During the rainy season, all you want to do is leave your laptop and work off on the table, curl up on your bed inside your warm comforter and doze off. Cuddling up to your pillows is the only thing that matters all day long. Yes, we do feel really lazy during monsoons, and so do our immune and digestive systems. They also feel lazy and go bonkers during the season. It is, therefore, important to keep our body functioning through the season otherwise we might fall ill to several seasonal diseases. How can we change our diet in monsoons to have proper immunity and good sleep every day?
Eat healthy during monsoons for strong immunity
What food should you include in your diet to stay healthy during monsoons?
Drink a lot of fluids
To stay resistant to the infections that might spread around during the rainy time of year, consume a sufficient amount of water. Water aids in boosting your immunity as they negate the building of poisons in your body. Make sure you boil your water before drinking and sometimes alternatively have cups of tea and occasional healthier drinks and fruit juices. Drink buttermilk to keep your digestive system under control.
Dry food
Enjoy the rains with corn popularly referred to as Makka and similar dry foods like chickpea or oats. This helps to avoid swelling or bloating of the body otherwise caused because of watery food items like watermelon, muskmelon, rice, or lassi.
Seasonal produce
Maintain good energy levels throughout the day with seasonal fruits like apples, pears, or pomegranates. Cucumber slices will facilitate you with the iron and phosphorous content needed for your body. Keep a secure distance from infections by including bitter gourd and fenugreek in your diet. Also, practice good food handling practices like washing your hands and vegetables properly before cooking.
Turmeric and garlic
Taking excellent care of your immunity and metabolism, garlic does a good job for your body. Simply adding it to soups or your usual curries makes a difference. And as turmeric is a natural antibiotic, you will be able to protect yourself from primary monsoon illnesses like cold and cough by drinking turmeric infused milk, which also helps in sleeping.
Low salt diet
Keep a note on your daily salt intake because it retains the water in your body that also contributes to the blood pressure level. This becomes of prime importance to people already stricken by heart problems. A low sodium diet directly means avoiding junk food, salty chips, salted butter, cheese, pickles, packaged meals, etc. Instead have fresh and frozen vegetables, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, unsalted nuts, plain yogurt, and similar natural sources of low sodium.
Light and unprocessed food
Considering that the human digestive system is weak during monsoon, consumption of easily digestible food is usually recommended. Fruits, vegetables, properly washed green leafy vegetables, pulses, rice are good options. Usage of vegetable oil, ghee, or oil can prove beneficial for the upkeep of your immunity system. Processed food is harder to digest.
Sleep better when you include these food items in your diet this monsoon
Kiwis
Kiwis not only have more citric acid than oranges but actually facilitate you to get to sleep faster and longer. All you have got to try and do is eat 1-2 medium kiwis at midnight. They are rich in serotonin and antioxidants. Both chemicals help improve your sleep quality.
Almonds
Almonds have high doses of melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone that regulates your sleep cycle. If you simply have 33g of almonds, that is enough magnesium and calcium to relax your muscles and facilitate your sleep.
Fatty fish
The main reason fatty fish, like salmon and tuna, helps you sleep is because they are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which regulate serotonin, which again is accountable for a more organized sleeping cycle. Fatty fish also contains Vitamin D, which is again helpful for good sleep.
Chamomile
Generally speaking, herbal teas tend to possess a chilling effect on people. Chamomile is truly considered somewhat of a gentle tranquilizer. It is immensely calming because of a chemical called apigenin. It decreases anxiety and causes you to feel very sleepy. It is also the perfect warm bed tea during the rainy season.
Sweet potato
Sweet potatoes are an excellent food to snack on before bed. The complex carbohydrates facilitate your feeling full and it has plenty of potassium, which is a relaxant.
Banana
Bananas are an ideal fruit. Yes, they are high in sugar, which is not ideal, but they are stuffed with beneficial nutrients, including magnesium, potassium, and vitamin B6, which together cause you to go to sleep quickly and keep your anxiety in check.
Pistachio
Pistachios are one of the most effective nuts to assist you to go to sleep, like bananas they are also stuffed with protein, vitamin B6, and magnesium, all of which contribute to better and longer sleep. Around 30g is simply what you need to have on a daily basis.
Cottage cheese
The main nutrient in cottage cheese or alternatively, paneer, is that the same one found in turkey, tryptophan. The amino acid increases your serotonin levels and helps you go to sleep faster.
How to prepare your bedroom for monsoons?
Remember, before monsoons, declutter your bedroom and dry out and freshen up your mattress, comforter, and pillows completely. It is very important as monsoons can make anything really damp and make a place for mold and bacteria to grow and prosper. Use clean bed sheets as often as you can, and completely dry ones as well.
Livpure Sleep offers you a variety of mattresses which are good for all seasons, and especially rainy ones. Why? Well, Livpure Sleep mattresses are made from antiallergenic material which keeps your mattress hygienic. Also, what is better than curling up in a comfy and soft mattress during the winters with your favorite sitcom! Premium Memory foam and Latex mattress- Regal, from Livpure, is as luxurious as the hotel room mattresses and supports your body perfectly too. All the mattresses, including the memory foam mattress, come with an outer cover that protects your bed from spillage and dust particles. Pair this with Livpure’s All-weather comforter and you are all set!
Conclusion
Monsoon is here early this year and brings the good and the bad with it. To enjoy this season without impacting your health gravely, be careful about your daily diet and good sleep. As a precautionary measure, attempt to avoid eating from unhygienic places. Wash your hands regularly, clean your raw food properly and cook food at a good temperature to kill all unwanted bacterias. And the most important thing of all, sleep seven to nine hours to keep all your bodily functions intact.