Health Tips For Late Summer Dryness (per Ayurveda)

The long, hot summer continues to dry the earth and your body out by late July.

Late summer is characterized by heat and dryness in the body. The sizzling afternoon sun seems to bake away all remaining moisture and electrolytes. After a summer of sweating under the hot sun bodily fluids are depleted. By late summer, the skin will feel parched and the bowels dry and constipated.

Electrolyte imbalance, depleted fluids, & constipation affects the mind and nervous system, making a person anxious and overstimulated. Insomnia may ensue. Late summer is a critical time to replenish and rebuild your body in advance of colder temperatures.

Dry air is a relief to some constitutions (especially watery Kapha) who relish this time of year. They find new energy and freedom from the sticky, puffy, sluggish humidity of early summer. Even the air seems thinner and easier to breathe. You may even feel a crisp coolness in the early morning.

Vata individuals will have a dry, thirsty palate, and especially need replenishing fluids on a daily basis. They may feel like a grape that has been sun-dried into a raisin. They suffer from insomnia as electrolyte depletion overstimulates their nervous system.

Bi-Annual Temperature Swing

After six months of preparing for rising temperatures, your body suddenly switches gears mid July to prepare for the thermometer to plunge. Vata season starts the last week of July as colder, drier air masses move in from the north.

By August 1st, days are shorter and a notably lower angle of the midday sun causes temperatures to decline rapidly. By the second week of August a thunderstorm will signal the definitive change in season as the temperature drops over ten degrees in just a few hours. Mornings will feel noticeably cooler.

As warm-blooded beings, your body expends significant energy adapting itself to changing climates. It can take several months for your body to transition fully from warm to cold seasons. One of the ways your body prepares for fall is by storing fats, removing them from the bloodstream and storing them in fat tissue. This effect significantly dries out the blood.

The biannual adjustment to temperature is one reason why August & February pose heightened health challenges. In August, constitutionally dry individuals become unwell. February particularly impacts those with congested, retained fluids or excess weight.

Craving Sweets & Carbs

A cool breeze beneath my bedroom window at four am wakes me up. I put on a pair of socks enjoying the crisp relief from the sweltering dog days of summer. Later on at lunchtime I notice my cravings for fresh green vegetable suddenly subsiding for mashed potatoes. A friend brings homemade zucchini bread for lunch. Autumn is approaching!

The shift in cravings is a sign that your body is preparing for the cold temperatures ahead, using the carbohydrates to build an insulating layer of fat in the skin.

Tired, Crampy Muscles

Late summer brings with it a certain stillness.

Early summer heat increases the heart rate, pushes blood to the surface of the skin, and into the arms and legs. As soon as the temperature starts to drop, the volume of blood in your arms and legs drops too, making your muscles feel tired. Electrolyte imbalance may cause some cramping in late July, early August.

Tired muscles make the first week of August an ideal vacation week. As the season changes, so does the schedule. With kids returning back to school, parents and kids will be busy scrambling to adjust to a new routine. Give yourself special treats like time off to enjoy the transition in seasons and prepare for the busy year ahead.

Dry Rashes

May rashes tend to be wet and weepy. Rashes in August tend to be dry and scaly. Daily oil massages will keep your skin and complexion smooth and supple for the transition to Autumn.

Moisturizing Diet for Late Summer

Avoid

• Avoid drying foods such as popcorn and dried fruits.
• Diuretics, especially parsley, celery, & asparagus.
• Avoid astringents that can break down the digestive mucosa, and cause constipatiion, especially difficult to digest beans.

Favor - Summer dryness can be moistened by juicy pears, coconut water, juicy fruits, cucumber, and all walks of melon. Did you know that cucumber is actually in the melon family?

• Sweet, Sour foods such as grapes, peaches and tomatoes. Sweet taste builds moisture and sour taste expresses it on the skin as it dilates blood vessels.
• Salty foods - Vata types can drink water with lime and salt in the morning to combat dryness. Salt encourages water retention
• Fats can help moisturize the GI tract and skin. Cooling fats like coconut oil and milk are ideal.

See our Late Summer Ayurvedic Diet full of tasty Vata pacifying recipes

Lifestyle Tips for Late Summer Dryness

• Apply Oil massage with coconut or sunflower oil daily to keep the skin moist
• Dress in layers for cool morning & hot afternoons

Herbs for Late Summer Dryness

Herbal teas like marshmallow root, and licorice (which has anti-inflammatory properties) keep tissues moist and supple in preparation for the dry upcoming fall.

• Licorice Root - Soothes dryness & inflammation, encourages water retention
• Amalaki is sour and cools aggravated late summer Pitta.

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