Intro:
Rainy season brings joy to our lives but also brings several seasonal infectious diseases. People with low immunity are the worst affected and tends to get sick easily. Generally all age groups are equally prone to seasonal diseases, however the young ones and the old ones are more susceptible to diseases like cold, flu and stomach problems. One should try to keep up with changing weather by incorporating certain immunity boosting foods in their diets.
Immunity Boosting Foods
Try and grab any of the below mentioned foods to boost your immunity naturally;
Soups:
Chicken Soup is one of the easiest ways to get your body warm in the rainy season. Soup is very easy to prepare at home and contains several nutrients like vitamin A & C, several antioxidants and is also a great source of protein. In case if you catch cold, hot soup can make you breathe better by opening your air ways and clearing the mucus in your nose and throat. Apart from chicken you can mix several other herbs such as ginger, garlic, onions, parsley etc. into your soup and enjoy a delicious and healthy bowl of freshness.
Fruits:
You can find several monsoon fruits available in the market that can boost your immunity. Some of them includes cherry, jamun, pomegranates, litchi among many others. All of these fruits contain several antioxidants that helps your body to fight infections. Cherry contains melatonin; an antioxidant that helps your body relax and lets you sleep well. Similarly jamun has a high concentration of iron, potassium and other vitamins that helps you fight gastrointestinal problems. Having pomegranates everyday in the monsoons lets you keep common flu away.
Dry Fruits:
Crunchy dry fruits like badam, pishta, kaju etc. are very good for your health during monsoons. Almost all the variety of dry fruits are high on vitamins and boosts your immunity. High levels of calcium, copper, potassium among many other vitamins are present in dry fruits. Vitamin C, vitamin B2 and vitamin B3 present in dry fruits keeps your body cells healthy and keeps you fresh.
Vegetable greens:
Vegetables like kale, spinach and broccoli are great supplier of vitamin C and vitamin E. Other vitamins such as ascorbic acid, folic acid etc. are also found in these veggies. These veggies have anti-inflammatory properties due to the presence of polyphenols in it. If you are somebody who does not like to eat leafy curry, you can always go for soups. Just mix your veggies into a bowl of soup or broth and let all the cells rejuvenate.
Garlic and Ginger:
Both Garlic and Ginger are crucial when it comes to building our immunity. Garlic helps in boosting immunity towards common cold and flue viruses by increasing the number of white blood cells in your body. Garlic is also full of antioxidants that might further build your immunity and keeps you fit in the monsoons. Eating garlic everyday also helps your metabolism and keeps your gut in the right frame.
Like the former, Ginger also has several health benefits to it. The antioxidants present in ginger helps your body fight bacteria and keeps away parasites. Ginger can also remove congestion in your lungs and removes the excess mucus from your lungs. Ginger contains gingerol and shagol, compounds that reduces irritation, temperature and unclogs your nose caused by flu. Common way of incorporating ginger in your diet is by consuming ginger tea.
Spices:
Spices holds a sacred space in every kitchen and is a typical part of every Indian dish. Adding spices either makes or breaks a great dish. Apart from adding flavours to our food, spices keeps our gut happy. For example, Heeng cures bloating and helps in digestion. The essential oils and minerals present in ajwain cures stomach ache and nausea. Other spices like saunf and jeera also helps in digestion by aggravating the release of digestive enzymes. Also helps in controlling flatulence caused in the stomach by indigestion.
Bottom Line:
Eat Healthy... Stay Safe...
