Expert’s tips to increase immunity during Monsoon!

New Delhi: Monsoon is here and yet, the rainy season can play havoc to your body. Because during monsoon, our digestion gets weakened, which in turn lowers our metabolism and increase fat storage.

A lower metabolic rate can lead to stomach ailments like constipation and bloating.

Monsoon reduces the immunity of the body, making us susceptible to many diseases like cold, fever and flu – commonly associated with this season.

Therefore, eating right is essential during monsoon in order to boost our body’s immunity and stay healthy.

Dolly Kumar, director of GAIA Herbs, shares a few tips to increase immunity and the metabolic rate and not miss out on monsoon activities:

* Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water and water-based drinks such as green tea during monsoon season because the increased humidity makes us sweat more and leaves our bodies dehydrated and makes us more susceptible to falling ill.

* Increase fiber intake: Increase consumption of light fibrous grains such as oats, brown rice, and barley that are easy to absorb by the body. Avoid watery cereals such as curried rice which can cause bloating during monsoon.

* Switch to light cooking oils: As much as you love eating pakoras during monsoon, avoid deep fried foods as they can make one feel heavy and are difficult to digest. If you still want to indulge in a few monsoon munchies, use lighter oils such as corn oil or olive oil instead of heavy cooking oils like mustard.

* Use natural immunity boosters: Turmeric powder and Fenugreek seeds boost metabolic rate and are natural antibiotics.

* Lime and honey: To further boost metabolic rate and immunity, have lemon juice and honey as they assist in the digestion process and help the intestines carry out their functions properly and effectively.

Happy Monsoon!