95. Pitta Season Survival: Ayurvedic Tips for Managing Summer Heat in Your Body [video]

If summer heat is leaving you irritable, bloated, broken out, or just plain wiped out, this solo episode is for you. Kate O'Donnell offers a midsummer check-in through the lens of Ayurveda — explaining why this particular point in the season is such an important juncture, and what to do now to keep summer's heat from setting the stage for a fall burnout.

Kate walks through the Ayurvedic concept of samprapti — the slow, predictable way a dosha moves out of balance — and helps you recognize the early signs of pitta accumulation: heat, sharpness (acidity), spreading (prickly heat, breakouts, itchy skin), dryness, loose stools, and a short emotional fuse. She explains how accumulation turns into aggravation, and why that unchecked heat can cause real imbalances like acid reflux and inflammation down the line.

Drawing on hard lessons from her own burnout last fall, Kate shares exactly what she's doing differently this year — from lying on the cool basement floor and eating her big meal at 10am, to giving up cold and raw foods, adding dry ginger to smoothies, and "slowing her roll" with a stay-home day each week. She also speaks directly to those in perimenopause and menopause about why extreme temperatures feel harder to manage now, and why that's something to be aware of rather than fixed.

In this episode:

• Why midsummer is a critical juncture in the Ayurvedic year
• The signs of pitta accumulation vs. aggravation
• How heat, cortisol, and inflammation connect
• Perimenopause and why heat (and cold food) hit differently now
• Kate's practical toolkit: cooling the body, eating for the season, and slowing down
• Why warm, cooked food may be the fix for summer bloat

Mentioned in this episode:

• Dr. Tung's natural oral care — drtungs.com (new customers get 15% off)
• Banyan Botanicals Beauty Balm — banyanbotanicals.com/kate
• Ayurvedic Living Institute — India Culinary & Nutrition Immersion, February 2027 — ayurvedicliving.institute
• The Fall Cleanse (offered each October)
• LifeSpa grass-fed whey protein powder
• https://store.lifespa.com/?ref=16841
• Save $10 with code KATE10

If you're navigating perimenopause or menopause and summer feels harder than it used to — this one's for you. Keep in touch, and I'll see you next time.

Spring Cleanse: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/kitchari-cleanse-ayurveda-spring

Connect with Kate: https://www.healwithkate.org

Ayurvedic Living Institute Membership: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/membership

Women's Health Collection: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/collections/womens-healthhttps://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/products/courses/copy-of-fall-community-cleanse-2024

Thanks to our Sponsors:
Banyan Botanicals
https://alnk.to/eOQb34q

Beauty Balm
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Kate's Discount code 15% off Banyan SPRINGWITHKATE

and
Dr. Tungs
Dr. Tungs Link: https://drtungs.com/collections/oral-care-kits