Every season comes with different foods and different risk of ailments. Like summer generates heat and rashes similarly, the rainy season also comes with cold and fever risk, which can be prevented by choosing certain specific foods in the diet of the rainy season.
The rainy season is awesome and cold. However, it can cause influenza, cold, cough, and diarrhea. You have to be more careful about food choices.
If you already on a healthful diet, also make some adjustments with rainy season friendly foods.
Quick Tips to Rainy Season
Table of Contents
What to Eat
- Add rainy season friendly fruits in your diets such as pears, apples, pomegranates, oranges, banana, and berries.
- Eat low sodium diet to prevent hypertension and water retention.
- Include dry foods such as chickpeas, corn in place of watermelons, and rice.
- Add barley, oats, and whole wheat.
- Use buttermilk and curd in your diet.
- It also includes bitter herbs and veggies, such as bitter gourd.
- Add astringent and pungent foods.
- Consume herbal teas like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and black pepper.
- Add steamed vegetable salads.
- Consume homemade soups.
What to Avoid
- Avoid caffeine consumption.
- Skip vegetables like cauliflower, potatoes, pigeon peas, ladies’ fingers, kidney beans, sprouted grains, cluster beans.
- Use fewer tomatoes to prevent water retention.
- Avoid fish and meat.
- Skip frozen foods.
- Avoid eating outside and ready made juices.
Food Choices for Rainy Season Diet
Garlic
Garlic is the best suitable food for the rainy season. It provides antioxidants and immunity-boosting properties. They ease the digestive system while managing the metabolic rate. You can include crushed garlic in your food choices and enjoy as garlic rasam in a tasty and healthies way. Garlic rasam is a healthy and spicy concoction, which contains rich, pungent garlic flavors and black pepper. It can be enjoyed with soup or rice.
Garlic Benefits in Rainy Season
Boost Immune System
Garlic consists of compounds, which benefit the immune system to fight with germs. Whole garlic consists of compound alliin. When garlic is chewed and crushed, this compound converts into allicin, the vital active ingredient of garlic.
Allicin consists of sulfur, which creates distinctive taste and smell in garlic. However, these allicin converts in sulfur-containing compounds and make it useful for medicinal properties. These compounds have been proved to promote disease-fighting responses of white blood cells in the human body when they come in contact with viruses of cold flu.
How to increase Garlic Benefits
The way garlic is prepared and processed can change the health benefits. The enzyme called alliinase provides certain effects. Here are some ways to increase garlic benefits:
Slice or crush the garlic before eating to increase allicin content.
Wait for 10 minutes after crushing to use in cooking.
Increase garlic content in your meal.
Garlic Supplements
Taking garlic supplements also increase the benefits. However, be careful, as there is no standard regulation for garlic supplements. It means allicin quality and content may vary, so the benefits also get vary.
Powdered Garlic
Powdered garlic is prepared from fresh garlic that has been dried and sliced. It does not have allicin but has allicin potential. Powdered garlic is processed with low temperatures and added to capsules to preserve it from stomach acid. It helps the enzyme alliinase to stay in the harsh environment of the stomach to convert alliin in the intestine.
Aged Garlic Extract
When raw garlic been cut and stored in 15-20% ethanol for about 1.5 years, it becomes aged garlic extract. This type of aged garlic extract does not have allicin but possesses medicinal properties. According to many studies, it works effectively for flu and colds.
Garlic Oil
Garlic oil is one of the effective supplements and useful for cooking. You can directly use it in a meal or consume as capsules. Homemade garlic oil also related to many cases of botulism, therefore if you make your own, then make sure to use right preservation methods.
How Much Garlic Should One Eat Every Day?
The reduced effective dose for raw garlic is one clove eaten 2-3 times every day. You can also use aged garlic supplements, and normal doses include 600-1,200 mg every day.
Warning: A high dose of garlic supplements can cause toxicity.
Ginger
Ginger is a root used as a staple in various household recipes. Some people include it in chutney or sprinkle in different food. It is healthy and suitable for the rainy season to boost the immune system. Ginger also promotes metabolism and mood and provides warm effects.
It is also a strong herb and popular for cooking medicinal healing. Ginger supports the sore throat ailments. It acts as pain relief for sore throat and reduces. Consuming ginger helps to fight infection caused by monsoon effects.
Ginger: Medicinal Properties
Ginger consists of bioactive syntheses. Bioactive syntheses are phytonutrients available in different foods that provide a beneficial impact on health. The essential bioactive compound present in ginger is school and gingerols.
Studies show these syntheses have inflammation lowering properties that may help to reduce or manage health risks, such as conditions, including sore throats. In any case, progressively controlled, logical research is expected to completely comprehend the job ginger plays in treating and alleviating sore throats.
Ginger is also provided antimicrobial qualities, which help to fight infections, including sore throats. It also provides antioxidants, which help to protect and heal diseases.
Ginger Provide Inflammation Lowering Effects
The pain you feel in sore throat occurs from itchiness and inflammation in the throat. This inflammation can be induced by the response of immune response to infections because of irritants such as postnasal drip. The anti-inflammation properties of ginger help to soothe the sore throat and relieve inflammation. Research recommends that ginger helps to block pro-inflammation proteins in the human body. These proteins trigger itchiness and inflammation.
Promote Immune System
Ginger is helpful in rainy season as monsoon causes sore throat and pain. The compound of ginger helps to enhance immunity and treat cold caused by viruses.
Prevent Toxins and Pathogens
Ginger helps to treat sore throats caused by pathogens, toxins, and bacteria. Some microbes quickly affect your sore throat. It may lead to strep throat caused by the bacteria called streptococcus pyogenes.
How to consume ginger in the rainy season
Raw Ginger Root
Raw ginger root can be available in the local market or grocery stores. Remove the outer skin of ginger before using it.
Then, cut off a 1-inch (2.5 cm) bit of new raw ginger root, and bite on it. It’s alright to swallow the root as it goes to mash, or you can spit it out if the mash irritates you.
Chew one slice of ginger root 2-3 times every day for relief. Ginger may cause intense heat and may not suitable for everyone.
Ginger Candy, Lozenge or Chew
A reduced intense way to have ginger is to suck it in the form of a lozenge. You can get it from a local grocery shop or pharmacy. Make sure to read the warning and direction given on packages.
Ginger Tea
Sipping hot ginger tea is a well-known and powerful sore throat home cure. The warm fluid might be calming to an inflamed throat, and the tea is a simple method to consume ginger and permit it to come into contact with your throat.
Making ginger tea is easy to prepare and also available in pre-packaged tea bags.
How to Make Ginger Tea?
- Add 2-tsp fresh or dried ginger in one cup of boiling water.
- Wait till it gets steep for 5-minutes, then strain the liquid and remove ginger.
- Drink this tea 2-3 times every day for cold and cough relief.
Ginger Powder Supplement
Ginger is found as a supplement in the form of capsules or pills. This supplements are produced by ginger powder.
Make sure to read every detail given on the label. Dosage suggestions on the label may vary. You can also take the advice of your health expert to require dosage.
Suitable Spices in Rainy Season
Turmeric
Turmeric is the most useful herbs in the rainy season. It is also an immunity agent. It is a natural antibiotic and antibacterial agent. Most of the people favored drinking turmeric-infused milk to treat fever and cough. Turmeric helps to manage blood sugar. You can consume one glass of milk with half tsp of turmeric and one tsp honey to safeguard monsoon ailments.
Promote Immune Health
Turmeric is one of the most beneficial root spices that support the immune system by helping your body shield itself against microbes, infections, and parasites. Curcumin – the active ingredients in the turmeric provide inflammation lowering, anti-viral, and antifungal properties.
Treat Cold and Flu
Turmeric naturally works as an antibiotic and popular from ancient times. Its strong content of curcumin provides anti-oxidant that fight against free radicals, which can harm the immune system. Flu occurs in the rainy season due to changes in climate and other substances and weakened immune systems. The research also proves that curcumin limits influenza virus effects.
Treat Respiratory Diseases
The inflammation lowering properties present in turmeric helps to remove the mucus from the lungs and clear the blockage of the airway occurred by inflammation. Curcumin is the active ingredient and acts as an effective ingredient for managing bronchial asthma and recover breathing patterns. It contains vital ant-bacterial properties, which helps to fight against bacteria an improve health.
How to Use Turmeric for Respiratory Ailments?
Take one glass of warm milk and half teaspoon of turmeric, drink this 2-3 times every day. The warm milk works as a decongestant and removes the mucus.
Black Pepper
Black pepper is another ingredient to add in your rainy season diet. You can sprinkle it in your omelet or soup. This fiery black pepper is not only tasty but also provides good health benefits.
It is the best and natural antidote for cough, fever, cold, flu, muscular, and different respiratory conditions.
How to Use Black Pepper in The Rainy Season?
- Prepare a spicy pepper soup using a tamarind base or half tsp ground black pepper.
- Use turmeric, 3-tsp honey, milk, and black pepper.
Suitable Fruits in Rainy Season
Pears
Pears is not much popular for immunity boosting, but it does. However, it works amazingly by providing minerals and vitamins, which prevent the harmful effect of the rainy season. It is a great source of fiber, vitamin C, copper, vitamin B12. Pears usually contain antipyretic agents as it helps to cool down the body and manage fever. Consuming fresh pears juice helps to ease fever.
Promote Immune System
The high substance of anti-oxidants like vitamin C and copper helps in increasing the immune system of the body to fight against different illnesses.
Advances Energy Levels
The high glucose present in pears provides you instant energy when you sense weak. It gets digested very fast by the body and changes into energy.
Digestion
A medium-sized pear contains around 20-25% of the suggested everyday intake of fiber. Since its fiber is insoluble, it passes through the colon effectively and hinders colon polyps. The high fiber content supports and improves digestion.
Fever
Pears helps to heal fever quickly with its cooling effects.
Throat Problems
Pears prevent throat ailment in the rainy season. You can consume pears every day as once a glass of fresh juice.
Oranges
Orange is a top essential fruit in the rainy season. It quickly boosts your immune system and reduces the symptoms of a cold. It contains vitamin C, which is an essential nutrient to treat cold and cough.
Eating every day two oranges morning and evening quickly provide effective result. You can eat orange or make juice and drink.
Apples
Apple is the number one fruit for multi health benefits. It can be helpful in a rainy season diet. Eating an apple every day will help to balance your diet. A different part of the world has different varieties of apple with huge health benefits.
One apple contains antioxidant effects near about 1,500 mg of vitamin C. It also contains flavonoids, cancer, and heart ailment preventing properties. Therefore, in the rainy season, it works to protect against the flu and cold.
Papayas
Papayas can also be a good option to add in a rainy season diet. It provides 250% of RDA of vitamin C, which prevents the flu and cold. The beta-carotene present in papayas and vitamin E lowers the inflammation in the body. Gradually, it reduces the symptoms of cough, cold, and asthma.
Pomegranate
Pomegranate is another healthy fruit to consider for a rainy season diet. It provides vitamin C and proteins to increase metabolism. It helps to clean the digestive system and prevent cold and flu.
Grapefruit
Grapefruit contains citrus and rich vitamin C. It has a natural compound called limonoids, which help to reduce high cholesterol levels. Grapefruit helps to fight with substances called lycopene. It promotes the digestive system and provides enough nutrients. It also reduces the symptoms of fever in the body and fights against diseases. Add grapefruit in a rainy season diet to boost overall health.
Bananas
Perhaps the most extreme wellspring of Vitamin B6 bananas can lessen weakness, stress, depression, and a sleeping disorder. It can likewise keep sudden cravings for food under control. Only one banana can boost your mind-set and lessen the appetite level, without adding a lot to the fat substance in the body. Contain with magnesium, bananas can likewise keep bones strong and stable, and its potassium substance can assist you with averting coronary illness and hypertension.
Cranberries
Cranberries hold more antioxidants than the other vegetables and fruits. One serving of cranberries provides five times of broccoli benefits. It contains natural probiotics, which promotes healthy gut bacteria levels to protect from foodborne ailments. It also helps to prevent viruses and colds.
You can eat it fresh or dried by combining it with other snacks or juices.
Blueberries
Blueberries filled with cell reinforcements, which help to treat cold and forestall hacks. As shown by analysis by University-of-Auckland, extensive flavonoids present in blueberries. These flavonoid helps to increase nourishment in the rainy season.
Suitable Vegetables in Rainy Season
Beetroot
Include beetroot in the rainy season diet boost overall health. It provides much nutrition such as vitamins, folic acid, potassium, fiber. It has low calories and most suitable for the whole-body detox. You can consume one glass of beetroot juice every day to boost stamina during monsoon.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are additionally an incredible food to eat when you’re sick because of their high content of nutrient C. Only one medium tomato contains a little more than 16 mg of nutrient C, which promotes the immune system and prevents illness in the rainy season.
Broccoli
Broccoli is one of the healthy vegetables with the benefit of preventing cold. It belongs to cruciferous vegetables that promote immunity. Research claim that the chemical content of sulforaphane helps to switch enzymes and antioxidant genes in specific immune cells and reduce free radical cells in the body.
Spinach
Spinach is a vital superfood that is excellent for your general wellbeing. In addition to the fact that it is a good source of fiber, yet it likewise contains vitamin C. Vitamin C is an incredible supplement that can help with hindering the common cold and help reduce side effects of the ailment.
Whole-grain bread
Add whole-grain bread in a rainy season diet. It provides anti-inflammation benefits and promotes healthy bacteria said by the study of The-American-Journal-of-Clinical-Nutrition. Nearly 70% of the immune system present in the gut, which requires to be healthy to promote overall health and prevent germ.
Eggs
Adding eggs in your rainy season diet promote your health as the egg yolk provides immunity-boosting nutrition. It provides high vitamin D, which control and strengthen immunity. Eating a boiled egg is a healthy way to get benefits of egg in the rainy season. It prevents upper respiratory tract problems.
Almonds
The crunchy, earthy colored nuts are fair sources of protein. Very low on fat, almonds are held different nutrition that is valuable for your wellbeing. This delicious nut improves your stomach related fire, monitors your sugar levels, and offers strong protection from different infections. Besides, it is an excellent snack to chew on while you are on your weight reduction routine in addition to guarantees that are at the peak of your wellbeing.
Dark chocolate
Yes, dark chocolate is highly helpful for fighting the cold in the rainy season. Add dark chocolate in your rainy season diet. It provides antioxidants and concentrated theobromine, which lower the cough. It also treats the symptoms of bronchitis.
Water
It is essential to drink enough water throughout the rainy season. It is common to feel less thirsty in monsoon, but don’t neglect to drink enough water. Getting dehydrated makes you more prone to get influenced by the cold environment. It also put on various risk of diseases and infections. You can also drink warm water and avoid compromising with metabolism.
Green Tea
Green tea is popular for lowering weight, but also it fights again cold. It provides flavonoids, which is an antioxidant that increases immunity and lowers inflammation mentioned by the Journal-of-Indian-Society-of-Periodontology.
The study expresses that the antioxidant catechin, which is quickly pervasive in green tea, is known to be an amazing antibacterial and antiviral and can kill off cool beginning microscopic organisms and the flu infection.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The extra virgin olive oil has shown to boost immunity and increase healthy fat in the body. Olive oil provides high polyunsaturated fatty acids and inflammation lowering effects, which guard against infection and cold in the rainy season.
Wild salmon
Add wild salmon in the rainy season diet as it provides zinc. Zinc is an essential nutrient to help with the common cold. Increase your zinc foods in the rainy season to prevent the common cold.
Greek yogurt
Greek yogurt is filled up with infection-fighting probiotics and contains more protein than regular yogurt. A meta-analysis issued in the Korean-Journal-of-Family-Medicine discovered that probiotics can support preventing the cold virus. The experts found that individuals who ate probiotics every day had a reduced risk of getting a virus than the people who didn’t consume any probiotic-rich food.
Health Precautions in Rainy Season
- Drink adequate water or warm water to stop water-borne ailments.
- Avoid frequently wetting in rains.
- Wear warm clothes, socks to stay warm.
- Use mosquito repellent to stop infected mosquito bite.
- Avoid using raw foods.
- Rinse fruits and vegetables with fresh water before eating.
- Take bath after getting wet in rain to improve body temperature.
- Consume warm herbal tea and keep your body dry.
- Avoid air-conditioned places with wet clothes and wet hair.
- Dry out your feet whenever you get wet.
- Avoid eating outside food.
- Stop smoking and drinking alcohol, which can lower immunity.
- Remember to wash hands before eating and after using the restroom.
Make sure to follow the healthy choices in the rainy season. It is common to get the effect of the rainy season quickly due to lack of nutrients, a weak immune system, and certain lifestyle factors. Take your doctor helps to treat ailments and eat healthy foods. Stay safe and protected.