Ayurvedic Diet & Lifestyle Tips for Monsoons

During monsoons the digestive fire (agni) is weak. Throughout summer, Vata dosha accumulates in the body and vitiates agni even further affecting the digestive power severely. When the doshas are out of balance, it leads to various diseases including gastrointestinal disturbances such as diarrhoea and dysentery.

Ayurveda recommends Varsha Ritucharya to counter the detrimental imbalances brought about by climatic changes during monsoons. According to the traditional Indian calendar there are 6 different seasons (Shishir, Vasant, Greeshm, Varsha, Sharad & Hemanta) and Ayurveda suggests a set of lifestyle and dietary guidelines which effectively prevents doshas from being imbalanced. The seasonal guideline for the Varsha (rainy season/Monsoons) is known as Varsha Ritucharya.

Here are a few simple lifestyle & diet recommendations from the Varsha Ritucharya to enjoy monsoons without worrying about indigestion, bloating, cold or other seasonal disorders.

Lifestyle recommendations

Your immunity is low during monsoons because of damp and unhygienic conditions. These simple tips will prevent you from becoming ill:

• Do not sleep during the day time since it slows down metabolism and weakens digestion which is already weak because of vitiated Vata.
• Do not walk on wet surface and keep your feet dry.
• Burn a fistful of dry neem leaves to fumigate indoors. This helps in ridding your house of insects and pests that take shelter indoors and spread diseases.
• Drink warm water, preferably with a pinch of ginger powder added to the water when boiling.
• If you get wet, have a cup of ginger-mint or basil-ginger tea. This will keep you warm and prevent asthma, cough and cold.

Diet recommendations

• Avoid salads, raw or uncooked vegetables and leafy vegetables in the rainy season.
• Eat a small piece of ginger with rock salt before every meal.
• Drink boiled and cooled water to avoid contamination
• Avoid all foods which takes longer to digest such as non-veg, curd, processed foods, beans and fried foods.

Jiva Pro-Tip: Instead of curd you can drink buttermilk after meals.

Ayurveda also recommends undergoing Panchakarma therapies in Monsoons since during this time of the year the pores on skin are open and receptive to the benefits of therapy. Book your Panchakarma therapy at Jiva to restore your vitality, strength and immunity.