Autumn

Seasonal Period: Mid-September to Mid-November

Key Features

• Salty taste dominance
• Pitta aggravation, Vata pacification
• Increased digestive power
• Increased blood disorders' risk

Dietary Focus:

• Favor bitter, sweet, and astringent tastes 
• Choose dry, light, and cold foods
• Avoid oily foods
• Avoid sour, salty and pungent tastes

Seasonal Overview

• Months in India: Mid-September to Mid-November
• Naturally prominent taste during this weather: Salty
• Link with Doshas: Season of Pitta aggravation and Vata pacification
• Basic rule for activities: Follow Pitta-reducing measures¹

Physiological Changes During Autumn

During this transitional season, your body undergoes several changes:

• Physical strength is medium, neither abnormally high nor low
• Increased susceptibility to Pitta and blood disorders
• Activity of digestive fire (Agni) increases

Dietary Guidelines

Favorable Tastes to Include¹

• Bitter
• Sweet
• Astringent

Unfavorable Tastes to Limit

• Salty
• Sour
• Pungent¹

Recommended Food Qualities

• Dry
• Light
• Cold
• Easily digestible

Food Qualities to Avoid

• Oily

Ideal Hydration

Arogyambu (Water boiled and reduced to 1/4th of its original quantity) is recommended for consumption during autumn.

Recommended Foods for Autumn

Sweet Preparations

• Sugarcane juice preparations
• Honey-based foods

Dairy Products

• Ghee (especially Tikta Ghee to remedy any Pitta imbalance from previous seasons¹)
• Boiled milk
• Butter
• Cream
• Srikhanda (sweet, flavored, condensed yogurt)

Pulses and Beans

• Green Gram
• Soyabeans

Grains

• Unpolished rice
• Wheat
• Barley

Fruits

All seasonal fruits are beneficial, particularly:

• Pomegranate
• Water chestnuts
• Indian gooseberries with sugar
• Currants
• Lotus seeds

Vegetables

• Red-leaved spinach
• Chenopodium
• Bottle gourd
• Angled loofah (torai)
• Cauliflower
• Radish
• Spinach
• Beans

Rejuvenating Herb

• Myrobalan (harad) powder with honey, rock sugar, or jaggery

Foods to Avoid

Food Properties to Avoid

• Sharp
• Acidic
• Hot
• Alkaline

Specific Foods to Limit

• Dairy: Buttermilk, Yogurt
• Pulses: Black gram
• Spices: Fennel seeds, Asafoetida, Black pepper, Long pepper
• Vegetables: Garlic, Brinjal, Bitter gourd
• Oils: Mustard oil

Lifestyle Recommendations

Beneficial Activities

• Walking, sleeping, and resting in moonlight is especially therapeutic
• Swimming is recommended (traditionally in clean, pure water bodies)¹
• Application of sandalwood paste on the body¹

Activities to Avoid

• Excessive exposure to sun, dew, and West winds
• Excessive exercise and sexual activity
• Consumption of salty and strong alcoholic substances
• Staying up late at night¹
• Daytime sleep¹

Seasonal Purification Therapies

Two primary cleansing practices are recommended during autumn:

• Purgation Therapy (Virecana)
• Blood Letting Therapy (Rakta moksana)

References:
Primary Source: Acharya Balkrishna - A Practical Approach to The Science of Ayurveda - A Comprehensive Guide for Healthy Living - Chapter 5 Health Horizons

1. English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita (Volume 3) Uttara Tantra - Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna - Pg 396-400