Fire + Fire = An Explosion
Walking around the Farmers Market in Rome is so fun. The bright colors, the fresh veggies, the pasta (!) the truffles.. it's enough to make you want to drop everything and go to culinary school. I snapped a shot of this gorgeous bouquet of chili peppers and it got me thinking about the proper way to eat them.
Plants have a natural defense system. I'd recommend The Plant Paradox by Steven Guntry if you've never heard of this concept- it's fascinating.
Plants don't like to be eaten any more than you or I, and they have evolved to defend themselves in elaborate ways to protect themselves from pretators because just like any other living thing, they are intelligent and want to preserve their species. Defense mechanisms come in the form of making you sick, tasting super sour until they are ready for you to eat them (and spread their seeds, which is why fruit ripens) having thorns, and as for chili peppers, it's being super uncomfortably incredibly spicy so you learn your lesson the first time and leave them alone.
Plants have personalities just like humans do in this sense; it's a little funny to think about it but it is logical, some are sweet, some are spicy, some are bolder than others. Plants personalities - or properties - are what add to the quality of the nourishment we receive from them from them. Therefore, matching our food's properties to our own natures is important to maintain proper balance.
Here's what's interesting. Humans love chili peppers despite this plant's attempt to keep us away! It is an important part of certain cuisines and sometimes there is nothing better than a little zap in your meal. Spicy means fire and foods with the fire property will heat your system- this makes sense because you literally feel hot and can even sweat when you ingest them. Is there anyone that shouldn't eat them though? Who should avoid them?
The element of fire is naturally found in Pitta personalities and Pitta body types. Pitta people tend to be competitive, very intelligent, logical, list makers, ambitious, punctual, feel grumpy if they don’t eat on time, gray early, be athletic, be of a medium build and have strong personalities. They are lions, and you always notice a Pitta partly because of their energetic presence and partly because they will let you know they are there . All good things!! A Pitta gets things done and leads the way, until they become imbalanced, in which case they can be overly jealous, angry, aggressive and a little hard to handle.
Fire + fire = an explosion.
Too much heat, acidic, sour or spicy foods, skipping meals, working out under the sun, not being in touch with themselves or feeling held back all imbalance Pitta personalities and body types. Everyone has Pitta energy in them naturally so it just comes down to the degree of which your Pitta shows up and how. Too much spicy can throw anyone off, but Pitta body types already have a high amount of fire energy in them so they will tend be thrown off more quickly or more fiercely if you will - meaning the way the tend to imbalance will be more. Faster hair loss, more easily angered, higher tendency for skin irritations and ulcers, and such. Just something to pay attention to for you lions.
If you are a Pitta, eat spicy foods and sauces in moderation only and always look for a way to balance them, even if you love it; eat them with cucumbers, parsley, coconut and other cooling foods to offset the extra heat coming into your system. Extra heat it is the fastest way to throw off your nature, or your dosha, and can lead to further imbalances if you have too many spicy foods / overly heating activities too often.
Always the medium road Pittas, even though you like extremes.
For more info on how to balance your Pitta nature, shoot me a message!
xo, Helen