana vata and udana vata, resulting in nausea. So you see, theory or just textbook knowledge are not enough. In practical daily applications of the knowledge, we need to have acquired skills and have guidance to know how to use that knowledge for optimal results. Even though the texts prescribe the bitter taste for pacifying pitta, if we follow the text without considering actual conditions, we will end up aggravating pitta further. I learnt such practical applications of the ayurvedic shastra-s while interning with my father in our family practice in India. I am always happy to share what I learnt during those years as well as in my life experience as an ayurvedic healer, since the opportunity to intern with ayurvedic experts is much more hard to come by in the western cultural context. I thank you for your question as it has given me the opportunity to clarify a crucial point for all – namaste!”
~ Vaidya Mishra (2015)
Soothe Your Heart & Rehydrate with
Rose Water
Add 1/4 to ½ tsp Rose Preserve to 8-10 oz water. Stir. Enjoy!
Hot Inside-out? How About A Sip of Cool Goodness?
Did you know that it’s not only external temperatures that heat us up but our hearts and minds also get cooked up by emotional and mental stress? Ayurveda helps not just with the gross physical body, but supports our entire physiology from the inside-out. Here is an all-time best-seller from Vaidya Mishra that has had people from all over the world acknowledging his gifts at formulations: a tea to help us cool down and balance all subdoshas of pitta that encompass the physical as well as emotional and mental aspects. If you’re feeling not only hot and dehydrated due to extreme temperatures, but are also impatient, irritated, sad and blue for no apparent reason then try Vaidya’s Pitta Tea. It cools off the heat of pitta in all aspects of the body, opens the channels of pachaka pitta (stomach), ranjaka pitta (liver), sadhak pitta (heart), alochak Pitta (eyes), and bhrajaka pitta (skin ) to release blocked heat and cool the pathways. It also cleans the “burners” of the dehagni (cellular metabolism) even as it keeps agni in check not causing it to go too high or too low. Make a cup or a pot of this tea and cool it off at room temperature (or drink warm) and sip throughout the day – you’ll see why people love it! It will hydrate you, pacify your emotions, and keep your stress levels in check too. Enjoy!
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EMF: What CAN we do about it?
In a world where we can no longer exist without technology, how can we maintain balance and thrive despite the known side-effects of exposure to EMF? Find out Vaidya Mishra’s SVA Teachings in this much requested course on EMF – details coming very soon….
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