With all those little insects and amphibians the monsoon season also brings along allergies, diseases and digestive problems. As the humidity increases, the ability of our body to digest comes at its lowest which means your favorite rain and chai pakora snacks can turn into a nightmare. Here are some drinks which will help you to boost up your immunity, improve digestion and keep all those digestive problems at bay.Here’s what Nutritionist Shikha A Sharma has to say:
“The drinks that we should consume in monsoon season for a healthy gut are firstly the seasonal fruits and juices like lychee, watermelon, citrus fruits like jamuns as these help in better digestion. Apart from this some Indian drinks like aam panna and chaach will also help you to improve digestion and keep those viruses and bacterias away. One can also opt for those magical herbal teas like ginger tea, chamomile tea, cinnamon and ginger tea and peppermint tea to improve your digestive system in the monsoon season. To improve the digestion of your children you can add 2 teaspoons of ginger tea into some milk to keep their gut healthy."
Also Read: 5 Refreshing Indian Drinks To Add To Your Summer Diet
She adds, “A magical secret that you can follow is to take half a teaspoon of coriander powder and mix it in a glass of water and drink it in the morning, other than that you can take half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and mix it in a glass of water and drink it in the morning and before going to bed. These two spices will help you to improve your digestive system in the monsoon season. Apart from all this you can take probiotics such as curd to keep your gut healthy.”
Drinks to keep your gut healthy
1. Fruit Juices
It is always advised to consume seasonal fruits and vegetables and drinking fruit juices can never be a bad idea. Fruits like watermelon, jamun, litchi and other citrus fruits can help to boost up your digestion.
- Watermelons- Watermelons being rich in water content and containing a small amount of water promotes digestion by providing bulk to your stool and keeping your digestive tract moving efficiently.
- Jamun- With the abundance of Vitamin A and Vitamin C jamuns help in the process of detoxification and prevents issues like vomiting, dysentery, irritable bowel syndrome and diarrhea.
- Litchi- Litchi promotes digestion and helps with stomach problems like constipation as it is rich in fibre content and is packed with the goodness of Vitamin C.
- Citrus Fruits- Citrus fruits particularly oranges are rich in fiber, that too soluble fiber which helps to lower your cholesterol levels, promotes weight loss and aids digestion.
2. Herbal Teas
In Indian household most of us start out days with a cup of tea but what if your morning tea would not just refresh and energize you but could also help to keep your gut healthy. Here are some herbal teas which will help to keep your digestive tract moving efficiently.
- Ginger tea- Ginger is a spice that helps to stimulate the production of digestive enzymes and gastric juices in your body. These enzymes and gastric juices help in easing digestion and speeding up the metabolism by helping in breaking down the food and as a result eases the digestive symptoms such as bloating.
- Chamomile tea- A drink which helps with digestive problems like colic, gastric acidity, hyperacidity, diarrhea, acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome due to its anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties.
- Cinnamon and Ginger tea- A herbal spice tea which is good for congestion and the promotion of digestion, cinnamon and ginger tea helps with digestive problems as cinnamon helps in lowering the carbon dioxide levels in the stomach which lower down the body temperature and aids digestion whereas the ginger speeds up the metabolic process.
- Peppermint tea- Peppermint extracts have antibacterial properties and hence it helps in relaxing the digestive system and eases abdomen pain, smoothens muscle contraction and hence relieves the spasms in the gut.
3. Indian Drinks
Well who knew tasty and spicy indian drinks that your dadi and nani made you drink could have so many benefits? Here’s how these drinks can help you to ease your digestion process.
- Aam Panna- A drink made with sour fruits and spices which is rich in peptacids when mixed with sugar and salt helps to treat various digestive and gastroline problems like piles, diarrhea and constipation. Apart from that it also helps in treating problems like liver diseases, night blindness, cataract and dry eyes.
- Chaach- Also known as spiced buttermilk chaach is a popular Indian drink made out of the liquid that’s left after churning cream into butter. It helps to prevent the growth of bad bacteria and helps in soothing the stomach lining after a heavy meal. It has also been proven useful for nourishing and hydrating your body.
4. Spice Water
No Indian food is complete without that highly pigmented yellow spice which is being used for its medicinal properties for centuries now.
- Coriander water- Enhancing digestion by stimulating the digestive juices and enzymes in your body coriander water can be very helpful in keeping your gut healthy. It helps in treating the irritable bowel syndrome and decreasing its symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain and discomfort.
- Turmeric water- Packed with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties turmeric can help in treating the irritable bowel syndrome by lowering the bowel movement, stomach ache and diarrhea due to the presence of curcumin chemical found in turmeric.
5. Probiotics
Microorganisms known for delivering the health benefits to its host, probiotics are known to keep your gut healthy by lowering the pH levels and easing the digestion of protein in the body which results in treating the digestive problems like crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, constipation and colic.
Also Read: Can Probiotics Help In Losing Weight? Know From Dr Pooja Sharma
Before consuming all these drinks make sure that you are not allergic to any of the ingredients used. Nutritionist Shikha A Sharma concludes, “You should avoid eating salty food and beverages which are high in sugar as it will have a bad effect on your gut.”
With inputs from Nutritionist Shikha A Sharma
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