Healthy Food Habits to Adopt This Monsoon

To calm down the blazing summer heat, the monsoon showers are going to hit our cities soon. The rain will not only bring down the temperature but will also make our environment green and pristine. All the brown and dust covered shrubs and trees will receive a new lease of life, and the coolness from the rain will revive our senses. Well, monsoons are the most romanticized spell of weather and a lot of songs, poems and literature are dedicated to it. A good spell of the rain is also good for the harvest, and the farmers and everyone look forward to it.

But there is an ugly side of the monsoons that requires our attention.  The onset of rain also unleashes a range of diseases and infections that can make young children and adults severely sick. You have to eat sensibly so that you don’t get water-borne diseases like jaundice, typhoid, and cholera. Therefore, here are some examples of healthy food habits that you should adopt as the rain casts its spell-

Wash Your Vegetables Thoroughly

Due to all the grime and slush in the agricultural fields, certain kinds of vegetables namely cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, cauliflower may harbour a lot of germs and bacteria. Sometimes, these bacteria may be very stubborn and washing it with water may not be enough. During the monsoon months, you must pay particular attention towards sanitization of raw food items.

Consuming bacteria and pesticide infested food can lead to severe health problems such as diarrhoea, food poisoning, and stomach infection. An effective way to clean the vegetables and fruits is by installing a vegetable cleaner.  For example, KENT vegetable and fruit purifier is an excellent vegetable cleaner that employs ozone technology to remove up to 99% bacteria, germs, pesticides and pathogens from raw vegetables.

Don’t Consume Fruit Juices from Unhygienic Places

If you are a student or a working professional you might be in the habit of buying fruit juices from a fruit vendor close to your college or office. Drinking a glass of sugarcane, beetroot or orange juice is very nutritious. But during the rainy months, it’s best to avoid drinking fruit juice from a street vendor. To begin with, you are not entirely sure of the hygiene standard maintained by the vendor. Secondly, most fruit vendors cut the fruits in advance, and there is a high chance that they may have been contaminated by air and the flies.

Water-borne diseases are very common during the monsoon, and most often than not, contaminated street food may trigger an infection.

Refrain from Having Pani-puri from the Streets

The water and potato mixture put in the panipuri can be a breeding ground for a lot of bacteria and viruses. First of all, you are not sure of the purity of water used to prepare the tangy pani which we love so much. Also, most street vendors do not have refrigeration facility. Due to all the humidity and the moisture in the environment items like potato, coriander, onion, and chutney used in the pani can become stale faster. Eating stale or spoilt food can lead to food poisoning.

As a precautionary measure refrain from eating pani-puri from the streets. Instead, try making the pani and the masala at home. Summer time is the perfect to host chat party at home.

Avoid Consuming Seafood and Fish

To maintain river and marine life, avoid consuming seafood and fish during the monsoon months. Rainy months are the breeding season for the fish and other water species. Also, during this time the sea and rivers get very turbulent. As a result, all kind of fishing activity comes to a halt or become minimal during this time of the year. Whatever fish or prawns you see in the market may not be fresh. Therefore, for the concerns of your healthy and to maintain the diversity of the eco-system avoid consuming seafood and fish during the rainy season.

Drink Clean & Safe Water

It is necessary to ensure that the water you are drinking at home or office is clean and safe. Boiled and filtered water, RO water, Distilled Water and Packaged water are an example of safe drinking water. Many households across India do not receive clean drinking water. Therefore, never consume directly from the kitchen tap when at home.

Make sure you have access to treated water source. For example, water dispensed from a water purifier or RO is very safe for drinking. Even when you travel make sure you carry water from home or buy a packaged water from a reputed brand. Remember that even a small amount of polluted water can lead to waterborne diseases.

Every year we hear cases of people falling sick from preventable diseases like typhoid and Hepatises A or B. Although treatable, down with any infection or disease is very inconvenient. Therefore, follow a healthy and safe eating habit during the rainy season.