Cool tricks for summer

Ayurveda has its cool tricks for summer | GulfNews.com

Summer and Your Diet

It is not just essential to keep your body protected from the outside during these hot months, it is also important to keep your body cool from the inside. You need to drink cooling drinks as opposed to caffeine rich drinks and eat more sweet, bitter and astringent items and try and keep items that are sour, salty and pungent in taste to a minimum.

To Drink

• Drink a combination of cumin, coriander, fennel and rose petals in water to improve digestion and to calm the mind.

• Grind ginger, curry leaves, mint leaves and salt together and mix it in laban (buttermilk) to create a cooling and energizing drink. If you can handle it, add a green chili to the mix.

• Tender coconut water and flesh are ideal for these months.

• The juice of cucumber or watermelon or lime or pomegranate are also ideal heat busters.

• Boiled and cooled milk with a pinch of cardamom or rose petal essence in it helps soothe the body.

• Avoid ice cold drinks and minimize your intake of tea, coffee and colas.

To Eat

• Eat juicy fruits like melons, pears and grapes.

• Increase the intake of broccoli, cucumber, asparagus and zucchini.

• Avoid sour cream, vinegar and ketchup.

• Add spices like mint, fennel, anise and cardamom to your food.

• Reduce your intake of sugar as it aggravates the Pitta dosha.

• Avoid cashew and pea nuts; however blanched almonds, walnuts, and pumpkin and sunflower seeds are alright.

Summer and the Skin

During the summer months the sun’s rays are more powerful and therefore can cause more damage to the skin. It is important to protect one’s skin from the negative effects of the sun’s rays. Excessive exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays can cause the appearance of brown spots and speeds the skin’s ageing process. Ayurveda believes in using natural ingredients to provide solace to the skin. These include the aloe vera, honey, avocado, papaya and the rose. In fact, summer or not, cotton eye pads soaked in diluted rose water help ease tension, stress, fatigue and the burning sensation in the eyes.

There are also many home remedies that one can use to soothe and protect the skin. Apply this on your face (avoiding the eye and mouth region) and let it dry or leave it for 15 minutes. Then gently wipe it away with a wet face towel or gently wash it away.

• Face packs of fruits like watermelon or cucumber or orange peel or banana or papaya mixed with honey or milk cream or rosewater can give the skin an unbeatable glow.

• When you return home after a day in the sun apply yoghurt on your face and exposed skin to counteract the sun’s effects.

• Sandalwood powder, neem paste, turmeric (Kasturi manjal )(not the spice you get in the grocery store but the paste from the turmeric root), milk cream or honey can be used on their own to help soften and smoothen one’s skin.

• Massage your skin regularly with coconut oil or sesame oil to improve circulation.

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