STAY DRY, STAY HEALTHY, THIS MONSOON! After months of scorching & grueling heat, monsoons are here. It’s a time to enjoy lush greenery around us which brings a smile on our faces. Indeed monsoon is beautiful & refreshing but one should not forget that monsoon brings along with it a host of health problems & diseases. This season brings with it lots of bacteria & insects. Many diseases like typhoid, dengue, malaria, common cold, skin infection etc are prevalent due to the damp & filthy conditions during this season. Furthermore, this season takes toll on ones immune system making us susceptible to these infections & allergies. The highly humid monsoon conditions affect our digestive process. Complications like diarrhea, stomach infections are also common concerns during monsoon especially due to unhygienic practices & consuming street food. R Issue no:153, Date: 16th July ’17 1
Transcript
STAY DRY, STAY HEALTHY,THIS MONSOON!
After months of scorching & grueling heat, monsoons are here. It’s a time to enjoy lush
greenery around us which brings a smile on our faces. Indeed monsoon is beautiful &
refreshing but one should not forget that monsoon brings along with it a host of health
problems & diseases. This season brings with it lots of bacteria & insects. Many diseases
like typhoid, dengue, malaria, common cold, skin infection etc are prevalent due to the
damp & filthy conditions during this season.
Furthermore, this season takes toll on ones immune system making us susceptible to
these infections & allergies. The highly humid monsoon conditions affect our digestive
process. Complications like diarrhea, stomach infections are also common concerns
during monsoon especially due to unhygienic practices & consuming street food.
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Issue no:153, Date: 16th July ’17
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Health problems are always on the rise during the rainy season. Welcoming the rainy season also
means inviting trouble in the form of air & water-borne illnesses & infections. Monsoon is the
time for germs & bacteria to thrive in unhygienic conditions. During the rains, there is a high
amount of humidity in the atmosphere due to which our digestive system gets sluggish. Thus,
eating the right kind of food & taking care of your overall health becomes extremely important to
prevent yourself from falling ill.
Go for very healthy food items such as soups, boiled vegetables, multi-grain bread, etc. During
monsoon since you get a cool climate, there will be a tendency to drink tea or coffee randomly.
Sipping on a hot cup of tea/coffee or ensuring that you stay dry is not enough. With the changing
weather conditions, it’s also important to alter our life style & diet to stay healthy.
This is the season to initiate & regulate our body’s cleansing & nourishing process with healthy
wholesome foods, exercises, yoga, pranayam & meditation- all of which are important
parameters for overall wellbeing. Regulate body’s cleansing process with healthy food, exercise
& meditation. Following a healthy lifestyle has always proved beneficial in preventing as well as
combating ailments & diseases. Diet plays a pivotal role in staying healthy & disease free.
Consumption of complex carbohydrates is a must since they aid in the digestion process & helps
eliminate waste & toxins from our body.
Consumption of fluids in the form of water, fresh homemade juices & soups will keep you
hydrated & help flush out toxins. All bitter vegetables especially available in this season prove as
anti oxidants & help scavenge free radicals thus preventing damages caused by them. Including
high protein & calcium rich foods like milk & milk products, dals & pulses, nuts & oilseeds etc will
definitely ensure good bone health & build your immunity.
Ayurveda primarily aims at maintaining the health of a healthy individual. To achieve this,
Ayurveda recommends to follow different diet & lifestyle schedule in each season which helps to
maintain the health. We must follow a specific diet & lifestyle schedule in rainy season as the
chances of having digestive problems is great during this season.
Best Foods to Eat during Monsoon Season
Monsoon season may reduce metabolism & increase fat storage, this again leads to a whole lot
of health issues. So you should look for healthy foods for monsoon, we should prefer foods
that will keep you energetic & hydrated while providing lot of nutrients. Your immunity level will
be low during this season & this may put you under the risk of getting infections frequently. So,
consume foods that will improve your immunity during this season.
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We need to ensure that these are completely cooked before we consume them. Also, we
must ensure that the vegetables are pre- washed before they are cooked.
Packed with the goodness of essential nutrients, vitamins & minerals, including potassium,
fiber & folic acid, beets are amazingly low in calories. It is an ideal vegetable when it comes to
detoxifying your body. You can have a glass of beetroot juice everyday during the monsoon to
revive & revitalize your stamina & keep you healthy during this season or just stir fry grated
beets with grated carrots & season it with a little cumin seeds & freshly ground black pepper.
You can add 10 to 12 toasted almonds to it & your perfect meal is ready.
Packed with antioxidants, these cloves are rich with immunity boosting properties. Plus, they
ease your digestive system while ensuring that your metabolic rate does not slow down to a
snail pace. While you can add crushed garlic pods to any food of your choice, one of the
tastiest & healthiest ways of enjoying garlic is garlic rasam. A spicy concoction enriched with
the pungent flavors of garlic & black pepper, it can be enjoyed along with rice or as a hot cup
of soup.
Ginger tea is good to have during rainy season. The fiery nature of ginger verves up your
mood & at the same time boosts your metabolism. Grate some fresh ginger into a mug of
warm water, squeeze in a lemon & mix 1 tsp of honey. Your daily dose of immune boosting
supplement is ready.
Vegetables
Garlic
Beetroot
Ginger
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Issue no:153, Date: 16th July ’17
A few healthy foods to eat during monsoon are:
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This golden yellow hued spice powder is a well accepted immunity boosting agent. It is a
natural antiseptic & antibiotic agent too. And, that is one of the reasons you are forced to
drink turmeric infused milk when you get a bout of cough or fever. Turmeric is also known to
keep the levels of blood sugar under control. You can drink a glass of milk with ½ tsp of
turmeric powder with 1 tsp honey to safeguard yourself from the monsoon illnesses.
Just add a little black pepper to your omelette or soups or even to your khichdi. These fiery
black beads are not just tasty, but come with an awesome dose of good health. A natural
antidote for fever, cough, cold, muscular pain, flu & various respiratory conditions. Black
pepper is a must include in rainy season foods. Make a spicy pepper soup with a tamarind
base or just mix ½ a tsp of freshly ground black pepper powder with equal quantities of
turmeric powder & 2 tsp honey to milk & drink for healthy monsoon.
Have fruits that are rich in Vitamin C, which will give you immunity. Few options that you can
try are pomegranate, kiwi & orange. If you are prone to cold or fever during monsoon, avoid
fruits rich in water content.
Munch an apple everyday as a part of your balanced, healthy diet. Available in countless
variants-apples contains various elements that offer a good cover for you from various health
conditions that are always on the prowl during the rains. Eating apples makes sure that your
digestive system is functioning properly.
Turmeric
Fruits
Black Pepper
Apples
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A perfect inclusion in a healthy diet. It is packed with vitamins especially Vitamin C, that
ensures that your digestive system is healthy & clean. It also peps up the immunity power,
thus helping you combat the various illnesses.
The crispy fruit is assorted with vitamins & minerals, all of which actually shield you from
diseases commonly floating around during the monsoon. Along with being a good source of
fiber, the crunchy off white fruit contains a good quantity of copper, Vitamin C & Vitamin B12.
Pear is a natural antipyretic agent as it helps in cooling the body & easing the fever. So, just
make sure you drink a glass of freshly squeezed pear juice or munch on some fresh fruit to get
relief from fever.
The best foods to eat in monsoon season are steamed foods. Make sure that you avoid oily &
fried foods. Grilled food is also considered perfect for this season, as grilled & steamed forms
are great for the digestion.
Irrespective of the food that you eat, ensure that it is well cooked. Try to avoid any foods that
are raw during this season. This includes vegetables, dairy products & meat products.
We must ensure that they are well cooked & contains less oil. Grill & boil them, rather than
frying them as these are healthy ways to cook.
Pomegranate
Steamed Foods
Pear
Cooked Food
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Meat, Poultry & Fish
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The crunchy, brown skinned nuts are good sources of protein. Quite low on fat, almonds are
packed with various nutrients that are beneficial for your health. This tasty nut enhances your
digestive fire, keeps your sugar levels under control & offers a powerful shield from various
diseases. Plus, it is a great snack to munch on while you are on your weight loss regimen.
It is very essential to keep yourself hydrated during the monsoon. There is a natural tendency
to cut down on water consumption due to the cold environment. This can put you at risk of
various infections & diseases that are quite common during this time. Try to drink boiled &
filtered water to avoid infections. Ensure you drink at least 8 glasses of water, with each glass
measuring 150 ml. Opt for warm water to ensure that you are not compromising on your
metabolism.
Keeping your body warm is important. Sipping a hot beverage during the day is sure to help
with this. Try ginger & lemon tea or green tea. Your food choice should be designed depending
on the season. Monsoon is a time that demands much care in the food you eat to keep you free
from infections & to improve your health.
It is a good way to stay hydrated. You can choose fruits & vegetables of your choice for
preparing the juice.
Almonds
Juices
Water
Warm Beverages
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Issue no:153, Date: 16th July ’17
Foods to Avoid This Monsoon
Leafy Vegetables
Sea Food
During monsoon season, leafy vegetables are best avoided. The grime & dampness present in
them makes them highly susceptible to germs. Say no to vegetables like spinach, Fenugreek
Leaves, cabbage & cauliflower this season. Instead, go for pungent vegetables like bitter
gourd, ghiya, tori or tinda. All vegetables should be thoroughly washed & cooked well.
Any fresh food items that have had a long exposure to the monsoon air should be avoided.
Roadside vendors have the fruit cut up well in advance, which could have come in contact with
contaminated air. Stick to fresh fruit juice prepared at home & consume it instantly. Even at
home, don’t leave cut fruits out for a very long time. Any prolonged exposure to the air can
cause contamination. Cut the fruits fresh & consume them immediately.
Monsoon is the breeding season for fish & prawns so they are best avoided this time of the
year. Stick to chicken to satiate your craving for non-vegetarian food. However, if it is
absolutely essential to have sea food, make sure you only consume the freshest variety of it,
taking extra care to cook them well.
Fresh Juice & Fruit from Roadside Vendors
Fried Food
It should be absolutely avoided as the highly humid monsoon weather causes our digestion
process to slow down. However irresistible it may seem, they could cause gastronomical
complications like bloating & stomach upset. Extra salty food also causes water retention.
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These drinks reduce minerals in our body, which in turn leads to reduction of enzyme activity.
This is highly undesirable with an already weak digestive system. Keep a bottle of boiled
water or lemon water handy or stick to warm beverages like ginger tea.
In this changing environment, one needs to boost immune system to tackle the infection
during rainy season. There are various types of bacteria & virus in air, water, food which can
cause infection. Not only kids but adults also get affected by this environment as cough, cold
& fever is commonly seen as a result during this time.
Simple steps & changes in daily routine can make a wide difference in avoiding infection
Fizzy Drinks
Tips to Avoid Infections in Monsoon
Hand Washing Technique
Infection can come in through any route, food, water, air, etc. One must have a habit to
maintain good personal hygiene. Washing hands is a first step in maintaining it. One must use
disinfectant liquid soap to keep hands clean. Avoid rubbing hands on face or nose.
Drinking enough water helps in keeping system clean. In case of infections, drinking water
helps in flushing out the toxins. Orange juice or lemon juice can be introduced in diet to
enhance immunity as Vitamin C rich foods help in battling infections. Coconut water can also
be included as it gives energy.
Drink Lots of Water
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Issue no:153, Date: 16th July ’17
Avoid Smoking
Steam for Relief
Eating outside food is not good, as there are more chances of getting infection from outside
food. Home cooked fresh food is advisable.
Taking steam in cough & cold helps in counteracting virus & bacteria. Temperature more than
80 degree C helps in inactivating the germs. At the same time it soothes the condition.
Spicy food like chilli pepper helps in removing mucus. It gives relief in cold where one is not
able to excrete mucus. Also, include foods such as onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric roots helps in
removing mucus.
Cigarette smoke cause throat irritation & increase chances of infection. Second hand smoking
is also not good. One must stay away from smoke to avoid throat problems.
Make use of handkerchief/ tissue papers while coughing. It is a part of good personal hygiene
& covering mouth with napkin will avoid spreading infection through air.
Include Vegetables & Spices in Your Diet
Avoid Eating Out
Avoid Spreading Infection
Junk food is not good for health as it is a calorie dense food & it takes long time to digest. One
