Every change of season brings with itself a few challenges, health-wise. It is because of this reason that eating seasonal plays a huge role. Not only is it good for your weight, it is also beneficial for your overall health and immunity. With the rising air pollution and temperature dipping every day, it is important that we bring changes in our diet, especially the ones that help up cope with the changing environment around us. Foods like ghee, jaggery and homemade halwa can take you a long in terms of achieving this goal.
Foods like halwa, sheera, haldi doodh etc have been age-old remedies that are given as the first few treatment for cough, cold, body aches, pains, and several other ailments. Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, in one of her Insta posts, talks about how gaud sheera or sooji halwa were the dishes that every household made to "nurse their sick back to strength".
Also read: Winter Superfoods: Ghee, Peanuts And Other Foods You Can Have Guilt-Free, Without Gaining Weight
Rightly so! Traditionally, these dishes are prepared in an iron kadhai. Ghee, milk, sugar, kesar and dried fruits are added as essential ingredients. It helped in managing their appetite and aided speedy recovery, mentions Diwekar in the caption of her post.
So whenever you feel under the weather and get symptoms like sore throat, mild fever, cough, cold congestion, foods like sheera and halwa can be of great help.
Other immunity boosting foods that can help you stay healthy in winter:
1. Turmeric milk: A cup of haldi doodh at night, with jaggery, cinnamon and some dried ginger powder, will help you sleep well and also boost your immunity naturally.
Turmeric milk can act as a natural immunity-booster in winter
Photo Credit: iStock
2. Leafy green veggies: Spinach, mustard greens and fenugreek leaves are a few of the many leafy green vegetables that are in season in winter. Include them in your daily diet to get iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, antioxidants, folate, Vitamin K, magnesium, calcium and iron to name a few.
3. Carrots: Carrots are available in abundance in winter. This fibre-rich vegetable is a great souce of Vitamin A, beta-carotene and lutein. Eating carrots regularly can be good for your eye health and immunity.
4. Beetroot: This bright red vegetable is great for managing blood pressure and improving blood circulation. It can help in preventing constipation and combating fatigue. It is good for digestion and helps in boosting your immunity naturally.
5. Turnips: This is another vegetable which is in season in winter. It has a rich antioxidant profile and provides Vitamin K and A. It can be good for bone health, digestion and immunity.
All in all, consuming a well-balanced and healthy diet in winter, which includes all food groups: carbs, fats, proteins and fibre, can help you stay strong and healthy in winter.
Also read: Mental Health: Beat Winter Blues With These 6 Easy And Effective Tips
(Rujuta Diwekar is a nutritionist based in Mumbai)
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.
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