Monsoon Meal Planning: Balancing Nutrients for Optimal Immune Function

Are you trying to plan your monsoon meals by including all essential nutrients? Are you wondering which nutrients must be an inevitable part of your meals in the monsoons to boost your immunity? If you nodded affirmatively, you can find this blog helpful. Cool showers that delight all of us in the rainy season are accompanied by a plethora of microbes, such as viruses and bacteria. The monsoon weather is favourable for the growth of these harmful microbes and it increases our risk of contracting air-borne, water-borne, and vector-borne diseases. Cough, cold, stomach infection, fever, and chills are common in the rainy season. So, it is important to care for our health and boost our immunity by enriching our diet with essential nutrients. Having a customised immunity–boosting diet plan from certified nutritionists can help you plan your monsoon meals properly. So, you might be wondering what nutrients and foods your immunity diet plan should comprise in the monsoons, aren’t you? This blog explains all about it.

What Nutrients and Foods Should be the Part of Your Monsoon Meals?

Here’s a list of some essential nutrients that you should include in your regular meals in the monsoons to strengthen your immune system.

1. Vitamin C:

Cough, cold, chills, and fever are rampant in the monsoons. The intake of vitamin C helps boost your immunity and enables you to combat infections causing colds, coughs, fever, and other health conditions in the monsoons. Vitamin C is very effective in alleviating cough and cold. Vitamin C also helps promote the generation of white blood cells that helps safeguard your body against infections. The consumption of this crucial vitamin enables white blood cells in your body to function more effectively and protect your body cells from potential damage. Also, vitamin C is good for skin health and strengthens your skin’s barrier. So, incorporate citrus fruits, such as sweet limes, oranges, and lemon; bell peppers, broccoli, and strawberries in your diet chart for immunity boosting in the monsoons.

2. Proteins:

Proteins are crucial for maintaining the good health of our body organs. They are the building blocks of our body. Our body requires protein to repair old tissues and cells and for the formation of new body cells. So, adding proteins to our daily diet is one of the essential monsoon diet tips. Proteins comprise amino acids which play a vital role in bolstering our immune system and combating various monsoon infections. So, enrich your immunity diet plan in the monsoons with protein food sources, such as beans, eggs, various seeds, nuts, soybeans, legumes, lentils, Greek yoghurt, and quinoa.

3. Vitamin D:

Having adequate levels of this crucial vitamin i.e. vitamin D in your blood aids in strengthening your immune system in the monsoons. This helps in safeguarding you against various health conditions, such as osteoporosis and cancer. Vitamin D carries a lot of significance in maintaining good health. It is a crucial vitamin and a multifunctional hormone too. It helps our body to absorb minerals, such as calcium and maintains optimum levels of phosphorus in the blood. While sunshine is the major source of vitamin D, in the monsoons, you can have this vital vitamin through food sources. So, add vitamin D food sources, such as dairy products, cheese, and egg yolks, to your diet in the monsoons to ensure sufficient levels of this essential nutrient and increase your immunity.

4. Omega-3 Fatty Acids:

You receive a host of health benefits from omega-3 fatty acids that help bolster your immune system. Sufficient levels of omega-3 fatty acids help protect you from various infections and health conditions. They help in minimizing the inflammation in your body, lowering or preventing the risk of cancer, and improving your overall health. This helps you stay healthy in the monsoons. So, enrich your immunity-boosting diet plan with omega-3 fatty acids’ food sources, such as chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, blueberries, and soybeans.

5. Antioxidants:

You can’t overlook the significance of antioxidants in your monsoons diet. Having your meals rich in antioxidants offers you a plethora of health benefits and protection from various monsoon infection and diseases. Common antioxidant nutrients include beta-carotene, lycopene, magnesium, vitamin E, vitamin C, carotenoids, and selenium. All these crucial nutrients help in strengthening your immune system which is necessary to keep various infections and monsoon diseases at bay. If you happen to catch any monsoons infection, a diet rich in antioxidants helps promote your speedy recovery. Also, the intake of these essential nutrients helps minimize the risk of heart disease and certain types of cancers. So, add carrots, citrus fruits, potatoes, bananas, Brazil nuts, seeds, and fresh fruits to your monsoon diet plan.

6. Zinc:

Adding zinc food sources to your immunity diet plan in the monsoons helps boost the count of disease-fighting antibodies and bolsters your immune system. So, incorporating zinc into your diet is one of the crucial monsoon diet tips. Sesame seeds, shellfish, chickpeas, and cashews are some of the foods rich in zinc that you should add to your regular diet.

7. Immune-Boosting Spices:

• Turmeric: Famous for its healing and medicinal effects, turmeric is used in the diet since ancient times. The spice has powerful antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties that help boost your immunity naturally. Also, turmeric is packed with essential vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin E, magnesium, and potassium. You can add this spice to your daily cooking preparations, such as curries, soups, and more, and enjoy outstanding immune-boosting benefits.
• Ginger: The widely used spice ginger is another best addition to your monsoon diet. It helps increase circulation and aids in eliminating viruses and toxins from your body. The spice alleviates the fever and pain naturally in the monsoon. You can crush a fresh piece of ginger and add it to your daily tea. Also, begin your day by having a glass of warm water with freshly extracted ginger juice and juice of a half lemon added to it to boost your immunity in the monsoons. Adding ginger to your regular cooking preparations is also beneficial for digestion and bolstering your immune system.

Foods to Avoid in the Monsoons:

While you should include various nutrients and healthy foods in your monsoon diet chart for immunity boosting, you should avoid eating certain foods that can hamper your health and immunity. Here is a quick rundown of the foods to avoid in the monsoons.

• Fried Foods:

Eating fried foods in the monsoons can make you suffer from gastrointestinal issues. You may find it tempting to relish pakoda, bhatura, and samosa in this season of cool showers, however, these deep-fried foods can make you prone to bloating, diarrhoea, and other digestive issues. So, ensure that you restrict or avoid the intake of fried foods in the monsoons. You may choose healthier options, such as roasted corn, instead.

• Seafood:

In the rainy season, seafood is at high risk of getting contaminated with harmful microbes. Food getting water contaminated is quite common in the monsoons. So, fish and other seafood can be the carriers of harmful infections in the rainy season. This is why it is advisable to avoid including seafood in your daily meals during this season. This will help prevent the risk of digestive health issues, infections, and food poisoning.

• Junk and Street Foods:

The rains and temperature in the monsoons provide favourable conditions for the breeding of harmful bacteria and fungi. In this season, roadside food and junk foods are more prone to be affected by these microbes. Eating street-side food can also increase your risk of falling prey to waterborne infections. So, it is wise to prepare food at home and eat warm, healthy homemade food. Also, be sure you wash vegetables well in the monsoons before using them.

A Sample Monsoon Meal Plan to Boost Your Immunity

Here’s a sample monsoon meal plan that you can count on to strengthen your immune system and enjoy good health in the rainy season.

Early Morning (at 6 or 7 am): 1 glass of warm water with fresh lemon juice and freshly crushed ginger added to it. Or, you can also have cucumber mint water or haldi water.

Breakfast (at 8 am): 1 small bowl of vegetable oats and an orange smoothie (or any fresh fruit smoothie)

Mid-morning snack (at 11 am): 1 glass of coconut water and some almonds

Lunch (at 1 pm): 1 roti + 1 small bowl of seasonal vegetable (such as bitter gourd or bottle gourd) + 1 small bowl of vegetable raita + 1 glass of buttermilk

Mid-afternoon snack (at 4 pm): One small block of cheese or some roasted peanuts

Dinner (at 8 pm): Quinoa with vegetables + a couple of servings of black beans or pinto beans + eggs + a small plate of vegetable salad

Now that you know which essential nutrients are that you should add to your immunity diet plan in the monsoons, plan your monsoon meals by considering the right nutritious foods. The precious guidance of certified nutritionists, such as health experts at Health Total, can help you receive a customized diet plan for monsoon along with monsoon diet tips. Our diet plan not only boosts your immunity but also manages your weight and prevents or lowers potential health risks. So, waste no time, reach out to us at Health Total and boost your immunity and enjoy monsoons healthily with our personalized immunity-boosting diet plan.

Sign up for a FREE consultation with Health Total experts to get more tips for boosting your immunity in the monsoon with diet or for managing any other health condition. Call toll-free at 1-800-833-171-709 and Book Free Consultation!