I finally broke down and got my first cold of the season last week, and though it thankfully only lasted two days, my poor hubby caught it and has been suffering for a good 4+ days. In an attempt to make him something comforting and immunity boosting, while making use of the relatively meager contents of our fridge, I concocted the following super healthy dinner salad for him. Low and behold, today he’s on the mend! This recipe is a perfect example of how we can use food as medicine. There are more essential vitamins, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients in this salad than you could ever dream of getting from a supplement, and being in whole food form, the delivery system to the parts of your body that need it are much more efficient.
This delicious salad features:
Kale, which is full of SUPER high in vitamins C, A, and K, as well as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory flavanoids which boost immunity and the body’s natural detoxification.
Fennel, which is loaded with vitamin C, and immunity-boosting phytonutrients, including anethol, which has major anti-inflammatory qualities. Plus fennel has antimicrobial qualities, which are perfect for beating colds!!
Orange or grapefruit, whose unique citrus flavanones combine with the super high levels of vitamin C which produce extraordinary antioxidant and immune-supportive results. Plus, the zest ensures that you get the amazing benefits of herperidin, an incredibly anti-inflammatory flavanone that is only found in the peel and white pith of the citrus fruit.
Garlic, which is an anti-inflammatory, ant-bacterial, and anti-viral superstar, and is one of the best foods to eat when you’re sick. It’s also very high in selenium, B vitamins, and helps your body to metabolize iron!
Flaxseed oil, which is rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which are very anti-inflammatory, and is also high in thiamin and manganese.
Raw apple cider vinegar, a true wonder tonic that helps your body beat just about anything. It’s loaded with potassium, which helps cure sinusitis and runny nose symptoms; and it has massive antibacterial and anti fungal properties, which are obviously hugely beneficial for beating a cold!
Raw honey is phenomenal for when you’re feeling sick, thinning mucous, soothing sore throats, and boasting anti-viral and anti-bacterial effects!
Himalayan salt, which supports respiratory health and clears up congestion, is a strong natural antihistamine, eliminates persistent dry coughs, and provides your body with all the necessary trace minerals it needs to heal and be healthy!
I don’t know about you, but this past year and a half of COVID parenting has turned me into mean mommy. Gone are my endless stores of patience for the tantrums and messes and snark. Gone is my happy-go-lucky, go-with-the-flow, find-humor-in-the-chaos mentality (insofar as I ever had one). No, sadly, I have not yet recovered from being stuck at home for 18 months with a toddler and kindergartener, from the Zoom school, and lack of help and 12 straight hours a day of momming. Things may be better now — one kid is back to full-time in-person school and the other has a little toddler class a few days a week; we had a part-time nanny; I have a semblance of my old life back — but my mood has not improved.
What gives?
The truth is, many of us (particularly those of us with children, or who worked amidst the front-line terrors of this pandemic, or both) went through a level of stress and adrenal fatigue that we may never have experienced before. Our nerves were shot, our cortisol levels sky-rocketed, and that’s not just something you can always bounce back from the second things get better.
For many of us, we are still dealing with the after-effects of that treacherous time, which can feel extra frustrating and confusing since in many ways, life is back to a semblance of normalcy.
So what are we to do?
I, for one, am fed up with feeling this way. I’m fed up with snapping at my kids and husband, and I’m sick of having a hair trigger that probably doesn’t make me the most fun person to be around. My kids will only be 6 and 2 once, and I don’t want to look back and feel like I missed these sweet, chaotic years by existing in a perpetual haze of annoyance.
In Ayurveda, the energy that is behind all things heated — inflammation, irritability, anger — is the Pitta dosha. Some of us have Pitta as one of the primary elements in our constitution, others may just be experiencing a Pitta imbalance due to all the insanity that we have recently gone through.
Regardless, there is so much Ayurvedic teaching can offer us in terms of strategies to cool this Pitta fire, reclaim our calm, and become kind, patient people yet again. As always, the strategy requires looking at the the main pillars of wellness: diet, lifestyle, and supplementation.
The Pitta-Reducing Diet to Soothe Irritability
As with all things health-related, diet is probably the most important and central element to our balance. Unbeknownst to us, we put things in our bodies every day that make us feel worse, both physically and emotionally. Generally, when we’re looking to decrease pitta with our diets, we want to focus on the opposite energy. Pitta is heating, so we want to increase cooling foods and decrease heating foods.
Here are the 5 foods that irritate pitta the most:
Heating spices: People with high pitta in their constitution tend to LOVE spicy foods (I submit as evidence my husband, who puts sriracha or hot sauce on literally everything), but that spice is going to make you more irritable, angry and inflamed. Avoid spicy foods, chili peppers, jalapeños, and cayenne.
Sour foods: The same applies for the sour taste (I submit as further evidence my husband, who also puts vinegar on everything, along with hot sauce, and lives for pickles). Avoid too much sour citrus (limes are best for pitta), lots of vinegar and anything else too sour.
Coffee: Stimulants, and specifically coffee, are super aggravating to fiery pitta. If you’re super dependent on caffeine for your daily survival (no judgement here), try green tea or matcha instead, which has cooling properties that will keep your pitta in check and actually serve to soothe that irritability!
Red meat: Red meat is really heating in the body, which is of course no good for pitta, increasing anger and inflammatory conditions. If you eat meat, opt for chicken or fish, which are much lighter, or better yet, rock some beans instead!
Alcohol: I know, I know, you hate me. But believe it or not, that nightly drink is actually doing more to increase your stress, tension and crankiness in the long run. Shoot for keeping drinking to just a few nights a week, and stick to white wine like a dry chardonnay, which is less heating.
Ok now that you officially want to kill me, here are the foods you can increase to keep pitta at bay!
Naturally sweet foods like root veggies, bell peppers, fruit, oats, alliums, and rice. Sweet is a flavor that literally sweetens that pitta fire, helping you feel calmer and happier. Obviously processed sugar isn’t going to help anything, but foods that have a naturally sweet flavor are just the thing!
Naturally cooling foods like greens, cucumber, and fruit. Salads are amazing for pittas any time of year, but if you have any Vata in your constitution, opt for cooked greens in the colder months.
Cooling herbs like coriander, fennel, cardamom and cilantro are awesome for pitta, cooling your jets from the inside out. Try cooking with them or making a yummy digestive tea by mixing equal parts cumin, coriander and fennel seeds.
Green or white tea: Unlike coffee, green and white teas are light, cooling and contain EGCG and l-theanine, which have calming, stress-relieving qualities.
Ghee: clarified butter (from grass-fed cows) is a form of dairy that is actually wonderful for pitta. It’s cooling and soothing to the nervous system and the gut (the seat of so much pitta instability) which translates into a calmer mood (and happier tummy) all day long. Try starting your day with a Bulletproof Matcha by blending a tablespoon of ghee into matcha, and adding a cooling milk like coconut or oat. Sweeten with a non-stimulating sweetener like stevia or monk fruit.
Pitta-Reducing Supplements To Relieve Stress and Anger
Gotu Kola: This cooling adaptogen is amazing for relieving stress, promoting mental clarity and calm, and improving sleep quality. It’s one of my favorite Ayurvedic remedies for irritability. Sometimes I take an extra dose in the afternoon if I need a bit more calming balance!
Tulsi: Dubbed “the incomparable one” in Sanskrit, this adaptogen is a brilliant multi-tasker, promoting stress relief, calm, happy mood, immunity and digestion.
Shatavari:This hormone balancer is particularly good for women, and soothes the hormonal aspect of that pitta irritability. It promotes a calm mind and feelings of love and devotion, as well as immunity and digestion. It also relieves symptoms of PMS, helps regulate your menstrual cycle, and can soothe symptoms of perimenopause.
Fish oil: Omega-3’s are amazing for relieving stress and irritability, and unless you eat fatty fish (like salmon or sardines) several times a week, you are likely deficient. Pop one of these twice a day.
Vitamin D: Here’s another nutrient that most of us are deficient in (especially if you live in cooler climates), which causes all kinds of physically and emotional issues ranging from compromised immunity to depression to irritability. 2000 IU per day is enough for most people (check out this fish oil + D combo), but if you’re in the midst of winter and don’t get any sunlight on your skin, I would rock 4000 IU during the colder months.
Mint: Teas made from peppermint or spearmint are cooling to pitta all-around, soothing the gut and the mind. Try this combo Tulsi Peppermint Tea for bonus stress-busting magic.
Rose: Rose has a particularly soothing quality to fiery pitta, promoting calm, pleasant feelings that are the ultimate antidote to all that irritability. I’m a big fan of Tulsi Sweet Rose Tea, which combines several calming herbs making for a perfect evening soother.
Pitta-Reducing Lifestyle Changes to Cool Your Jets
Soothing irritability and frustration requires more than just cooling food and herbs. In fact, making some crucial changes to your lifestyle habits is where the true changes will take hold.
Here are some of my favorite lifestyle Ayurvedic remedies for irritability:
Increase your downtime. Pitta energy is what makes you go-go-go — it’s ambition, perfectionism, control. But when that energy is allowed to fully take hold, the mind has nowhere else to go, and it’s only a matter of time before the imbalance spreads to the rest of your body, causing issues ranging from digestive disorders (ulcers, IBS, loose stools) to migraines and inflammatory skin conditions to heart disease. Make sure to take ample time at the end of the day to relax and unwind, and force yourself to slow down on weekends to ensure time for some R&R.
Focus on YOU. For some of us, especially moms, this irritability comes from feeling stretched thin, overwhelmed and unappreciated for all that we do (which is, in all seriousness, everything). So to loosen up some of that energy, make sure you do something for yourself every day.
Increase time in nature. Natural beauty has a way of soothing pitta irritability and anger, so make it a point to hit up a park, go hiking, get to the beach, or even take a walk outside every day to calm those fiery feelings. Bonus points if there’s water involved, which is particularly soothing to pitta.
Incorporate some yoga into your workout routine. Pittas can get really intense with their workouts, which can sometimes actually serve to increase those angry pitta feelings. Balance out your higher intensity workouts with vinyasa yoga (NOT hot yoga) that focuses on the breath and calming, fluid movements. But even if you’re not a pitta dosha, yoga will be just the thing to get you out of that irritable, frustrated head space. It moves energy through the body, helps balance hormones, and calms the the mind. Start with once a week and increase if it feels good! Try this 18 minute yoga for anger sequence.
Meditate. Meditation does wonders to calm the mind and lower those stress hormones that have us snapping at everything little thing. Ideally, start your day with a 15-20 minute (or more) meditation practice, but if that’s not doable, a few 3-5 minute mini-meditations throughout the day will help a lot as well. I love the Breathe App on my Apple Watch for this. Try this 10 minute meditation for inner peace.
Avoid overheating. This is more for those with pitta already in their constitution, but even if you don’t, letting your body overheat is going to exacerbate those hot feelings of irritability and anger that you’ve got going on. Make sure to dress in layers, so you can easily shed one if you feel yourself getting hot, and avoid doing strenuous exercise in hot weather or in a hot room. Basically, you need to keep your body cool to keep your mind cool.
Get enough sleep. This one should be obvious, but honestly, there’s nothing like a crappy night’s sleep to make you a crabby monster for the day ahead. Make that several nights of crappy sleep, and you’re looking at a chronic condition of crabbiness. Eight hours a day can feel like a long-shot for many of us, but even a consistent seven can do the trick. Use a sleep mask and a noise machine to maximize your deep, REM sleep, and for god’s sake, go to bed earlier! No one needs that 3rd episode of The Bachelor. If you have trouble falling asleep, try some Tulsi Sleep Tea or pop 1-3mg of melatonin 30 minutes prior to bedtime to get yourself primed for sleep.
There are so many factors that contribute to our feelings of irritability, and some are sneakier and more difficult to detect than others. If you’ve tried the strategies above and are still feeling out of sorts, it’s time to get some more detailed answers. Schedule a full hormonal panel and metabolic panel with your doctor to get a sense of how your body is working. You can get your cortisol levels tested as well.
Personally, even just writing this was a good reminder for me on what practices I’ve been sliding on. This week, I’ve been swapping my cacao chai lattes for matcha lattes and have been sneaking in 3 minute meditations throughout the day. That, plus adding in an extra dose of gotu kola in the afternoon (before school pickup) has really been helping me get my irritability in check. Now I’m going to add in a few more strategies in the evening to help me not become scary mommy during all the pre-bedtime drama. Here’s to keeping our cool and being the people/parents/humans that we want to be!
Need some more support with your diet, supplementation or lifestyle habits?
2019 has come and gone, and a new year is finally upon us. While many are ready to move on from last year, many more of us are not sure what direction to take for the upcoming year. If you are still struggling to make your New Year’s resolution, or maybe even have given up on making one altogether, then here’s an idea for you: Make 2020 the year of wellness.
While the idea of promoting wellness may seem like an abstract and lofty goal, it really isn’t. Once you begin to consider your well-being seriously, you will notice the tangible effects it has on every aspect of your life, from physical health to social interactions and beyond. If you’re still not convinced, here is how you can make 2020 the year of wellness.
The Power of Positivity
Your path to wellness begins with the right frame of mind. So often, we get bogged down in negativity and self-doubt that we deny ourselves valuable experiences and opportunities to pursue what we love. Positivity, much like personality, is unique for everyone. We all have different activities that pique our interests and bring us joy. As you begin to create a year of wellness, you will need to find ways to boost positivity in your life. This could be anything from taking time to meditate and organize your thoughts, to reading a book that inspires and motivates you.
Creating a Sound Mind and Body
Once you begin to feel positivity enter into your life, you must capitalize on its effects. Take that good energy you’ve created for yourself and use it to enhance your physical and mental health. Part of embodying the idea of wellness is trying to become your best possible self. Engage your body in physical activities such as swimming, jogging, and yoga to help you breathe more deeply, run longer distances, and feel stronger. Many find that a fitness tracker or smartwatch can enhance their fitness routine. When deciding which type of device is the best fit for you, consider which features you need and how much you’re prepared to spend.
Being well is strengthening not only your body, but also your mind. Meditation, reading, and academic pursuits are ideal for increasing focus and stretching creativity. The power of improving your mental and physical health can do wonders for your wellness, which is why so many people who suffer from anxiety, addiction, and depression use physically and mentally stimulating activities to improve their lives.
Discover Something New About Yourself
Nothing can be more motivating than watching an idea that started in your brain manifests itself in the real world. As you focus on making 2020 the year of wellness, you shouldn’t be afraid to push your mind and body to achieve new things that you have never done before. This could be writing down a story you thought up while jogging outdoors or reaching a new fitness goal that you have never been able to do before. As you reach for new heights, you will feel a level of satisfaction that brings you pride, self-confidence, and motivation to keep reaching further.
Improving your wellness is a process that begins with positivity and ends with you pushing yourself to do things that will help you be a better person. It isn’t a resolution that can happen in a few weeks at the gym or a month in a book club, but instead calls upon you to continually give and grow and push yourself further and further. If 2019 felt like a step back for you, why not take two steps forward this year?
Dana Brown lives in Miami. She created Health Conditions to provide readers with content that will help them make healthier decisions for their lives.
About 6 years ago, after many failed attempts, I decided I was finally going to learn to meditate. I had tried so many times before, with no success (or so I thought). I was convinced that I just wasn’t the type of person that could meditate. But being a generally anxious person, prone to a heightened stress response, I knew I had to give it another go. So I signed up for a free online 28 day meditation series led by two people I loved (from a distance, at least): Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey. Not too shabby a combo, right?
After much a frustrating first two weeks, which felt like me “meditating” meant sitting there trying not to think about all the shit on my mind, but then thinking about it anyway, and realizing that I just spent 10 minutes thinking about my to-do list…. le sigh. But suddenly, a little over two weeks in, I realized that I had turned a corner. I was able focus on my breath and the mantra for longer, bring myself back from distractions faster, and finally reap the benefits of meditation.
Though I’ve done several Meditation Challenges since then, and meditated on my own sporadically, I have not had a solid one month streak in many years, certainly not since becoming a mama. So with the mounting stressors over the last few months of being a work-from-home mom with a strong-willed, precocious toddler, starting an intensive year-long Ayurvedic practitioner program, and starting a new business with my husband (more on that later), I was starting to feel my meditation practice calling to me again.
My neck and shoulders were perpetually tight, I was feeling bouts of anxiety, my patience with my kid and husband was dwindling, and I felt like I was developing much more of a temper than I would like. Something had to change.
As we head into this final stretch of winter, we all seem to be getting a little fed up with the cold and the havoc it can wreak on our bodies and minds. I moved all the way across the country from New York to sunny Santa Monica to escape winter, and even here, in the temperate 60 degree winter temperature range, my feet are cold, I’m sipping hot tea all day long, and I’m pretty much living in my long, chunky knits.
Cold weather, even Santa Monica-style cold weather, can dry us out, stress us out, make us feel depressed and unmotivated, and majorly hamper our glow factor. But with a few Ayurvedic tips and tricks, we can heat things up, boost our mood and immunity, and get through the rest of winter with our glow on!
Do you ever feel like there is some mysterious force keeping you from feeling your absolute best? How sometimes, you just wake up in the morning feeling like crap. Or you eat a normal (not even super unhealthy!) meal and end up bloated and sluggish. Or you get the sniffles seemingly out of nowhere. Or your skin is an unpredictable mess.
Food and environmental sensitivities may be the culprit.
Reactions to often otherwise harmless foods or hidden toxins in your environment could be wreaking havoc on your health, mood, hell… your whole life! So figuring them out is key.
The cool thing is that discovering your sensitivities isn’t the same thing as testing for allergies. Sensitivities can come and go depending on your immunity, inflammation, exposure, digestion, and so many other factors. Often times, just removing the triggering food or environmental factor for 30 days or so can make a WORLD of difference. And unlike allergy testing, bioenergetic scanning reveals what you are sensitive to RIGHT NOW, which is such a potent tool in regaining control of your health.
I’m so impressed by this science and so excited to share it with you, that I’ve partnered with Balanced Health to give away a Sensitivity Scan to one lucky beauty to help you understand your body and reclaim your health. Enter below!
I’ll be the first to admit, I was super slow and reticent to get on the menstrual cup bandwagon. After an ill-fated attempt at using one in college, I was convinced that my flow was just too heavy and my anatomy just wasn’t suited for this miraculous tool.
But alas, I was so wrong!
After years of cramps, leaks, landfill guilt, and more unsavory side effects, I was ready to give the menstrual cup another try. And I am happy to say I am NEVER going back.
The benefits of using a menstrual cup are many and varied, but these 5 are the biggies to make the switch.
SPONSORED POST: I’ve partnered with Milk & Eggs, an amazing farm direct grocery delivery service, to bring you guys some delicious, super seasonal, and always healthy recipes a few times a month. I’m so excited to share some of my favorite dishes with you!
We all seem to start every new year with the best of intentions for eating healthier, losing weight, or getting more energy. But so often that goal can feel so huge and nebulous.. where do I start? What is healthy eating? Should I start a cleanse or a new diet? Oftentimes, our overcomplicating or overthinking of this relatively simple concept can suck the resolve right out of us. And after a few well-intentioned weeks, we’re right back where we started… Tired, bloated, and squeezed into jeans that feel too tight.
What I always tell my nutrition clients is this: healthy eating is SO much easier than the media and diet industry make it out to be. You don’t need a diet, or a detox, or a book to tell you the common sense food rules that govern great health.
Michael Pollan put it best:
Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.
There. That’s IT. Seriously.
But I know we need a little more guidance than that, so here are my 5 simple steps that you can start doing right now, that will make eating healthier and feeling better an immediate reality.
I cannot overstate the importance of utmost absolute vigilance when selecting the products you use on and around your baby. This guide has products I have used and loved with my own baby, as well as a couple of vetted items that I didn’t get much use out of, but come highly recommended by my mommy community.
In general, there are a few things to keep in mind when selecting products for baby: safety, purity, and intention. Little babies are so sensitive to their environment, and the choices we make in the first months of their lives set them up for a healthy and happy childhood and rest of their lives. Choose the easy, cheap, unresearched route, and your child will likely battle issues like hormonal imbalance, allergies and asthma, behavioral issues and ADD, and even more serious long-term effects. Maybe a few items are a little more expensive than their drugstore or box store counterparts, but when it comes to your little one, it is soooo worth it. If budget is a concern, skip a few weekly trips to Starbucks and you will more than make up for the difference in cost.
In general, here are the rules I follow when choosing products for my baby:
EVERYTHING must be BPA, SLS, phthalate, and paraben-free
Wood or glass over plastic
Organic or bamboo fibers whenever possible
Simple items with developmental value over battery-powered products that make noise or blink lights
Before all the craziness of more holidays and extensive resolutions sets in, it’s the perfect time to start a few new consistent healthy habits to help you stay rested, less stressed, and more balanced (inside and out). These are easy to incorporate — you may even be doing one of them already!
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I'm Natasha Uspensky, holistic nutritionist, Ayurvedic practitioner and healthy lifestyle expert. I created The Organic Beauty to be your resource to celebrate and learn about everything from healthy eating and living for your whole family, to natural beauty and sustainable style. I hope to inspire you to live beautifully and healthfully, in a life you love!
As we head into this final stretch of winter, we all seem to be getting a little fed up with the cold and the havoc it can wreak on our bodies and minds. I moved all the way across the country from New York to sunny Santa Monica to escape winter, and even here, in the temperate 60 degree winter temperature range, my feet are cold, I’m sipping hot tea all day long, and I’m pretty much living in my long, chunky knits.
