The much-awaited rainy season is finally here! While monsoon does bring some respite from the sweltering hot summer days, it is known to be accompanied by the risk of food-borne diseases, infections and allergies. The high humidity levels lower the body’s ability to digest food, which is why additional care and precaution is required to stay healthy during monsoons.
“Monsoons are a period of infections,” says Akanksha Gupta, a nutrition and wellness expert. “Cold and cough, malaria, dengue, stomach infections, fever, typhoid, and pneumonia are very common during monsoon. Due to the risks of all these infections, we always ask people to have a simple, balanced, freshly cooked meal that’s easy to digest during monsoon season.”
Here are a few essential tips suggested by Akanksha Gupta, nutrition and wellness expert can help you stay healthy, fit and enjoy the beauty of monsoon:
Common dietary mistakes during monsoon season
Instead of thinking just about what to exclude completely from your diet during monsoon, you should concentrate on healthy practices that ensure good health and safety. The following are some common dietary mistakes people usually make during monsoons, but shouldn’t.
1. Eating fried food: While it’s perfectly fine to indulge in fried foods like pakoras once in a while, you should take care of the proportion you eat because an excess can cause indigestion, diarrhoea, and other issues. Also, do not reuse the oil you’ve fried in once because that can be toxic.
2. Not washing green leafy veggies properly: Many studies, including the one in Applied and Environmental Microbiology in 2015, have shown that green leafy vegetables are the most prone to housing a variety of bacteria and fungi -- all of which get the most conducive environment to grow in monsoons. Washing these veggies thoroughly and cooking them on high heat is very important.
3. Eating meat and seafood: Monsoon is the season during which fish and seafood breed, so it’s ethical to refrain from consuming these foods during the monsoon months. The risks of waterborne diseases and food poisoning are also high during monsoon, so that’s another reason to avoid seafood and meat products that could be carriers of infection.
4. Eating outside: The temperature and moisture levels during monsoon are perfect for bacterial and fungal growth -- and there’s the added risk of waterborne diseases. So, it’s best to avoid eating out, especially street food, no matter how much you crave it.
Foods to include in your monsoon diet-
The following are some food groups you should include plenty of during monsoons in your diet:
1. Fluids: Drinking plenty of safe, potable water is as important as consuming warm, freshly prepared kadha, broths, and soups. These are rehydrating and good for your immune system.
2. Fruits: Seasonal fruits like pears, jamun, plum, cherries, lychee, peaches, and pomegranates should be consumed more for nutrients like fibre, vitamin A and C, and antioxidants.
3. Vegetables: This is the season of gourds, like bottle gourd, bitter gourd, pointed gourd, ridge gourd, Indian squash, etc. Add plenty of these veggies to your daily diet.
4. Spices: Include spices like turmeric and ginger in your diet because these have antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and immune-boosting properties. Simply home-cooked food should be your target in this weather.
Try to follow these tips to cherish good health while enjoying the magic of the monsoons!
