Lush green surroundings, running waterfalls, showers of rain and a long drive. This is a picture-perfect monsoon. After an exhausting summer, the monsoon (varsha rutu) always brings energy and happiness everywhere. Hot tasty pakodas, samosa accompanied by tea are truly monsoon companions. But many times, these taste bud stimulator foods are troublesome to our health typically in the Monsoon. Take a pause and analyse your health with the concept of Rutucharya
https://www.turyaawellness.com/post/rutusandhikaal-and-dakshinayana
Everyone knows that monsoon is the season of extended bouts of illnesses including seasonal cold, allergies, diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, etc. Couple of weeks back, newspapers reported that monsoon related diseases and pandemic together may put strain on the healthcare system. Children may suffer more in the upcoming wave. We all are finding natural and simple ways to take extra care of health to avoid all said complications. The apt answer for all this situation is to follow Rutucharya: rules and regimens for diet and lifestyle to acclimatize seasonal enforcement.
Why monitor your Agni (Metabolic Quotient)?
In Ayurveda, the term Agni is used in the sense of digestion of food and metabolic products. Turyaa Wellness compute and monitors the metabolic quotient of health through the principles of nadi parikshan. Usually, Agni decreases to its minimal level during monsoon due to increase in cold, wind and cloudy weather. Furthermore, the accumulated Vata dosha from the summer season also starts provoking during the monsoon. This impaired metabolism along with provoked vata cause above mentioned diseases, recurrences and complications.
Monsoon care for seniors:
Senior citizens often complain about bloating, constipation, flatulence and indigestion. It is observed that problems worsen during Monsoon due to decreased metabolic quotients. Further, irregular food intake and fluctuating meal timings make them uncomfortable. This also leads to aggravation of joints and bone disorders too. General fatigue, body ache, and headache are their common monsoon complaints.
To accelerate metabolism and balance the Agni, Turyaa Wellness recommends:
- Food Care
- Warm water and clear soups
- Vegetable soups (green moong soup)
- Mixing 2 tsp castor oil in the flour while making chapati
- Restriction of nonveg, bakery products
- Appetizer before food prepared from ginger juice, Lemon juice and rock salt or jaggery and ginger
- Eating 2/3rd to stomach capacity during every meal
- Extra Care
- Massage with sesame oil and steam with castor or nirgudi leaves
- Light exercises
Monsoon care for kids:
Most impacted and vulnerable group in the monsoon is kids. Cough and cold related problems are observed recurrently in children during monsoon. Asthma, skin allergies, itching etc. get aggravated during Monsoon. Cold food items, irregular meals, bakery food, excess milk and dairy products are typically seen to aggravate above problems in children, as they are heavy to digest.
To boost growth and development and disease-free monsoon, Turyaa Wellness recommends:
- Food Care:
- Do not force your child every time for food, as the kid’s appetite is usually irregular in monsoon.
- Restrict dairy, nonveg, bakery products in kids.
- Include appetising vegetable soups, moong dal kadhan, non veg broths, steamed finger foods as part of their evening snack options
- Adding khichdi or rice based options at dinner time work as easily digestible and nourishing.
- To add milk in their diet, go for cow milk + pinch of sunth powder, pinch of roasted Ajwain + lemon juice + rack salt for proper digestion
- Drink boiled and cooled down water
- Extra care:
- Abhyang with warm oil typically to chest region and steaming
- Warm, dry clothes, fumigation,
- Deworming is seen as very effective.
Monsoon care for mid-age:
People prone to acidity, sour burps, skin rash, migraine etc. are also seen frustrated during monsoon due to on-and-off complaints. Excess use of pickles, curd, buttermilk, tamarind, excess use of pulses especially tur dal and horse gram etc., fried food, irregular meal and sleeping time and stress are the reasons behind acidity related problems.
To care and correct your accumulated pitta, Turyaa Wellness recommends:
- Food care:
- Include healthy light foods, adhering to regular meal timings
- Consume food 3/4th to your stomach capacity.
- Adding preferably old grains, slightly roasted before use.
- Restrict use of pulses and legume (preferably moong and masoor).
- Compliment all your meals with cow ghee 2-4 tsp daily.
- Soups ( veg, Non- Veg), kanji, semisolid diet, and warm beverages to include.
- Restrict dairy, raw, unprocessed, bakery products, nonveg, spicy, fried food items at dinner time.
- Extra care:
- Monitor the triad of your appetite, digestion related problems and bowel cleaning.
- Keep the surrounding dry and clean.
- Use fumigation methods with karpur, vekhand (calamus), neem leaves, loban in offices and home to avoid vector borne and moisture related complaints.
Monsoon is such a beautiful season. By adapting the above Rutucharya, you may now create your own Monsoon song, enjoying a steaming plate of hot pakodas, grilling corn and sipping a hot cup of chai, sitting near rushing lake or waterfalls under the falling raindrops, it will not harm your inner health but will be caring for you and your loved ones together.
Have a happy and safe Monsoon.
Author:
Dr. Gayatri Kulkarni – Mulye
MD (Ayurved)
Blogger @ Turyaa Wellness
