Tips To Keep Cool In Summer

29 March, 2010- Summer season, due to the heat waves, causes discomfort to the whole body and it becomes essential to follow some special tips for health and beauty in summer. Ayurveda states that summer is the season of increased pitta dosha. Pitta is a fire element responsible for governing metabolism and changes in the body, including digestion. Summer brings with it many health problems such as heartburn, excessive body heat and sweating, skin problems like skin rashes, prickly heat and acne, excessive stomach acidity, peptic ulcers, rough hair, irritability and anger. As such, it is important to balance rather "pacify" Pitta from within with the help of some home remedies for cool summer.

Home Remedies for Cool Summer

How to Keep Cool in Summer? This is a million dollar question but there are certain very easy home remedies for summer that will keep you cool from within.

Cool Summer Drinks- Natural cool summer drinks help pacify Pitta. However don't go for artificial carbonated cold drinks that aggravate indigestion. Also avoid hot beverages like tea and coffee. Here are some home made cool summer drinks that you can have to keep you cool in summer.

• • Drink enough water during daytime in summer, preferably a glass of water every hour.
• • Boil milk with a pinch of cardamom or some rose petals. Cool it and enjoy this excellent summer drink!
• • Have fruit juices like those made from watermelon, orange, pineapple etc. You can add some leaves of mint in them as it has excellent cooling effect.
• • Make 'lassi' from curd (yogurt). Mix curd and water in ratio of 3:1 and add sugar and/or rose petal to beat the heat.
• • Have herbal tea made from mint leaves to keep cool in summer.
• • Make 'aam panna' or the 'raw mango juice' by first roasting or boiling raw mangoes and then mixing the pulp in cool water with a pinch of salt, some sugar and half tsp roasted cumin powder.
• • Have 'chanch' or buttermilk in the morning with your breakfast. This keeps cool from within and save you from the heat waves outside.
• • Make 'Thandai' ( it means 'one that cools') with milk and some cool spices. Take one liter milk, 2-3 cups of water, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tbsp aniseed, 1 tbsp almonds, 10-12 peppercorns, a few saffron strands, 1/2 tsp cardamom powder, 1 tbsp dried watermelon seeds, 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds, and 1/4 cup fresh rose petals. Soak aniseed, almonds, watermelon seeds, poppy seeds and rose petals in two cups of water. Boil the milk and let it cool. Make a smooth paste of the soaked ingredients by grinding them with some water. Pour remaining water into this paste and strain through muslin strainer. Add sugar, peppercorns, powdered cardamom, saffron in the extracted liquid and mix well. Now mix it with cold milk. Chill and drink it.

Cool Summer Food- Foods with sweet, bitter and astringent tastes are best to keep cool in summer. Foods with sour, salty and pungent tastes should be avoided. Have more of fruits that have high water content like melons, pears and grapes and vegetables like broccoli, cucumber, bitter gourd, and zucchini. Avoid sour foods such as sour cream, vinegar and ketchup. Also avoid much spicy dishes. Use more of cool natured spices like mint, fennel, anise and cardamom while cooking. Dry the mint leaves and store them after crushing. Use this powder mixed in curd with meals. You can also store roasted and powdered cumin seeds to be used in curd which is a very cooling food.

Skin Care Tips in Summer

It is very important to keep your skin hydrated in summer season. Here are some natural skin care tips for this summer.

• • When out in sun, keep your self covered with the help of umbrella or soft cloth like a scarf. Specially, keep your head covered to avoid heat stroke.
• • Use rose water to keep your skin refreshing. You can mix some rose water in plain water and wash your face and other exposed body parts with it. You can even mix rose water in your bathing water to have a real cool shower in summer.
• • Massage your body with cooling herbal oils like grapefruit, sweet orange and lavender oil in a coconut oil base.
• • Use sandalwood paste (by mixing water with sandalwood powder) as face mask. Sandal wood has a calming, cooling effect on body and mind and helps in restricting excessive sweating.
• • Boil Margosa (Neem) leaves in water. Cool it and use it to wash the face and hands. It has antibacterial effect on skin and keeps you away from getting prickly heat boils.
• • For clearing skin blemishes, apply watermelon juice on face and leave it for 10-15 minutes. Wash it off with cool or slightly warm water.

Yoga to Keep Cool in Summer

If anytime you feel the heat too much to bear, try 'Shitali Pranayama'- an excellent breathing exercise prescribed in yoga- that lowers the overall temperature of the body and also reduces fevers naturally. For doing 'Shitali Pranayama,' roll your tongue into a tube and stick the tip of the tongue out of the mouth. Breath in through the mouth, through the tongue and as the cool air enters, swallow the breath and press the chin against the chest. Exhale using Ujjayi Pranayama (through the nose). Reapeat for 5-10 times. See this video to know how to do Shitali Pranayama