Body heat is the heat produced within your body due to metabolic and physical activity.
Following are the factors which can affect your body heat
- Climatic conditions.
- Environment where you live or work.
- Daily cycle – Your body will be cool during morning and evening while in afternoon your body tends to retain more heat.
- Certain conditions like fever, infections, ovulation, menstrual cycle, pregnancy, diabetes, stress, lack of sleep, thyroid and other hormonal abnormalities, etc.
- Alcohol, smoking and certain medications.
According to Ayurveda, vitiation of pitta dosha is the cause of excess body heat. Following are the cause of pitta dosha vitiation
- Consumption of more pitta provoking foods which have the dominant sour, pungent and salty taste. Spicy, deep fried oily foods.
- Excessive exposure to the sun and hot climate.
- More stress and anger.
- During sharad rutu.
Following sharad and greeshma rutu charya helps in combating excess body heat and pitta.
- Drink buttermilk, tender coconut, juice prepared of sugarcane, grapes, watermelon, pomegranate, amla with cardamom.
- You can undergo panchakarma therapy like virechana.
- Use foods and drinks predominant with sweet, bitter and astringent taste.
- Prefer light and liquid diet. Include rice, moong dal, cucumber, ash gourd, milk and ghee in your diet. Avoid green chilly, capsicum, minimise the intake of onions, garlic, tomatoes and citrus fruits.
- Stay in cool place and under shade. Avoid exposure to direct sunlight.
- Wear light, loose fitting cotton clothes. Avoid using dark/black coloured dress. Use accessories made of pearls, corals and spatika.
- Take a bath in cold water or you can put a cool damp cloth on your body or soak your feet cold water to reduce excess heat.
- You can apply sandalwood paste or henna.
- Do hair pack with henna or fenugreek seeds.
- Avoid more physical activity and sexual intercourse.
- Avoid smoking, alcohol consumption. Minimize the intake of coffee.
- Practise body cooling breathing exercise like shitali, shitkari pranayama.
Ayurvedic Treatment and Home Remedies for Combating Heat
- Internally you can take, Kushmanda rasayana, Amalaki rasayana, Yashtimadhu, Avipattikar churna, Amalaki churna, Triphala churna, Drakshadi churna, Usheera, Musta, Sariva, etc to remove excess pitta from your body.
- You can put anantamool, usheera, Khadira in drinking water.
- You can soak a tablespoon of fenugreek or coriander seeds or raisins and figs in a large glass of water overnight. Next day morning you drink this water.
- Do regular body massage with Chandanadi taila, Yashtimadhu taila or Nalpamaradi taila and head massage with Brahmi taila, Bhringamalakadi taila