When the monsoon season arrives, it’s not just a relief from the intense summer heat; it also necessitates some modifications in our daily routine and eating habits. Knowing the distinctions between our summer and monsoon diet and how these minor changes can boost our overall well-being and weight management is crucial.
By understanding the science behind this seasonal shift, we can ensure a healthy and balanced lifestyle even during rainy days.
When the rainy season arrives, we often have fewer chances to engage in physical activity outdoors. Therefore, paying attention to the kind of food we consume becomes essential.
This blog will dig into why we should modify our diet for monsoon, offer food items beneficial for our health this season, nutrition to beat the monsoon and highlight the foods we should avoid.
Summer Diet Vs. Monsoon Diet : Know the Difference
Staying healthy during the rains is as essential as during the summer. Let’s look at why we prefer different types of food in the summer and monsoon seasons.
| Category | Summers | Monsoons |
| Fruits | Mangoes, watermelons, muskmelons, lychees, pineapples, grapes, papayas | Jamun, pomegranates, apples, pears, plums, litchis, cherries |
| Vegetables | Cucumber, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, pumpkin, green beans, ridge gourd, ladyfinger, leafy greens | Gourds (bottle gourd, ridge gourd), bitter gourd, indian squash (tinda), colocasia (arbi), spinach, fenugreek leaves (methi), |
| Warm Beverages | Buttermilk, lemonade, coconut water, aam panna , mint cooler | Masala tea, ginger tea, herbal teas (tulsi, chamomile, lemongrass), turmeric milk, hot soups (tomato, lentil) |
| Grains and Cereals | Rice, wheat, barley, bajra, jowar | Rice, oats, quinoa, barley, millet |
| Proteins | Lentils (moong, masoor), chickpeas, paneer, fish (light, white fish), chicken, yogurt | Lentils (tur, chana), black gram, kidney beans, Paneer, eggs (boiled or poached), chicken |
| Spices | Cumin, coriander, fennel, cardamom, mint, aniseed | Turmeric, ginger, garlic, black pepper, cloves, hing, mustard seeds |
| Dairy Products | Curd, buttermilk,paneer, fresh cream | Milk, ghee,paneer, |
| Oils and Fats | Coconut oil, olive oil, mustard oil (in moderation) | Ghee,mustard oil, sesame oil |
Why You Need To Change the Diet For Monsoon
The rainy season increases the moisture and humidity, depleting digestion and enhancing disease susceptibility. Due to the damp weather conditions, our digestive systems are weakened; hence, the occurrence of digestive problems like indigestion and stomach upsets is quite common. Further, stagnant water due to the rains attracts mosquitoes, which increases the potential risk of spreading diseases like dengue and malaria. Besides, contamination of water may potentially lead to diseases like cholera.
Some dietary adjustments must be made to ensure immunity and proper digestion during the season. The digestive system needs to be kept healthy by consuming light foods which are easily digestible—soups, steamed vegetables, and boiled grains. Foods that help boost immunity, such as citrus fruits, ginger, garlic, and turmeric, definitely need to be a part of your diet to make the body infection straight. You can prevent digestive problems and infections by keeping good hydration with clean, boiled, filtered water and avoiding street food or raw foods that are potentially contaminated.
How to Manage Health and Weight in Monsoon
Here are the monsoon health tips to maintain your health and weight during the monsoon season, when rains keep you indoors and do not let you step out:
- Indoor Exercises: Weight management during monsoon can be quiet a task. If you cant step out to jog or walk, do yoga, pilates, or body exercises from home, such as jumping jacks, squatting, and pushups to keep you active.
- Diet to choose: A healthy monsoon diet is extremely important to enjoy monsoons throughout. Increase your intake of fruits, green vegetables, and whole grains and avoid fried foods and oily dishes that increase body weight.
- Keep Hydrated: Drink enough water to keep yourself hydrated, and thereby help the body flush out all of the toxins.
- Eat Regular Meals: Be regular with your meals. Have your breakfast, lunch and dinner on time so that you avoid bingeing on food items.
- Healthy Snacking: Go in for light yet healthful snacking such as fruits, nuts, and yoghurt that will keep you energised but not knock in too many extra calories.
- Limit Sugary Drinks: Avoid soft drinks as much as one can and go for herbal tea or water;
- Portion control: You must remember the portion sizes and keep track of calories taken.
- Stay active indoors: Do cleaning, practise other domestic chores, or even organise your wardrobe or room.
Foods to consume this monsoon
During the monsoon season, it’s important to include foods that are nutritious, easily digestible, and boost immunity. Here are rainy season fruits and vegetables in India to incorporate into your diet:
- Rainy season fruits: Including seasonal fruits in your diet can provide essential vitamins and minerals to help keep you healthy during the monsoons. Fruits to eat in rainy season include seasonal fruits like jamun, lychee, cherry, pomegranate, pear, and papaya. These are High in fibre, antioxidants and helps maintain a healthy gut.
- Seasonal Monsoon Vegetables: Seasonal vegetables are fresh and nutritious, helping you stay healthy during the rainy season. You must include seasonal vegetables like lauki (bottle gourd), karela (bitter gourd), tinda (indian squash) , pumpkin and turai (ridge gourd). These vegetables are Light and easy to digest in monsoons.
- Warm Beverages: Warm beverages can be soothing and help fight infections during the monsoon season. Hava a cup of ginger tea, tulsi tea, masala chai, turmeric milk (golden milk), lemongrass tea, once or twice a day. This one of the best monsoon health tips to keep to stay away from illnesses.
- Easily Digestible Grains: Include grains that are easy to digest, can prevent digestive issues and keep you feeling light during the rainy season. You can eat rice, oats, quinoa, barley, and millet instead of whole wheat roti.
- Proteins: Include easily digestible proteins like moong Dal (Green Gram), Masoor Dal (Red Lentil), Paneer (Cottage Cheese) and Tofu. If you are non vegetarian, have Chicken (Boiled or grilled). Have curd daily to keep your gut clean and boosts immunity. It is the best food to eat in rainy season.
Incorporating these seasonal fruits, vegetables, warm beverages, and easily digestible grains and proteins into your diet can help you stay healthy and strong during the monsoon season.
Foods to avoid this monsoon
During monsoons, you must avoid certain foods that may cause digestion problems and lead to infection due to enhanced moisture and contamination. Here are some key considerations:
- Avoid Street Food: Street food is mainly prepared in less hygienic conditions. Increased humidity during monsoon makes it easier for bacteria to grow on food, increasing the risk of stomach infections and food poisoning.
- Avoid Leafy Vegetables: Leafy greens like spinach, lettuce, and cabbage could get contaminated due to the rain. Washing them might not remove all contaminants; therefore, it is best to avoid these vegetables altogether or cook them well.
- Avoid Oily and Fried Foods: Since it will be heavy on the stomach and difficult to digest, avoid oily and fried foods during the monsoon; this may add to indigestion and stomach upsets. The amount of humidity can already affect digestion.
- Avoid Raw Foods: Raw foods like salads and uncooked vegetables can carry bacteria and other pathogens. It’s safer to stick with foods that are cooked adequately during the monsoon season to reduce the risk of infections.
- Avoid seafood: Seafood such as prawns, crabs, and shellfish should also be kept out of the menu during monsoons. It may be contaminated due to water pollution and enhanced bacterial growth. All these will lead to food poisoning followed by stomach infections. Other proteins like lentils, paneer, or chicken are much safer to opt for.
Prefer freshly cooked and hot food during the rainy season. This has a low level of contamination since the hot foods would have killed most of the germs, so it will be safer to eat during the rainy season.
Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle During Monsoon
To enjoy monsoons, take care of your health by indulging in a healthy diet. Your diet should include seasonal fruits and vegetables. Apart from diet, here are some monsoon health tips to consider.
- Wash your hands as frequently as you can, particularly before eating and right when you enter your home.
- Don’t allow water to stagnate around your house. This is a sure way for mosquitoes to increase in population, which can lead to diseases like dengue and malaria.
- Dry the body well after getting wet in the rain to prevent fungal infections.
- Apply some repellent or tie mosquito nets around beds.
- Include ginger, garlic, turmeric, and citrus fruits in your diet to build up immunity.
- Keep yourself warm and dry to avoid catching the flu or a cold.
- Avoid afternoon naps to keep your digestive system active.
- Drink enough water/detox water to flush out accumulated poisons in the body, infections, and disorders of the guts and kidneys and to boost the immune system.
By following these tips, one can have a healthy lifestyle that will boost immunity to infection and ensure well-being in this monsoon season.
Takeaway Message
During the monsoon season, outdoor activities can be limited due to the weather. However, our health and weight management goals can be improved by changing the diet for monsoons. By adopting a diet specific to the monsoon season, we can ensure that we stay healthy and maintain our weight effectively.
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Disclaimer: The content provided within this article has been thoroughly verified for accuracy. However, we advise consulting a healthcare professional before utilising any medication or dietary supplements mentioned herein.
FAQs
Losing weight in the monsoon can be challenging due to limited outdoor activities. Focus on indoor exercises and diet including rainy season fruits and vegetables manage weight effectively.
The best food to eat in the rainy season includes seasonal fruits like jamun, pear, cherry, papaya and pears, and monsoon vegetables like lauki (bottle gourd), karela (bitter gourd), tinda (indian squash) , pumpkin and turai (ridge gourd).
During the monsoon, include easily digestible foods and avoid roadside food, oily, and fried items to prevent digestive issues and infections.
Increased humidity can affect digestion, leading to bloating. Eating lighter meals and avoiding heavy, greasy foods can help reduce bloating.
Foods like ginger, garlic, turmeric, and citrus fruits boost immunity during the monsoon, helping to prevent infections.
Common health concerns include colds, flu, diarrhoea, and stomach infections. A diet rich in rainy season fruits and vegetables and warm beverages can help prevent these issues.
Drink plenty of boiled or filtered water, and include hydrating foods like soups and seasonal fruits in your diet.
Foods like garlic, ginger, and turmeric have antimicrobial properties and can help prevent infections during the rainy season.
Spices and herbs like turmeric, ginger, and basil boost immunity and improve digestion, helping maintain health during the monsoon.
Eat light, easily digestible foods like rice, oats, quinoa, barley, and millet instead of whole wheat and avoid heavy, greasy meals to keep your digestive system healthy during the monsoon.
Washing vegetables with vegetable washers or dipping vegetables in salted water before cooking and using cooking methods like steaming and boiling help retain nutrients in monsoon vegetables and seasonal fruits, making them more beneficial for health.
References
- Monsoon Weather and early childhood health in India https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7147999/
- The association between temperature, rainfall and humidity with common climate-sensitive infectious diseases https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6013221/
- Impact of Rainfall on Diarrheal Disease Risk Associated with Unimproved Water and Sanitation https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3973516/
- Climate change & infectious diseases in India: Implications for health care providers https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3978971/
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