Are you eating right to gear up for monsoons?

The season of rains-Monsoon is approaching and it is certainly a sigh of relief after surviving the scorching summer heat. But are we ready for this seasonal change, especially amidst the coronavirus pandemic scare, wherein the rains can aggravate the chances of contracting infections and other seasonal ailments. Thus, the need to strengthen immunity becomes even more essential until a proper vaccination to this life threatening virus attack is created.

As much as we love the rains and this season, there are many water and air borne diseases that occur during this time and to keep all these diseases at bay, the best way is to take ample steps to prevent them by adapting some healthy changes in the diet. Well, here are a few food tips that will help you sail through the season in a healthy and happy way!

Rains and pakoras go hand-in-hand for most of us and it is the best way to amp up your tea time experience, but did you know this love of yours was the reason for your increasing health problems? Well, the presence of salt in fritters and other fried delicacies can spike the amount of sodium in your bloodstream, leading to a higher blood pressure. Apart from that, the excessive salt intake during monsoon can lead to more water retention and inflammation in the body. Hence, to stay fit during monsoons make sure you don't gorge on too much salty foods.

As they say, “bitter the better” and if you chalk out your monsoon diet keeping in mind this thumb rule, then you will never fall prey to water and air borne diseases caused due to this season. Adding vegetables like bitter gourd, neem, bottle gourd, turmeric, methi and other strong spices can help in strengthening immunity. Veggies like bottle gourd, bitter gourd are rich in antioxidants, vitamins A, C, B and minerals like zinc, iron etc. Apart from that, ingredients like neem and turmeric are known for their healing and antifungal, antiviral and anti inflammatory properties. That helps in preventing as well as curing several diseases and infections naturally.

Yes, both ginger and garlic are great for all seasons, but during monsoons adding these immunity boosters to your daily diet is essential as they can build up your resistance to fight several seasonal ailments. This is the reason why ginger tea is so popular in this humid weather. Ginger is rich in gingerol, an antioxidant that can boost up your immunity and keep diseases at bay.

Similarly, garlic has been used as a potent medicine in fighting infections, inflammation and reducing the oxidative stress caused due to the presence of free radicals.

In fact, to boost your immunity you can add garlic to your meals or eat it raw early in the morning. Moreover, ginger can also be used with honey and black peppercorns and turmeric as a natural remedy to fight seasonal diseases and it can also heal an upset stomach.

Eating seasonal fruits like jamuns, litchi, plums, cherries, peaches, papayas, pears and pomegranates will give your body the much needed boost of nutrition and hydration as most of these fruits have a good-concentration of water, which will also help in managing the right balance of fluids in the body. Apart from all this, the nutrient rich composition of seasonal fruits can help in improving the immunity and help fight seasonal ailments.

You must have heard people going on a sattvik diet in this season, this is simply because monsoon is the breeding season for animals, fishes; Thus eating them during this phase can cause several infections. Another reason why it suggested that one must avoid eggs, fish, meat during this season is because animals feed on fodder and grass that can get contaminated due to the unhygienic conditions caused due to rains and the same pathogens can pass on to humans when they consume meat. Thus, avoiding meat and fish is a must to stay healthy in this season.

Make sure you add immunity boosting herbal tea and kadha to your diet. Just add ingredients like turmeric, tulsi, ginger, garlic,cinnamon, black salt and allow the ingredients to boil and add some lime juice and honey. Herbal blends can boost your immunity and give your body ample strength to combat seasonal infections.

Add curd to your daily diet as the addition of probiotics in your diet can keep pathogens at bay. Moreover, a regular consumption of curd can improve your gut health and strengthen your metabolism. The healthy bacteria present in probiotics can fight the attack of antibodies in this season.