Monsoon Ritucharya with Shreevarma

Rainy season is the much awaited time of the year which we all look forward to throughout the summer. As monsoon brings down the temperature with rainfall, our digestive system and immunity tend to weaken. If we do not change our lifestyle and diet accordingly, it might cause us various seasonal infections and allergies. Thus, it becomes very important for us to follow the monsoon ritucharya to avoid these problems. This rainy season, Shreevarma brings you the monsoon ritucharya, with which you can boost your immunity and stay healthy throughout the monsoon.

Understanding Monsoon

Monsoon season in Ayurveda is categorized as Varsha Ritu. Varsha Ritucharya is the recommended modification in lifestyle and diet to be followed for treating the imbalances in the body during Varsha Ritu. Following this will help you with strengthened immunity and good health.

How Monsoon Affects our Body

During monsoon, the aggravation of Pitta and Vata dosha becomes the root cause of various conditions and diseases. The food and lifestyle modifications as per the ritucharya will help to maintain a healthy body constitution and balance the vitiated Pitta and Vata doshas.

Do’s to follow

• After getting wet in rain make sure to bathe with clean water.
• After coming back from outside, wash and dry your feet properly.
• Use mosquito net to keep insects away while sleeping.
• Eat only freshly prepared food in a small amount.
• Cook less spicy food and consume within 2 hours.

Don’ts to avoid

Avoid sleeping in the daytime and staying up late at night. Avoid strenuous exercise & sunbathing during monsoon. Don’t eat junk food and oily snacks. Avoid eating potato, rice, and ladyfinger as they are difficult to digest. Don’t wear slippery footwear.

Dietary Regimen

Avoid Fermented Foods- During monsoon, Kapha is under control, Pitta is accumulated, and Vata is aggravated. This might lead to increased acidity by the fermentation of undigested food into the sour components. Therefore, fermented food should be avoided in monsoon to minimize the fermentation.

Follow a light diet- The digestive system slows down during monsoon, which leads to problems like indigestion, gastritis, and bloating. Ayurveda suggests you to follow a light diet which helps the digestive system. Foods like cereals and khichdi are recommended.

Prefer less spicy food- Pitta dosha is slightly increased during monsoon, which can cause digestion related health issues such as gastritis, bloating, stomach ulcers, and more. Ayurveda suggests avoiding spicy food as it increases pitta dosha effectively. Ayurveda encourages having soups and lentils.

Say no to leafy vegetables- Though green leafy vegetables are enriched with nutrients, Ayurveda recommends to avoid consuming them during monsoon. The reason being, green leafy vegetables are susceptible to grimes and germs during the monsoon. Consuming contaminated leafy vegetables can easily make us prone to various seasonal infections. If you cannot avoid these in monsoon, please make sure that they are thoroughly washed before cooking.

Avoid oily and non-vegetarian foods- Due to a weakened digestive power during monsoon, oily and non-vegetarian foods can be hard to digest. That is why you should avoid consuming such foods as they can increase the chances of stomach infections. Make sure not to reuse oil once you’ve fried something in it, as the oil can get toxic.

Prefer steamed and finely cooked food- Ayurveda suggests you to avoid consuming heavy junk foods during monsoon, and encourage eating steamed and finely cooked vegetables. Steaming process helps in removing germs from the food, retaining more flavour and texture, and softens the vegetables. You can steam cook mushrooms, broccoli, carrots and more.

In the big picture, Ayurveda suggests making considerable modifications in our lifestyle and diet in every season to promote good health. The aforementioned tips can be followed by people from all age groups. Shreevarma Community has been helping people follow the ritucharya by suggesting appropriate diets and lifestyle changes as per one’s dosha type. With Shreevarma one can switch to Ayurveda and adapt to a natural way of living towards health, happiness, and harmony.