The land has been heated enough by the sun, it’s now time to balance the temperature between the ocean and the land and this natural phenomenon is called as monsoon. Wind blows it gets dark, gloomy and then you hear the sound of water, yes it’s the beginning of monsoon finally relief from the heat. Mornings resemble like evenings dark and pleasant. As you open the window you get to watch pitter patter rain drops and lovely shades of greens everywhere. The brightness of the summer is now covered away by the dark clouds in the sky waiting to pour. At the onset of monsoon and at the end of monsoon you get to hear loud sounds in the sky and flash of lights. All the umbrellas, raincoats, rain curtains are out and ready to protect you from getting wet. Is your system ready for the monsoon dietary regime?
As per Ayurveda monsoon is the time for vitiation of vata (vayu) and accumulation of pitta (agni) in the body. All the heat and summer dryness accumulated in the body now gets aggravated and leads to diseases. During monsoon also called as Varsha Ritu (season) accumulation of pitta (agni) happens, hence diet and lifestyle regime plays a very important role during this time of the year. During this time body’s strength is weak, the sun has already sucked away the major strength with its heat. Body gets weak needs care and attention. Hence Ayurveda experts advice to watch out on what you eat, pitta (agni) accumulation happens and one desires on gorging oily and spicy food. Control over your tongue and mind will help you stay healthy during monsoon and post.
June is the beginning of the rains, when mother earth is seeping the rain water through the dry soil. Atmosphere gets washed by the strong winds blowing and as it rains the trees, fruits get washed and everything falls on to the dry soil, letting the thirsty dry soil seep it all. Humidity peaks up during this month as the initial falling shower on the hot soil. This humidity provides best environment for pathogens to flourish and cause diseases. As the monsoon gets to its peak and settles in July-August, throughout the day and night there is continuous rains, this increases the humidity around. You rarely get to see the sun, days are cooler and one feels very cosier. This month (July) in the south is also known as Karkata Masa in Kerala (Karkata in Malayalam means crab/cancer month as per astrological calendar), also called as aadi masam/ ramayan masa / Karkkidakam in Tamil Nadu, all meaning the same cancer month. In Kerala this month is of importance as special treatments and diet is advised to be followed known as the Karkataka chikitsa. Great importance is given for this treatment as it is believed to control the aggravated vata (ether + air) and the accumulation of pitta (agni/fire). Thus helping one to stay healthy and away from ailments in the months to follow.
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Water during monsoon is comparatively heavy to digest and the metabolism is sluggish during this period. An individual is likely to experience loss of appetite, keeping this in mind one needs to make changes in his diet:
— Eat light, hot and freshly cooked foods prepared from rice, wheat and barley.
— Include cow’s ghee, lean meat, lentils, green gram, rice and wheat in daily diet.
— Consume small piece of ginger with rock salt before every meal, this would aid to digest the food better.
— Sour and salted soups of vegetables, Onion, ginger, garlic, lean meat (if required) can also be used in soups.
— But its best to avoid non-vegetarian foods in monsoon. The possibility of germ content is highest in non-vegetarian foods.
— Use spices such as pepper, ginger, asafoetida (hing), garlic, cumin powder, coriander and turmeric for enhancing your digestive capability. These help to improve your immunity too.
— Drinking boiled and cooled water mixed is advised along with little honey, or water boiled with ginger/lemon grass. Avoid drinking excess of liquids as this further slows down the metabolism.
— Add ginger and green gram in your daily diet along with ghee.
–It is advised to eat warm food and avoid eating uncooked foods and salads.
— Heavy grains such as bajra and ragi should be avoided. Limit the intake of foods with high water content such as muskmelon, watermelon and lassi. These can lead to swelling.
— Avoid fermented foods which include idli, dosa, uttapam, and the like.
— Avoid consuming stale and cold food and avoid eating late at night. It is particularly important in this season.
— Avoid leafy vegetables during monsoon. The vegetables recommended in the season include yam (suran), snake gourd (turi), pointed gourd (parwal), gourd (dudhi), bitter gourd (karela), cluster beans (gavaar), and apple gourd (tinda).
— Stick to seasonal fruits during monsoons as the unseasonal ones can easily get infected with microbes. These include mangoes, pomegranates, apples, bananas, lychees and cherries.
— Avoid curds and any food, which takes longer time to digest. One may have buttermilk along with cumin, ginger, salt instead of curds
— Fasting is especially recommended in the monsoon season. You can gain a lot of health benefits simply by observing a weekly or fortnightly fast during monsoon. It helps to improve your digestive fire.
— Avoid sleeping during the day.
— Keep surroundings clean to avoid illness.
— Keep body warm, to avoid attack from microbes.
— Best time for Panchakarma treatments to stay healthy throughout the year.
More on monsoon in articles to follow stay tuned.