Scorching summer heat takes away water from the body & our appetite too.The rattling rains cause water retention & dampens the digestion in our body.Lo! here comes winter to respite from all the fuss. Get ready to win health this winter. This is the time to pamper oneself with the best of the foods around. Stay in pink of your health whilst enjoying pink winter!
‘Chaturmasa’ ( period of four holy months) is over and the series of festivals too. Fasting that we observed on such days will be are over. ‘Annakut Mahotsav’ is celebrated at the outset of winter, to enjoy savouries abundant in veggies that are available now. Foodies, it is perfect time to indulge!
The Basal Metabolic Rate( B.M.R.) is raised in winter which means that the metabolic process to digest & assimilate the food we eat is accelerated. We need fats to generate heat so that we can keep ourselves warm too. We need good fats indeed for this. So this is a right time to put the RIGHT FUEL into our body engines,so that it speeds up well on the way to good health.
Good health can be adjudged primarily by one’s appetite, sleep, bowels and work efficiency.
As a farmer first prepares his field before he sows the seeds , similarly,at the outset of winter one should go for detoxification process through ‘Ayurvedic Panchkarma or Homoeopathic Organ Detox or Acupuncture organ attunement along with some Herbal preparations. This will help one gear up one’s system for digesting good things that we eat and assimilate those well. ( Other seasons doesn't allow to do so)
Try out all the foods & classic recipes that are rich in all the basic food ingredients like proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins & minerals.Your diet should be warm, moist & heavy.
1.Diet in commencing winter ( Sharad ritu -Sept. To Nov.) should be pittashamak and should contain more of madhur rasa( sweet flavoured ) as also snigdha (fatty) food stuffs unlike sour,salty and dry food stuffs.
2. Sharad Ritu is followed by Hemant Ritu ( Nov. To Jan.) in which diet should be heavy, complemented by heavy exercise regimen, says Ayurvedacharya Dr. Sonali Mandhane
3.Ideally heavy food stuffs should be consumed in first half of day followed by light tapering meals as the day passes by.
4. One should use grains like bajri, maize& rajgira to prepare bhakri or thalipeeth.
5. You should have vegetable stock,soups and stews etc. with a dash of garlic, jeera, black pepper & sendhav namak. Use fresh beans instead of dried ones like french beans, garbanzo, pinto,etc.Green soup prepared from turnip,beet,cauliflower,radish greens is a boon to anemic as it is rich in iron as well as folic acid.
6. Avoid salads, fruit juices, cold drinks, ice cream and refrigerated water and food stuffs.
7. Fruits like papaya,guava,oranges, sweet lime, grapes, pears, cranberries, gooseberries, zizyphus( Ber), sugar cane are all the delicious recipes that our mother nature serves us now.
8.Extra serving of nuts like walnuts, almonds,cashews, pistachios, dried coconut,sesame, melon seeds and peanuts is welcome.
9.Enhance the goodness of these recipes with a splash of spices since these are said to be very rich in antioxidants and improve immunity. Spices like garlic, ginger, pepper, cinnamon, bay leaves & cloves can be used as per taste.
10.Cheese, virgin olive oil, mustard oil, flax seeds, almond oil,countryside cow’s ghee and butter are sought after fats in winters. Optimum oil intake keeps our skin soft and supple & our hair healthy!
11.You can have herbal tea like fenugreek and cinnamon tea, green tea, honey ginger turmeric mix, tulsi tea.
12. Go for gajar halwa,gujrati undhyo,annakut ki mix sabji,ajwain halwa, khus khus halwa,maharashtrian aamti( made from fresh peas & beans), sarson ka saag, makke ki roti, gond pak, telchi (paratha stuffed with til & gur), dry fruit chikki,rich gravies (prepared from sesame,poppy seeds, cashew nuts, melon seeds), curries.
13.Traditional paan with ajwain, til, khus khus, dried coconut and saunf will help in diminished appetite.
14.Morning time sun rays are a winter treat as well as a great Vit. D booster. Body massage with til/mustard tel fosters good health .Sleeping in daytime should be discouraged.
15. Chyawanprash is a gift of Ayurveda, each one of us should have a scoop a day during winters. So also Ashwagandha churna which is effective to promote growth in children.
Winter is the time to repair, recover, rejuvenate our health and replenish our body reserves for rest of the year. Fortify our immunity to avoid health hiccups.
Winter health mantra is-clean guts-improve digestion- eat rich-work out-lose calories-en-cash nutrients- boost immunity-win health- look great - feel young!
Don’t miss a chance to win health this winter!