5 Food Combinations to Avoid During Monsoon

Monsoon is here, and so is our craving for deep-fried Samosas with Masala Chai and Hari chutney. However, given that season that rescues us from scorching summer is also the season of breeding, laying the ground for infections; Every bite that touches our tongue should be well thought of, to maintain our health, duck the risk of illness and enjoy the upcoming plethora of showers.Also Read – Monsoon Diet Tips: Avoiding These Foods In Rainy Season Will Prevent Diseases Like Diarrhea And Infections – Watch List In Video

Dietitian Shivani Kandwal, Nutritionist, Diabetes Educator, and Founder of Nutrivibes shares 5 food combinations to avoid during monsoon: Also Read – Monsoon Diet: List of Foods You Should Eat and Avoid During Rainy Season

Green Leafy Vegetables

Never thought a clinical dietician would say to avoid green leafy vegetables? To your surprise, it is true. Generally, an extremely healthy food option, green leafy vegetables like lettuce, spinach, cabbage, and cauliflower should be avoided in monsoon as much as possible. Many studies, including one in Applied and Environmental Microbiology in 2015, have shown that green leafy vegetables rich in dietary fibre, magnesium, zinc and iron, are the most prone to housing a variety of bacteria and fungi — all of which get the most conducive environment to grow in monsoons. If you must eat leafy vegetables, cleaning, seeping them in salt water, washing and cooking it will ensure that it is good for eating. Also Read – Skincare Tips: 5 Ways to Prevent Rashes This Summer Season

Fish and Seafood

Rain, Water and Fish. Fishes contain eggs inside their bodies which when consumed can cause stomach infection or severe food poisoning along with a high risk for waterborne diseases. Also, from an ecological perspective, it is better to avoid them during this time of the year to ensure that their population remains stable.

Oily And Spicy Food

With every shower, our intensity to indulge in loading up fried food increases, As Indians deep fired samosas or hot steamy pakoras are a no-compromise essential, and while fried food is harmful in any season, it is especially a NO-NO during monsoon because of the humidity in the weather. The human digestive system is anyways not working at full capacity, the process itself is a little slow during monsoon. So, eating these deep-fried food items may lead to gastronomical complications like bloating and an upset stomach. Also, reusing the oil you’ve fried in once that can be toxic. While it is practically impossible to completely avoid it ( I know from experience). It is very important to pay attention to the proportion and avoid excess.

Cut or Peeled Fruits

A slight change in the weather results in people catching a cold, and the flu being contagious contaminates the air, resulting in other people catching the flu as well. Therefore, anything that has been left in the open for a long has a chance of getting contaminated and resulting in the person who consumes it, getting ill. So to avoid that, it is advisable to not eat fruits or vegetables that are sold by roadside vendors as they put the fruits in advance. Similar practices should be followed at home too

Street Food

Whether it’s Gol gappe in Delhi or Pani puri of Mumbai. Apart from causing discomfort to the stomach on any given day, street food needs to be strictly avoided in this monsoon season. This is because the water that is used may be contaminated with bacteria/bacterial spores that thrive during this season causing more stomach infections than usual! If you must eat chaat, try homemade recipes for tasty and healthy chaats! The temperature and moisture levels during monsoon are perfect for bacterial and fungal growth — and there’s the added risk of waterborne diseases. So, it’s best to avoid eating out, especially street food, no matter how much you crave it.