Monsoon diet, include these magic ingredients in your food to fight infections

To make sure you stay healthy and disease-free during the rains, incorporate these changes in your diet.

Monsoons have finally hit Mumbai. And with the change in season, there’s a high chance of falling ill due to various infections. Monsoon is the season when chances of stomach infection due to eating out are high. To make sure you stay healthy and disease-free during the rains, incorporate these changes in your diet:

* Include garlic, pepper, ginger, asafoetida, jeera powder, turmeric and coriander in food as these help enhance digestion and improve immunity.

* Drink boiled water. Have medium- to low-salt food and avoid very salty food as it can cause high blood pressure, lead to bloating and water retention.

* Non-vegetarians should go for lighter meat preparations like stews and soups. But be careful about fish and prawns. Avoid too much of fish and meat this season with heavy curries.

* Include warm dal or soup in your diet. Add spices like turmeric, clove, black pepper and sauf to it.

* Consuming hot soups during the monsoon can reduce inflammation and help fight infection.

*Avoid eating vegetables in raw form. For instance, raw sprouts can cause indigestion and lead to gastric problems.

* Turmeric is not only a great antibiotic but is also known to have anti-inflammatory and healing properties, which help in reducing inflammation in the digestive system.

* Sauf water can be consumed after every meal to help in digestion and reduce chances of gastric problems.

– Inputs from Mehar Rajput, nutritionist and dietitian at FITPASS, and Aditi Sharma, chief dietitian at Columbia Asia Hospital, Ghaziabad.