People in this condition are most deficient in heat (a quality that uniquely characterizes the Pitta Dosha), which is why the most vulnerable points of a slow-irregular digestion and excess Kapha-Vata dosha are the digestive and respiratory systems. The coldness in this condition is pronounced, inhibiting the digestive fire and causing a rather slow or irregular-slow digestion. This condition is a common constitution from birth and may also develop as a condition for people on a cold, dry and heavy diet. A slow-irregular digestion has a tendency for constipation or gas, burping, mild acid reflux and abdominal distension and pain. People with this condition will usually be attracted to hot foods (chilies) and various stimulants such as coffee, cigarettes or alcohol. These warming stimulants may bring temporary relief but are very harmful for them in the long run as they deplete the body’s powers and dry out the body’s juicy essence. Their appetite may be moderate and sometimes weak but also irregular and can range from whole days of eating little to days of eating too much. They may find mental and emotional support in food. Their libido may be very low and menstruation in women can be hard and painful, all on account of excessive coldness.
To balance the condition of depleted heat (depletion of the Yang energy), a hot, oily, and light diet is required. The contradiction between oily diet and light diet is resolved by appropriate eating habits. The meals in themselves are on the oily and nutritious side, while the lightness is attained by meal size, easy to digest food combinations and longer intervals between meals.
Summary of recommended dietary habits:
- Eat only when truly hungry;do not eat before the previous meal has been digested, but only when there is a sense of lightness in the body and a strong appetite.
- Eat fewer meals, only main meals; usually 3 meals a day, sometimes eat between meals if needed.
- Simple and easy to digest meals – Avoid very varied meals or hard-to-digest food combinations.
- Chewing – chew the food well.
- Cooked and hot food –most of the food must be cooked and served hot.
- Energetics – prefer food items of heating properties and use hot spices to stimulate digestion.
- Fresh food – cook often, store food in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Food texture – Avoid dry-textured foods, prefer food with a little sauce, moist, oily.
- The nature of the food – eat foods that are of good quality and nutritious. Most of the diet should include fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Reduce the consumption of dietary fibers, especially the non-soluble fibers.
- The flavors that treat this condition are pungent, salty and sour.
- Food preparation methods: long cooking methods over a small flame or in the stove, using heavy closed utensils such as an iron cast pot, crock pot, and the addition of more salt and oil to cooking. Baking, stewing, long cooked soups or porridge, long-time pickling, occasional frying, and Japanese Nishime and Kimpire cooking styles.
- It is better to avoid day sleeping, especially after meals. If and when necessary, a short 5-10 minutes power nap on an empty stomach may be appropriate.
- Eat dinner no later than sunset
- Avoid eating at night.
- Eat consciously and attentively.
- Amount of food – relatively small meals, avoid eating too much and leave some space in the stomach. Stop eating before totally full.
- Drinking – best to drink warm beverages between meals. keep hydrated with plenty of fluids and electrolytes and a pinch of sour taste, drink warm water with fresh squeezed lemon and a pinch of rock salt.
- Avoid drinking water adjacent to meals – up to 15 minutes before eating, during meals and two hours after eating. If you are thirsty you can drink a small cup of herbal tea as is customary in the eastern countries.
- Take a short, light walk after meals.
Cereals:
Grains are nutritious and grounding and relatively easy to digest. Both whole grains and polished grains may be appropriate, depending on the digestive power. Most appropriate for this condition are the polished grains, which are more soothing and gentle on the digestive tract. Consume whole grains when digestion is stronger or when an excess of mucus is present and needs to be cleaned from the system. Bread is slightly less appropriate because it is considered heavier and stickier and causes blockages.
The most suitable grains for this condition are:
- Basmati rice, long brown rice, short brown rice, red rice, black rice
- Pressed Oatmeal (cooked – not muesli or granola)
- Wheat in the form of fryiki (smoked green wheat), bulgur, semolina.
- Quinoa, barley, rye, buckwheat, millet, spelt, whole oats
- Flour products (wheat, spelt, oatmeal flour) should be with little or none fiber: Indian bread (chapatti), Sourdough bread, pasta or noodles from durum flour.
Less appropriate Cereals for this condition are cornmeal, granola, crackers, rice cakes.
Legumes:
Most legumes are very fibrous, hard to digest, dry and dehydrating, create constipation and gas. When digestion is stronger and overall relative balance is stable, legumes could be introduced into the diet in small portions. To digest them without harm to the system, the preparation of legumes is critical and they should be cooked well. The most suitable legumes for this condition are green mung beans and lentils, possibly tofu.
Other types of legumes such as Adzuki beans and chickpeas may be consumed when digestion is strong.
Cooked vegetables:
Vegetables light quality benefits this condition while their cooling and drying effect are less appropriate. People with this condition often cannot live exclusively on a multi-vegetable diet, but can reasonably digest a reasonable variety of cooked vegetables. To make the vegetables more suitable, they should be peeled to decrease fiber content. Preparation of vegetables with oil and spices and eating them in the presence of cereals improves their digestion.
Most appropriate for this condition are onions and leeks, fennel, carrots, beets, squash, zucchini, parsley root, and celery root
Second best are sweet potato, pumpkin,chestnut pumpkin, potato, tomato, eggplant, artichoke hearts, okra, asparagus, spinach, chard
Less appropriate for this condition are the green variety and the more bulky and rough vegetables. Consume with care when digestion is in good shape: celery stalks, green peas, green beans, Cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kohlrabi, radish, turnips, mushrooms, peppers. For these vegetables, it is recommended to add a generous amount of oil, salt and spices to allow proper digestion.
Uncooked raw vegetables:
Less raw vegetables are recommended for this condition, but fresh vegetables and salads can be eaten moderately, in the appropriate season, with a typical sauce of olive oil, a lot of lemon and some salt. When digestion is strong, you can eat tomatoes, carrots, green onions and chives. Slightly less appropriate would be cucumber, lettuce, parsley, coriander, dill. To be on the safe side from a digestive point of view, it is better to eat only one or two raw vegetables at once, rather than a diversified salad. Example: add several cherry tomatoes to your lunch. If you are set on eating a salad, best preparation would be a pressed salad or a finely chopped salad.
Eat only when digestion is strong: raw kohlrabi, onion, rocket, mustard leaves, baby leaves, radish, and cabbage.
Algae:
The most suitable are the Nuri seaweed (lightly roast over a flame and crumble over the food on the plate) and Higiki.All other seaweed such as Kombu, Arame and Wakame are appropriate.
Animal food: (quality is very significant)
When the diagnosis of excess cold is pronounced, animal protein is very beneficial for balancing cold. This conditiondoes not require large quantities of animal protein per meal, since most items in this category are heavy; rather a small portion on a daily or almost daily basis will be appropriate. For most, the recommendation is to eat small portions of cooked turkey, chicken, beef and fish. Consume less frequently pork and lamb.
Milk and dairy products: (quality is very significant)
Dairy products nourishing quality can suit this condition, but their heavy quality should be noticed. Similar to the consumption of animal protein, dairy may be consumed in small portions on a daily or almost daily basis. The best options are fermented products such as goat yogourt and goat labane cheese, sour cream and solid fatty goat cheese. Second best include semi-solidfeta cheese and small amounts of solid fatty cheese such as bree or camembert. Small amounts of boiled milk (goat or cow) can be consumed apart from food, before sleep or cooked with grains into porridge. Best avoid buffalo milk, cream and ice cream.
Fruits:
Fresh fruits in season have a pleasant quality, cleansing and increasing body fluids, but fruits may be too cold for this condition. Therefore, fruit should be consumed in moderation, according to season. On the other hand, fruits may increase the sense of lightness in the body when eaten separately from other foods.
Fruits that are more suitable are lemon, lime, grapefruit, plum, cherry, grape, strawberry, raspberry, pineapple, papaya, mango, dates and figs.
On second priority are orange, pomelo, banana, pear, apple (cooked), peach, apricot, and pomegranate.
Last priority is raw apples, persimmon, melon, watermelon, blueberries and dried fruits. Dried fruits that have been soaked in water and/or cooked are appropriate.
Nuts and seeds:
Nuts and seeds are not highly recommended for this condition,since they are heavy. On the other hand, small amounts may be beneficial for this condition, since nuts and seeds are oiling and nourishing. Any type should be consumed in small quantities only and preferably slightly roasted to lighten up. Most appropriate are sunflower and pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts, almonds, pecans. Second best are cashews, acorns, macadamia, and pistachio. Least appropriate are Brazil nuts, peanuts and coconut flakes. Be careful using nut spreads such as peanut butter, almond spread etc. they are very heavy to digest and should be consumed sparingly.
Oils (cold pressed) and Fats:
The qualities of Oils and Fats are mostly warming and dainty, and therefore most oils are very important and appropriate for this condition.
Best are cold pressed sesame seed oil and Ghee and olive oil. Use moderately sesame spread, almond spread, avocado and salted butter. Coconut oil is colder and heavier in nature and is appropriate only when digestion is stronger.
It is better to avoid corn oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, canola oil, all refined vegetable oils, and hydrogenated products such as margarine.
Sweeteners:
The sweet taste is heavy and cold and should be consumed very moderately for this condition, the more natural the better. The best is sugar cane, in the form of Jaggery (boiled and condensed sugar cane juice).Other good sweeteners are pure maple syrup, rice malt, molasses, date syrup and fresh honey.
Best avoid White sugar.
Spices:
Spices are an essential addition to this digestion condition, and can also allow andimprove the digestion ofless appropriate food items with minimal damage. Almost all the spices are good, especially the sharp ones, which heat but do not dry too strongly. At the top of the list are dried ginger powder, asafetida (Hing), cardamom, miso paste, Umebushi paste. Also good are cumin, caraway, dill seed, celery seed, Ag’oan, cinnamon, basil, fenugreek, soy sauce, rock salt, pickles, natural vinegar, fresh ginger, Mustard seeds, thyme, rosemary, green onions, cooked or grilled garlic, dried chili and black pepper . Lower priority spices are coriander seeds, cloves, turmeric, mint, peppermint. Best avoid table salt.
Beverages:
This condition needs less water,depending on daily activity and thirst, but water alone is often not sufficiently nourishing. Avoid cold drinks and ice drinks. Drinking herbal tea is recommended, especially Indian Chai style with milk and Jaggery.
It is also recommended to drink small portions of natural sweet and sour fruit juice (orange juice or tangerine, apart from the food) or water mixed with freshly squeezed lemon juice and sweetener (lemonade). Small amounts of red wine during meals (40 up to 120 ml) may improve digestion.
Use the following as nourishing beverages: boiled milk before bedtime (cow, organic), cereal milk (almond, oatmeal) for cooking grains into porridge.
Black coffee and black tea are better avoided or consumed sparingly.
Optional daily menu for this condition:
Drink options following awakening:
Hot water with freshly squeezed lemon juice
Hot water with freshly squeezed lemon juice + table spoon of olive oil + pinch of rock salt
Kuzu Umebushi macrobiotic beverage
Indian spiced chai tea with little milk (cow milk, oat milk)
7:00 Breakfast:
Fluffy Buckwheat with onion and garlic and stir-fried / oven baked vegetables and green salad
Pressed oatmealporridge or semolina porridge. Cook the porridge either with water, oatmeal milk or cow milk diluted with water.
Oatmeal or semolinaPancakes
Toast with olive oil and hyssop/Ghee/tahini and egg (soft boiled/scrambled/sunny side up, omelet with feta cheese)
Chapatti with olive oil and hyssop / homemade pesto / bean spread / vegetable spread / honey and Tahini / gomasio
10:00 in between snack:
Best avoid if not truly hungry
A fruit
If appetite is strong: chapatti bread or sourdough bread with a suitable paste (ghee, Labanne, olive paste, tahini, etc)
13:00 Lunch:
Vegetarian meal:
basmati rice / brown basmati rice / friki, 30% of the meal
cooked vegetables Nishime or Kimpire macrobiotic style or IndianVegetable style, 50% of the meal
Legumes (if digestion allows), 20% of the meal
Or
Non vegetarian meal:
brown rice/ bulgur/ buckwheat
cooked vegetables Nishime or Kimpire macrobiotic style or Indian Vegetable style, 50% of the meal
Chicken / fish / meat stew 20% of the meal
16:00 in between meals:
Best avoid if not truly hungry
If the appetite is mild: a fresh fruit or a few dates and nuts soaked in hot water for a few minutes
Fruit compote and a few walnuts.
Semolina cake
If appetite is strong: chapatti bread or sourdough bread with a suitable paste (ghee, Labanne, olive paste, tahini, etc)
19:00 Dinner:
Oatmeal or semolina porridge
Oatmeal or semolinaPancakes
Basmati rice or bulgur, with egg fritata
Vegetable soup or chicken broth soup and grain/pasta
Semolina and vegetable pie
22:00 before bedtime:
Best avoid if not truly hungry
A small glass of boiled milk with a little ghee and cinnamon
Indian style Chai tea with boiled milk
A cup of warm and spiced almond milk