How To Prepare For The Season Of Illness

Monsoon delights all of us with its pleasant soothing showers. However, the most awaited rainy season brings along several infections that hamper the health of most of us. Viral and bacterial infections are quite prevalent among individuals of all age groups in the monsoon. While we all love walking in the rain, stepping into a puddle, and relishing fresh fruits and delicacies on the street, it’s not fully harmless. While we enjoy the rains, we are bound to become susceptible to seasonal diseases, such as flu, cold, typhoid, cholera, dengue, viral fever, and more. Having a strong immunity can lower our risk of falling prey to these harmful infections. Opting for an immunity boosting diet plan can work wonders for strengthening your immune system greatly. So, you might be wondering how to prepare for the monsoon to stay hale and hearty, aren’t you? Check out these simple yet effective ways to boost your immunity to avoid the symptoms of immune system disorders and seasonal diseases.

8 Simple yet Effective Diet Tips to Boost Your Immunity this Monsoon:

1. Boost Your Intake of Vitamin C:

Monsoon develops an environment for bacteria and viruses to thrive. So, most of us suffer from viral infections, allergic reactions, fever, and other seasonal ailments during this season. Also, in the rainy season, the air contains more bacteria than any other time of the year. Boosting your immunity can help you stay healthy and avoid falling prey to various infections. And, increasing your intake of vitamin C is the simplest and most effective way to improve your immunity. Add citrus fruits, such as oranges, sprouts, fresh green vegetables, and other vitamin C food sources to your diet plan for the immune system strengthening this monsoon.

2. Make it a Habit to Drink Ample Purified Water:

Often, we drink less quantity of water during the monsoon. However, to keep your body healthy, you need to stay hydrated by increasing your water intake. Water helps regulate the core temperature of your body. Good hydration levels can help improve the functioning of your nose and lungs. Moisture helps safeguard the broken membranes in your nasal passages, so infectious microorganisms fail to enter your body. Make sure that the water you drink is clean and purified, as water infections are prevalent in the monsoons. Carry a bottle of water wherever you go outdoors.

3. Increase Your Intake of Probiotics:

The healthy microorganisms that thrive in your gut and digestive system and support your health are called probiotics. These probiotics improve your gut health and enhance your nutrient absorption capacity. So, try to improve your gut health by adding foods containing probiotics to your immunity boosting diet plan. Include curds, buttermilk, and yoghurt in your regular meals. This will not just make your digestive system healthy and strong, but also improve your immunity and prevent you from falling prey to the potential stomach infections in the monsoons.

4. Take the Right Care When Eating Fruits and Vegetables:

While it is always healthy to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables to keep immune system disorders and seasonal diseases at bay, you need to exercise the right care while eating them in the monsoon. When you are eating outdoors in the rainy season, choose to eat clean and freshly cooked foods.  Avoid going for raw-cut salads and fruits from street vendors, as you never know the quality of water used to wash the fruits and vegetables. When eating at home, scrub the vegetables and fruits under running water to get rid of the germs present on their skin.

5. Spice Up Your Diet:

Spices not only add flavour to your food but also helps enhance the functioning of your immune system, which helps keep various immune system disorders at bay. So, spice up your meals and immunity boosting diet plan with herbs and spices, such as turmeric, garlic, pepper, and ginger. You may also have spiced tea. Another simple way to have immune-boosting spices is by adding tiny slices of freshly cut ginger to the lemon water and drinking it the first thing in the morning.

6. Say No To Junk Food:

You may feel tempted to eat delicious street food in the monsoons, but it is wise to avoid it. In the rainy season, the roads are full of potholes brimming with mud and water. This provides an ideal environment for all sorts of harmful microorganisms. The street food and freshly cut fruits at the street vendors are exposed to the open air for long hours. So, these street foods are more likely to become home to harmful microbes. This is why, when you relish junk food in the monsoons, your chances of falling sick, experiencing diarrhoea, or stomach infection increase. Instead, have a light homemade meal, or a bowl of hot, home-cooked daal khichdi. You can also substitute rice with amaranth (i.e. rajgira) or whole jowar (sorghum) when following a diet plan for immune system boosting.

7. Limit Seafood:

If you are fond of eating plenty of seafood, consuming it in the monsoon might prove a little harsh on you. This is because, in the rainy season, the risk of water contamination is quite high and the fish and other marine life happen to become vulnerable carriers of the infection. So, it is wise to avoid eating seafood in the monsoon.

8. Refrain from Eating Uncooked Food:

In the monsoons, avoid eating raw food, uncooked, or partially cooked food, as these foods can be a host of harmful bacteria and other microbes. Instead, prefer eating food which is cooked at the proper temperatures, as at these temperatures the microbes, such as bacteria, no longer survive. So, you get to eat healthy food when following a diet plan for the immune system.

7 Hygiene Tips and Lifestyle Modifications to Follow in the Monsoons:

Other safety and hygiene practices that can help prevent you from falling prey to infections in the monsoon are listed below.

1. Destroy Breeding Grounds for Mosquitoes:

   Water logging is very common in the domestic and outdoor environments in the monsoons. These water-logged areas, no matter how small they are, are a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes, whose bite can make you suffer from malaria or dengue. So, make sure that there is no open water storage in your house; cover all vessels and pots with appropriate lids. Stagnant water is an ideal ground for breeding mosquitoes. So, ensure that your surrounding areas don’t have stagnant water and the drains are not clogged.

2. Wash Your Hands and Add a Disinfectant to Your Bathing Water:

   While you may love getting wet in the rains, you carry home millions of microbes on your body. So, wash your hands and feet with good soap once you arrive home and before eating anything. Also, add some disinfectant to your bathing water as it helps kill several harmful microbes that you have on your body in the monsoons.

3. Safeguard Yourself from Allergens:

   You might suffer from severe allergies during the monsoon. So, if you happen to experience a reaction to pollution, outdoor atmosphere, dust, or any other allergen in the monsoon, wear a mask. Consult your doctor and nutritionists for the right care and diet to keep seasonal diseases and allergies at bay.

4. Maintain a Safe Distance from Sick Individuals:

   As plenty of people suffer from flu and other infections in the monsoons, it is wise to keep a safe distance from visibly ailing people. This helps avoid the entry of respiratory particles from them into your system and enables you to stay safe.

5. Sleep Well:

   Avoid staying up late at night watching television or reading books, as sleep deprivation hampers your immunity. So, while you follow the immunity boosting diet plan in the monsoon, ensure you enjoy 7 to 8 hours of continuous, sound sleep at night.

6. Regular Exercise:

   While you may find it difficult to go for a brisk walk outdoors in the rain, do moderate exercise indoors. You may do yoga stretches, spot jogging, planks, squats, and other exercises indoors. You may also go swimming. Exercises help increase your immunity, improve your blood circulation, and enable you to enjoy good health in the monsoon. You develop a fortified immune system against bacteria and viruses with regular exercises and immunity boosting diet plan.

7. Care for Your Nails:

   Trim your nails in the rainy season and wash them. This helps prevent the accumulation of germs and bacteria beneath the nails.

So, if you wish to enjoy good health in the monsoons, follow all these dietary and hygiene tips. Consulting certified dieticians at Health Total can help you have a personalized diet plan for the immune system to boost your immunity. It can help you stay safe from infections and seasonal diseases in the rainy season. So, make no delay, reach out to us at Health Total, and pave your way to enjoy good health this monsoon with our customised immunity boosting diet plan.

Sign up for a FREE consultation with Health Total experts to get more tips on enjoying good health in the monsoons with immunity-boosting diet plans or any other health condition. Call toll-free at 1-800-843-0206 and book an appointment!