Cool The Fires This Summer
Date Posted:14 January 2014
Barbecues, beach picnics, and family gatherings are sure signs of summer. A host of delicious foods fill the plate. It’s common in summertime to take a vacation from the regular diet and indulge in some junk food. After all, who can resist a good barbecue while watching the cricket. And the ice cream man is pretty tempting when the temperatures rise. However, too many hot, spicy, and oily foods can cause the digestive fire to sizzle with increased stomach acid. Even too many sweet treats like ice cream and frozen mochas can throw digestion off balance.
Don’t sweat it or fret it — you don’t have to stop, drop, and roll up your picnic. Nor do you have to go cold turkey with your favorite summer snacks. There is a simple and easy way to support and maintain digestion this summer. You can still enjoy the occasional bag of BBQ chips and spicy bean dips with the help of some balancing and cooling herbs. To help maintain a balanced digestive fire this summer and beyond, take Maharishi Ayurveda’s herbal supplement Aci-Balance. This special blend balances occasional mild acid indigestion.
According to ayurveda, Pitta dosha (elements of fire and water) governs all digestive and metabolic processes in the body. The main site of Pitta is in the stomach and small intestine, where it is present as digestive enzymes, hydrochloric acid, and pepsin. Pitta is responsible for the digestion, absorption, and assimilation of foods. Due to the hot, sharp, and penetrating qualities of Pitta, digestion can become too hot and sharp when Pitta dosha is increased. These sensations can be felt in the stomach, chest, skin, and emotions. Excess stomach acid can happen when one overindulges in foods which have hot and sharp qualities, as well as foods which are spicy, sour and oily.
Balanced Digestion Creates Health and Happiness
Balanced digestion not only gives one the proper nourishment from food; it also allows one to enjoy food. Signs of proper digestion are: clear complexion, strong vitality, pleasant breath and body odor, and clarity of mind. When digestion is imbalanced — and in the case of excess Pitta, where the digestive fire is burning too hot — one may experience sour belching, excess perspiration, low energy, sense of burning in the stomach, and feelings of anger or jealousy.
When digestion is balanced, one can enjoy their occasional junk-food fix and rest and digest easy, knowing they won’t have to repair their digestive system the next day. The herbs in Aci-Balance not only comfort the stomach after a food splurge at the fair; they help the body maintain Pitta balance in the long term.
Benefits of Aci-Balance
The special blend of herbs in Aci-Balance supports digestion by helping maintain balanced Pitta in the stomach and small intestine. It tends the home fire of digestion at the main site of Pitta. When Pitta is balanced in the stomach, the body’s tissues are better nourished and mental functions are supported as well.
Here are a few of the herbs in this Pitta-pacifying herbal supplement:
- Amla has a rejuvenating and cooling quality. It is a fruit that is a rich natural source of vitamin C, with 3,000 mg per fruit. A Rasayana for Pitta, Amla supports the function of digestion by calming hyperacidity in the stomach.
- Indian Jalap is balancing and cleansing, supporting functions of the stomach and intestines.
- Licorice has a soothing and cooling quality which can help extinguish excess heat in the stomach.
This summer, feel free to enjoy the tasty chips and dips at the party, or the tempting frozen treats at the beach. Indulge your occasional favorite go-to snack craving, and support your agni with Aci-Balance. It will maintain harmony in your stomach, so you can avoid the summertime junk-food blues.
By Kellen Brugman. Reprinted with permission from MAPI, USA.