New Delhi: Do you feel like wrapping yourself in the warmth of a pashmina stole in the morning but changing into a cotton shirt as the temperature soars? Well, that’s the changing season! And that change comes with a host of infections including influenza, stomach flu, dry skin and chapped lips, affecting our immunity and gut health.
“Good health starts with a healthy gut,” says Dr Nageshwar Reddy, recognised globally for innovations in Gastro intestinal endoscopy. He adds,
90 per cent of our body is bacteria and only 10 per cent is cells. 90 per cent of bacteria controls everything – your sugar, cardiac and mental status. Good gut health will result in good physical health.
Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar shares dadi-nani foods to beat infections and improve skin, immunity and gut health.
Bajra
Bajra is a heating millet and difficult to digest, meaning it should ideally be consumed during winter season. However, heating millets when mixed with cooling agents like ghee, moong dal and coconut make for good summer food.
Munmun Ganeriwal, Nutritionist, Gut microbiome Specialist and Best-selling Author explains,
In Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, heating millets are used in preparing a summer drink. They mix Bajra flour with buttermilk and leave it to ferment. Buttermilk is a primary cooling agent and fermentation also cools down the content.
Also Read: Know Your Food: Dos And Don’ts Of Incorporating Millet In Your Diet
Khareek (Dry Dates)
Rujuta Diwekar recommends chewing three to four dry dates daily to improve iron levels. She adds,
If you have skin and hair-related issues or are a young lactating mother, this is the food you should surely be consuming.
Any pickle with mustard
When preparing any pickle, don’t forget to add freshly-harvested mustard. It is a great source of monounsaturated fat.
“Remember to eat seasonal food in time tested proportions”, says Ms Diwekar.
Also Read: Agriculture Grapples With Climate Change; Erratic Weather Patterns Through 2023 Affect Production
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
