Foods to Eat for Winter Wellness

Our bodies require different things at different parts of the year. In the summer we need food which can keep our body cooler like cucumber, juices etc. Similarly we need special food in the winter like nuts, warming meals which are heartier and heavier. We are forced to stay indoors in the comfort of our houses with weather restricting us to tread outside. Eating foods which are good for your body in winters helps you avoid common diseases and health conditions which are common in winters.

The following are some of the special winter food for your wellness.

· You can be warmed from inside and outside by eating foods like vegetable soups, hot rolled oats, lentil curries, bean stews and others. Some of the warming spices to be included in the food are pepper, chillies, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, anise and fennel etc.

· Have warm drinks like lemon juice in warm water, to start the day with. One should take the juices in the room temperature instead of icy cold. Plenty of herbal teas and warm nut milk drinks are good during the season.

· Raw food diets are not suitable for the winter. Our bodies crave for more cooked food in winter but some amount of raw food needs to be included which can give us the fresh, live enzymes but we can exclude the salads from our diet.

· Garlic should be added to everything one eats along with leafy green vegetables, fresh food and Vitamin C enriched food (strawberries, citrus and Kiwi fruits, papaya and Brussels sprout) and those rich in zinc (like seeds, nuts etc).

· Good gut health can be obtained through addition of fermented probiotic food.

· The fullness of the body can be achieved through the legumes, root vegetables and beans. The winter veggies like potatoes and sweet potatoes, beetroot, celery, pumpkin, carrots are encouraged. This can add to the warmth of the body thereby balancing it with the chill of the outside environment.

· Soups can spread warmth throughout the body in the winters and some medium-heated peppers can be added to have that extra kick. Too much of hot pepper will give a cooling effect and one must be careful about the amount that is added. Hippocrates soup can be taken twice a day as part of the therapy. One can add roasted pumpkin, coconut milk and spices to this soup.

· The way of cooking the food also helps us in the warmth generation of the body. Grilling, roasting, baking and stewing produces warm effect and the steaming, raw preparations, pickling are far from cooling. The slower and longer methods produce more warmth.

· The winter greens like spinach, kale are full of antioxidant and Vitamins (E, C and A).

· If one is prone to diseases like Sinus in the winter, eating oil-rich and warm and moist food is very beneficial. And also oily fishes, olive oils, the Indian ghee and nut oils also are wonderful for the season.

· One should take locally grown organic food. One must drink hot water and lots of hot tea than cold water during the winter season.

· Ginger increases the circulation and can be blended with chai or simple hot water or tossed into a soup or grated to cooked food. Dried ginger with lentils and black beans can be the most warming combination. The oil of ginger can be used as a powerful antiseptic. It can be used for digestive purposes and also connected with the immunity of health.

· Oats, quinoa and sweet brown rice can add to the warmth of the body. They should be well cooked and easily digestible. Barley, Millet and Wheat have more cooling effect on the body and can create chronic cold condition in the body during the winters.

· The Adzuki beans which are purplish-red in color gives us the feeling of fullness and generates heat in the body. They can be tossed in chilies and made into soups and vegetable burgers.