In the change of season people experience the onset of colds and flus. This tends to happen when the accumulated doshas of the previous season (in this case the pitta or heat of summer) get thrown off and replaced by the predominant dosha of the following season (cold and wet of fall). When this happens, ama or toxicity can build up in the system and we can fall ill as a result. This illness usually gets swept under the generic term cold or flu.
Ayurveda offers some advice for avoiding these setbacks or reducing their severity.
First, eat less at the change of season and especially in the face of cold symptoms.
Second, continue to follow a pitta pacifying diet. Do not immediately switch to a kapha pacifying diet to quickly as pitta continues to be discarded.
Add cinnamon and turmeric to your diet as they are anti-viral. Small amounts of these two spices cooked in a small amount of milk will help boost the immune system.
For questions you can write to Vaidya R.K.Mishra an Ayurvedic health practitioner, product formulator, researcher and educator born into a family of Raj Vaidyas that boast of a 5000-year-old history of healing. His email address is adishakti@aol.com
