Pitta season is usually when heat starts up in the summer, but sometimes that can be sooner. We’re reminded of our planet. And we can celebrate with cooling foods like pineapple, cumin, and yogurts. A Hawaiian pizza with pineapple below.
Celebrating a brownie with pineapple, cherry, and Greek yogurt funfetti never gets old! 🎉
Heat, heat, heat. And more heat. That’s what Pitta season is about. Along with the bloom and celebration comes heat that is deceivingly dangerous. The solution: cool moisture. And I have some reminder hydrating tips below.
You may not be a Pitta, but Pitta season is a scorcher. Jumping in a cooling pool will give you a few minutes of relief but won’t help you from leathering up or collecting sun-kissed freckles… that I probably don’t need to remind you, catch up with you in sunspots and wrinkles when you get to the mirror.
So in that vain, prevention is always the best and easiest method.
Especially when you’re on vacation, you may forget how much moisturizing love the skin really needs. Your best bet is to moisturize throughout the day when you get a break. And if you get heat rashes or inflammation.
And if you’re like me and tend to forget the SPF before heading out, do it first thing and bring it with you. We can’t get away with SPF 0 or 2 like we once did, especially if you want to look good at mid-life. Try 50 (or 52 😉).
And when you’re back home, revive your skin by washing off the layer of SPF skin protection not needed indoors. Steam is going to restore you and your skin back. And your critical-minutes after shower routine minutes will set the tone.
The right moisturizing lotion after showering helps to embalm the moisture. There’s no one-size fits all for products (and that’s probably one of the reasons why there are so many options available). And once you find your formula or brand that works for you, stick with that.
And, use a spritzing facial spray. I like rosewater (good for Pitta moods). If you don’t like the scent, you can choose a mint cooling spray. That sets you on your merry way to start the second half of your day.
Mint btw, is also good for keeping away some flying insects that can really kick up the Pitta annoyed emotions.
Also, Witch Hazel has become a favorite oldie but goodie astringent that draws oil out that irritates (Pitta) heated and dry skin.
And if you like floral scents like jasmine, lavender, or rose, go with that which also helps the body cool or calm from a mind-body perspective. It’s also a good reminder to: stop and smell the flowers.
Or magnolias in my case (known for symbolizing joy, love, and purity):
Look at this moisture-rich magnolia flower 💮
When you’re out, you also want to use an SPF lip balm. The higher SPF, the better.
At home, I use Burt’s Bees brand when no SPF is needed. And a lip scrub, and then dab a little honey on the lips that moisturizes and keeps lips supple… trust me I’m all about the lip management with full lips. 🫦
I learned early on that lips don’t tan. 😅
And honey also has been used for centuries for skin inflammation as well as dehydration.
As you age, you notice the drier spots. The good news is your moisture-love efforts, accumulate.
Same with drinking water. If you use an aluminum bottle over glass, that can be super cooling. And keep plenty of juicy fruits around as sweet snacks, such as healthy tropical fruits: pineapple, kiwi, and peeled-off skin grapes.
All these keep you from Pitta season dehydrating or getting easy-fix thirsty headaches… we don’t need to complicate the simple. 💧
Moisturize if your skin is dry may be what’s needed for you in these climate changing times. And if you’re experiencing eczema skin or other dryness signs, you’ll want to drench yourself and let these tips soak in like I did when I first discovered an eczema flair-up due to global warming…
And if that’s you, you’ve come to the right place for moisturize tips…
With global warming and climate change (plus global cooling) on the reality fast rise, the outdoor dry air is becoming drier, and this plays extra havoc on our affected bodies and down to the hypodermis and skin cells level.
In awareness, you can proactively moisturize (more), make healthy changes (10 tips below to check off), and not be blind-sided by your body’s need to adjust naturally.
You may find yourself needing more products as I did… and I ended up in the hospital emergency room because of a dry foot. Can you imagine!?
Cerave became my favorite daily moisturizer needed for the outside and water for the inside. But I found I needed more than moisturizers, products with hyaluronic acid for skin care, and soothing parched skin that became eczema developments from heat rashes. It was like a sun burn.
Drinking more water and eating 90% water fruits like melons wasn’t enough, but it was a start.
And a watermelon sorbet helps as hydrating and cooling that can help restore your body temperature.
But if you feel like you’re drinking water like a camel and keep moisturizing like it’s already winter (and you’re still dry), there’s nothing wrong with you…
Climate change can affect sensitive skin with symptoms you may never have had before.
For me, I had good skin and there was no need to moisturize certain body parts regularly up until a few years ago.
One good daily check is your home thermostat.
Another is your body thermostat. This will feel different despite our 98°F/36°C human bodies. If you’re Pitta imbalanced, your natural heat will be increased and get really bad like it did for me one season where I needed body balance intervention.
One of the first places to transition is testing the shower water temperatures you’re using based on outdoor temperatures and your body (balanced or imbalanced). If it’s hot out or you feel hot, get used to the cooler water temperatures will do your body good.
You can start on cool and end on cool water temps if you’re high in Pitta or it’s summer.
Scalding hot will always be harsh on the skin even if you’re leaning into Vata and Kapha preferences that like the nourishing and comforting heat. And yes… feeling more anxiety or clingy in any way are related.
For Vata and Kaphas, you may already be on the cool side, so a little warmer to start and end is good. You can use Ayurvedic small changes to help change your previous habits.
That’s one way of how knowing what your Ayurvedic body imbalances are now can help, and you can restore them without intervention. Adjusting your shower temperatures is one small way.
So, one takeaway (or reminder) is don’t stick with the same shower temperature year-round. Adjust to your body balance temperatures.
Self-care and prioritizing our prized bodies above our stuff keep us running optimally through the seasons.
And just like you change out your clothes from summer to autumn and winter, you want to change your routines and habits for your changing body.
Our skin, as our largest organ, acts as a barrier to our internal body organs we can’t see. We often take for granted when all is running smoothly. Your skin is constantly changing, and renewing and a great place to start.
Retinol (that I learned as the stronger Retin-A from youth) can help that process along if it doesn’t irritate your skin.
10 Moisturize Self-Care Tips:
FOR SKIN AND SPECIFIC BODY PARTS
At the bare minimum, take care of the entry points on your body.
1) Eyes: Your eyes aren’t just the window to your soul, they are the gateway to how you see the world. And if you have dry eyes, that’s one fuzzy world!
Adding eye drops helps (and especially if you’re on your digital devices more than ever). Blue light blocking UVB glasses are necessary as you never know when you’ll be walking in the strong sun and don’t want to end up with cataracts or eye diseases that’s a reality for aging people. I learned that from my mom.
As a society, we can seem to care more about what fashionable pair of specs we’re wearing and forget about our precious eyes.
Needing to moisturize our eyes when we wake up lets us know we’ve slept that swimming fish don’t need (not even the smart Dr. Seuss Goldfish ones 😉). That could be a habit stack for us along with nasal saline drops (another main entrance into the body). The Neti pot is a nasal cleansing habit I do weekly and when kept up with is effective to prevent nasty sinus infections.
2) Lips: Daily real self-care things can seem small (and sometimes inconvenient or annoying) but you’re naturally given your refined parts like tender soft lips so you can chew with your mouth closed (unlike an ape that happily spits out food in its company).
At home, I like to bring in outdoor local wonderment by using organic honey, a household-must in more ways than one.
One way you may not have thought about is using honey to moisturize dry lips. It’s better than Vaseline because it’s edible. Glossy raw honey works better than a honey lip balm, especially if you’re about to eat or drink.
…Plus you get a ‘lil sweet taste in that’s always a plus for a sweet tooth 😉
Honey lips stay supple because the natural humectant locks in the moisture. And even helps for little salty cuts on the sides of your lips in between the top and bottom lip, if that happens to you like it does for me.
Honey is also antibacterial. The B.C. Egyptians are credited for discovering honey as a secret medicinal ingredient. They lived like the Kardashians and Queen bees.
Honey back then meant luxury. I wonder if the Queen Bee would’ve adapted to today’s changing climate.
We still know that nature provides the best sources and resources where natural solutions can be the best answers to our problems.
…And this is why our natural bodies intuitively know what we need (and that I’m super passionate about in Ayurveda). Our bodies are connection points to our mind and spirit that make us above other mammals.
For honey, depending on your need, you can find a local raw honey source in your area or you use a good standby like Manuka honey (native to Australia/New Zealand) that has become the gold standard and is pricier.
If you buy processed honey fillers, those aren’t the same. The sugar honey bear shows his age as he crystallizes. and is not one you want to add to your medicinal cabinet, as cute and wallet-friendly as a honey celebrity that he is. 🍯
3) Whole-body moisturize (before and) after showering for prevention.
If your skin feels raisin dry, steaming in the warm shower helps. If right after exiting the shower, you moisturize right away, you can seal in the moisture on certain dry parts with a product like Vaseline lotion that has petrolatum (it’s like adding a protective wax or protective coat). The rose pink Vaseline is good for heated Pitta moments.
And then add your favorite lotion if you’re still feeling dry skin. That’s a good habit to get into.
We all have different skin so I mention a few good ingredients here that you can see what works for you…
In the evening, you can mix it up with shea butter, coconut or avocado oil, or Ceramide 3 lotions. You may even want to moisturize mid-day if you are super dry. I use different unscented or fragrance-free moisturizers that don’t have harmful phthalates. Those are the ingredients that are bad like BPA plastics where you don’t see immediate effects to health.
I also keep natural, great citrusy scented hand creams close by. Mixing it up (biodiversity) helps your body to adapt better to changing body and climate situations in the your environment.
When in doubt or confused of what to select… don’t let all the hoopla of different ingredients overwhelm you, but focus on 3 main things… moisturize, moisturize, and moisturize!
But if more severe and you need to soothe itchy skin inflammations, look for ingredients like aloe, colloidal oatmeal, vitamins C and E, and healthy oils (coconut, carrot seed, olive oils… if you can eat it, then you know it’s skin-safe and good food moisturizing ideas). Don’t forget honey… it’s sticky good!
For dryness around your scalp, try an oil like coconut oil and moisturizers. Try to leave in after your shower (or let soak in before you shower). We’re so quick to get cleaned off from the greasiness, but that’s sheer bathing luxury for your skin.
4) Salve and sesame oil: for dryness on and around nails and cuticles. You want to let your nails breathe (if you usually have them polished or wear artificial nails). Cooler weather is a good time to let your nails go au naturel for in between breathing days.
That also gives you a break from year-round time consuming and costly nail maintenance… that can be a huge breath of fresh air!
This is a moist salve (good for dry cuticles) and dry lips, essential oil spray for pillow or yoga mats, and moist lip balm almost as good as honey… PLUS a nice quote!
5) Shea Butter: For rough sandpaper hands or feet, an emollient-softening lotion with shea butter can feel rich and good.
Hands and feet tend to be the first places that can get very dry so take extra mani-pedi self-care measures.
Keep lotion by your computer, desk, and body so you can use throughout the day as needed or when you remember.
If you have dry skin, you can never moisturize enough!
The worst that will happen if you over-moisturize is you get butter fingers and something slips from your hand, but you’ll never get called into the Principal’s office for moisturizing too much!
I have what I cal Vata lotion in every room… basically that’s a variety of lotion potions to choose from for dry emergencies and convenience.
6) Aloe: Is another great skin quencher and is not fussy or sticky. It’s clear color (not the Kermit frog green color you may have seen with dyes that sells better).
Pure aloe is water to your skin. I never used to use aloe regularly. I only used it to quickly heal skin burns from the kitchen. But now it’s a great non-greasy moistener for in-between moisturizing with lotions. It’s like a sip of water to your skin, that is better than nothing when your skin is parched… it’s like drinking water on your skin, and it can tie-you over until you get a full moisturizer on.
FOOD AND DRINKS
7) Water andCoconut water: Is super hydrating from the natural Super Fruit. VitaCoco water is hydrolyzing, and can help if you’re not sugar-sensitive.
If you are, there’s nothing purer than plain water.
Natural water like Voss and Fiji water are treats but skipping the cases of grocery plastic bottle filtered waters (stripped of minerals) are good ideas.
A replaceable Brita pitcher and filter or home water filter system from your fridge can work better for most daily water and is a better reusable water system.
8) Substituting ingredients: Preventing inflammation caused by dryness helps to maintain a healthy balance in your body.
You can subtly do this with small replacements like fruit sugar over refined sugar, and a healthy fats list like EVOO, avocado, or coconut oil over poly fats (e.g. margarine, butter, vegetable oil, hydrogenated oils… and the stuff I grew up consuming… you too?).
9) Seasonal foods: Lean into what’s seasonally “in” by shopping at the local farmers markets or in the abundant bins in grocery stores. You can often tell when there’s an abundance because the organic choice is also abundant.
You can see a variety of abundance from a distance in its bright colors and up close with unique PLU small stickers.
When I did party planning in Mediterranean cuisine restaurants, the menus were always seasonal, based on the available foods priced reasonably. So you wouldn’t see watermelon-inspired recipes in the winter and pumpkin or pomegranate dishes in the spring.
10) Spices: are a great way to balance food seasonality and keep your food and dishes interesting year-round with reliable seasonings.
Isn’t spice the variety of life!? …in my world, anyway, it is (and hopefully in yours!). Oregano was one of my first favorites which goes well with red sauces and Italian dishes.
Then as spices evolved in the Western world, turmeric became a star. Plus, it’s anti-inflammatory and good to eat for dry, irritated skin (could be Vata and Pitta imbalance at the same time in changing weather).
Don’t let the turmeric drying and astringent texture to your tongue fool you into believing it’s drying you out. It’s body healing (and where you can get a glimpse of balancing wholeness through food).
Until next time, take good self care! …And if you want to learn how to restore annoying imbalances (dry-related or something else), you can take my body balance quiz.
Inflammatory eczema allergy foods is something I became deeply aware of when I experienced adult eczema in a nightmarish way during the world pandemic.
Backing up some, I was familiar with the common allergy foods as I planned parties and food menus working with thousands of groups with food allergies and gluten sensitivities.
But heightening my own sensitivities to food allergies showing up as adult eczema for the first time took the cake. It was a 3 month saga I’d love to forget.
Gluten didn’t help as a common offender in food and white flours so I’ll mention more on that below.
White flour is a common source of gluten food allergies and inflammation.
…Another food category was sweets!
That’s probably no surprise as too much sugar can make your skin crawl and no research has sanely suggested that sugar is good for you (other than your taste buds 😋).
But that’s hard news to swallow when you’re a sweet tooth (and a Vata body like me).
…And if sugar-tipped over the edge, then eczema can be the outcome where rashes mysteriously appear around the body.
They stay until the body is calm. It’s not like a mosquito bite where the poison and bite effects fade after a few days.
But I’m happy to say that even though I love baking (and do it weekly), I’ve learned how to bake healthy and keep eczema at bay. And yes the bakes are delicious (otherwise why bother?).
Firstly, I’m a foodie…
And when I started in catering management for upscale hotel chains, there were only vegetarian food categories other than the menu everyone else ate from.
Then common requests grew like “hold the onions” and “hold the garlic.”
At some point, I saw peanut and nut allergies crop up.
When I dug deeper into creating menus for food allergy group requests, we found that guests who had some peanut allergies could sometimes eat tree nuts like pine nuts.
With awareness, we never had a problem with food allergy association groups.
Shellfish can be another tricky area, but gratefully I didn’t work much with those foods.
An affected person who has even a trace of the shellfish can experience a life threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis shock.
We always had Benadryl in the First Aid kit nearby for general allergy reactions.
And by the time I was planning party events for busy American restaurants serving authentic Mediterranean cuisine, food awareness had grown even further.
Celiac Disease grew. It’s an allergy disease that can cause severe allergic reactions because gluten triggers the immune system.
And I can attest that gluten in moderation is better even for eczema skin allergy symptoms.
Your body gives different health conditions signs as warning. But a warning is a warning.
It can’t give a sour face. ☹️ Only you and I can do that. But it can give a health condition as a sign.
And the source can be the same ingredient culprits.
And so as we evolved in the world, allergies and preferences became the general norm.
Restaurant servers greeted you at your table asking, “does anyone have any allergies?”
A century ago that would’ve never been asked as you ate what you could and anti-inflammatory eczema allergy foods didn’t exist.
Also corn, oats, and quinoa (pseudo-grain) meals are good ideas since they are gluten-free so they bypass some decision fatigue.
Corn is the largest agricultural crop produced in the United States.
So there are still many options for gluten allergies.
Oh, and we also should consider…
Our different bodies where we react differently.
…What spikes the blood sugar of one person is different for another.
Getting to know your body with individual foods and enjoying in moderation is a good idea for all, and each of us living in our bodies.
Plus, lowering processed gluten foods for everyone is a good idea in general, considering all the environmental factors and chemicals (plastics, pesticides, and phthalates) we have no control over in the current state of food manufacturing processes.
For foods, adding more organic plant-based 🌱 in nature when possible, and not plant-based in factories 🏭 helps your entire body system run better.
Every little bit of our effort counts…
Adding more healthy variety, and nutrient-dense plant-forward foods is a double win scoring points for our bodies and our earth. 🎉
It can be as easy as exchanging pasta made from flour once in a while for spaghetti squash. See easy spaghetti squash recipe below. 🍴🍝
Spaghetti squash looks like spaghetti but doesn’t have gluten.
Focusing on anti-inflammatory foods and including Mediterranean Diet foods that overlap in your meals, helps.
According to the American Heart Association, The Mediterranean Diet is known to be the healthiest diet overall for preventative cardiovascular health and brain health today.
Overlapping with anti-inflammatory eczema allergy foods, focusing on healthy foods is as important as minimizing the bad food buckets, such as:
Processed, white sugar foods
Fried foods and unhealthy fats (such as high processed meats)
Eliminating these excesses from your diet can help reduce and potentially prevent life-shortening diseases and precursor chronic body inflammations from occurring.
These are lifestyle choices we get to make.
Replacing emptier calorie and excessively sweet snacks to healthier whole fruit and nut snacks, high quality dairy, and lean proteins help curb hunger in between meals.
Some foods may be classified as healthy, but are still just as bad. I used to fill up on nutritional bars as filler snacks… but the problem is often they’re loaded with sugar.
I realized I would have been better off with a Snickers.
So I quit the bars habit along with sodas for breakfast.
…Maybe you can relate with your food habits?
I replaced sodas for black coffee and unsweetened teas that are more enjoyable as a caffeine morning practice.
I now do and recommend a cold brew coffee method if you have a sensitive stomach or acid causes issues. ☕️
Changing your habits like a regular sweet one for a plant-based breakfast is doable. I’m living proof. 😊
And I take a page from my catering days where Crudite was a platter offered at almost every event.
That’s basically raw veggies like cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, and asparagus.
Those are good sources of fiber that your body needs to better absorb foods.
We often forget about the fiber as we’ve been primed to think of the macros (protein, carbs, and fat).
So fiber is my prime start of the day… and maybe yours (now)?
The Inflammation Free Diet for Food Allergies
The book I had been using as a guidebook for preparing meals, The Inflammation-Free Diet, re-entered my memory after my pandemic eczema inflammation episode.
I realized that there was a connection bridged between spiking sugar inflammation and foods and that made me even more on purpose for consuming anti-inflammatory eczema allergy foods.
In making healthy food choices, moderation and choosing to balance good back-to-earth foods seems to be the better ageless answer to healthily feed our bodies.
Using your natural Ayurvedic healthy body to sway to your advantage helps too.
You could discover your body likes more astringent or bitter foods.
This is common in Kapha body types so lean in on this healthy advantage.
And you can find food like garlic or onions aren’t favorable to your body. But that doesn’t mean you have an allergy.
It could just mean eat less.
Managing Eczema Food Allergy Inflammation
If you experience chronic body or skin inflammations in your life, find out what food allergens could be a trigger for your body. Food triggers change as you age.
Try adding more anti-inflammatory eczema allergy foods like vegetables, fruits, and low-glycemic index grains, and see if those make a difference.
Many people are allergic to nightshade foods because of alkaloids in plants.
As a kid, I would get an allergic reaction when I ate eggplants. A rash would move up my back quickly.
But as life moved, this was no longer an allergy trigger.
So don’t assume what was a food allergy trigger before is still your predicament.
Test in small quantities.
Because we want to keep a variety of healthy foods and food categories in our diet as diversity helps the gut and body.
Plus, foods are enjoyable so we don’t want to rob ourselves.
To better manage food allergies, you can read food label ingredients and gain knowledge and awareness.
Another thing you can do is order a medical food allergy-specific prick test at an allergist’s office.
Also do a self-diagnose check-in on your stress in life.
Stress can come from past, present, or future-related thoughts and situations. Past trauma that you may know about, and future uncertainty can confusingly show up in an inflammation body life.
The symptoms on and in your body tell a story in the mind-body connection.
To help restore balance no matter what the source cause, you can take the 2-minute body balance quiz.
And, enjoy this gluten-free spaghetti squash recipe. One medium-size quash will yield about as much as a pasta box you would buy at the store.
It’s a smart and healthy plant-based way to stretch a grocery dollar.
I discovered spaghetti squash as a meal when vegetarians were the main special food needs categories for groups I planned catered meals for. Food allergies didn't exist in the zeitgeist back then.
Course dinner, lunch
Cuisine American
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Equipment
Bread knife or safer sawing knife.
Spoon
Ingredients
spaghetti squash gourd
extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Score the gourd lengthwise. do not try to cut the hard gourd raw
Bake your spaghetti squash for about 20 minutes at 350°F or so. Then softened, you can cut where you scored. Tip: for the ends (like on pumpkins, take the firmly planted inside squash knife and twist to the right at the top and then at the bottom of the squash and that should do the trick break it open fully into two halves)
Face the two halves down on a baking sheet. You can add a ‘lil EVOO if you like.
Bake for 50 minutes or until you can scoop out strands easily with a spoon. You can test with a fork if you like. About half way through, when you see browning, flip the halves so they're facing up, and add a 'lil more EVOO drizzle.
Optional: keep the healthy seeds and enjoy them as snacks! Roast them along when you're baking the squash.
