Indulge in these delectable and nourishing beverages during the monsoon season to tantalize your taste buds, support gut health, and maintain optimal digestion.
Amidst the influx of insects and amphibians during the monsoon season, allergies, diseases, and digestive issues often rear their heads. As humidity peaks, our body’s digestive capacity diminishes, turning beloved rain and chai pakora snacks into potential nightmares. Nutritionist Shikha A Sharma suggests a range of beverages to boost immunity, enhance digestion, and ward off digestive woes.
She recommends indulging in seasonal fruits and juices like lychee, watermelon, and jamuns, known for aiding digestion. Additionally, traditional Indian drinks such as aam panna and chaach can bolster digestion while fending off harmful viruses and bacteria. Herbal teas like ginger, chamomile, cinnamon and ginger, and peppermint are also hailed for their digestive benefits during the monsoon season.
For children’s digestion, incorporating 2 teaspoons of ginger tea into milk can be beneficial. Shikha shares a magical tip: consuming half a teaspoon of coriander powder mixed with water in the morning, and likewise with turmeric powder before bed, can work wonders for digestion during the monsoon. Adding probiotics like curd to your diet can also help maintain gut health.
Beverages that promote gut health
1. Fruit Juices
Consuming seasonal fruits and vegetables is always recommended, and drinking fruit juices is generally a good idea. Fruits such as watermelon, jamun, litchi, and other citrus fruits can be beneficial for digestion.
- Watermelon: With its high water content and low calorie count, watermelon aids digestion by adding bulk to your stool and keeping your digestive system functioning efficiently.
- Jamun: Rich in Vitamin A and Vitamin C, jamun aids in detoxification and helps prevent issues like vomiting, dysentery, irritable bowel syndrome, and diarrhea.
- Litchi: Litchi supports digestion and relieves stomach problems like constipation due to its high fiber content and abundance of Vitamin C.
- Citrus Fruits: Oranges and other citrus fruits are rich in soluble fiber, which helps lower cholesterol levels, promotes weight loss, and aids digestion.
2. Herbal Teas
In many Indian households, the day often begins with a cup of tea. Imagine if your morning tea not only refreshed and energized you but also promoted a healthy gut. Here are some herbal teas that can help keep your digestive system functioning smoothly.
- Ginger Tea: Ginger, a spice known for its ability to stimulate the production of digestive enzymes and gastric juices, aids digestion and boosts metabolism. This helps in breaking down food, easing digestive symptoms like bloating.
- Chamomile Tea: With its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, chamomile tea is beneficial for various digestive issues such as colic, gastric acidity, hyperacidity, diarrhea, acid reflux, and irritable bowel syndrome.
- Cinnamon and Ginger Tea: This herbal spice tea is not only good for relieving congestion but also promotes digestion. Cinnamon helps lower carbon dioxide levels in the stomach, reducing body temperature and aiding digestion, while ginger speeds up the metabolic process.
- Peppermint Tea: Peppermint extracts possess antibacterial properties, relaxing the digestive system and alleviating abdominal pain. It also smoothens muscle contraction, relieving gut spasms.
3. Indian Drinks
Who would have thought that the flavorful and spicy Indian drinks your grandma and great-grandma used to make could offer so many benefits? Here’s how these drinks can aid digestion:
- Aam Panna: This drink, made from sour fruits and spices and rich in peptacids when combined with sugar and salt, can help alleviate various digestive and gastrointestinal issues like piles, diarrhea, and constipation. Additionally, it can assist in treating conditions such as liver diseases, night blindness, cataracts, and dry eyes.
- Chaach: Also known as spiced buttermilk, chaach is a popular Indian beverage made from the liquid leftover after churning cream into butter. It helps inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria and soothes the stomach lining after a heavy meal. Chaach has also been found beneficial for nourishing and hydrating the body.
4. Spice Water
No Indian meal is truly complete without that vibrant yellow spice, which has been valued for its medicinal properties for centuries.
- Coriander Water: By stimulating the production of digestive juices and enzymes in the body, coriander water enhances digestion and supports gut health. It is particularly beneficial for treating irritable bowel syndrome and reducing symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, and discomfort.
- Turmeric Water: Loaded with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, turmeric can aid in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome by reducing bowel movement, stomach ache, and diarrhea. This is attributed to curcumin, a compound found in turmeric known for its therapeutic effects.
5. Probiotics
Probiotics, microorganisms renowned for their health benefits to the host, play a vital role in maintaining gut health. They achieve this by regulating pH levels and facilitating the digestion of proteins in the body, thereby addressing various digestive issues such as Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, constipation, and colic.
Before incorporating these drinks into your diet, it’s essential to ensure that you’re not allergic to any of the ingredients used. Nutritionist Shikha A Sharma emphasizes, “Avoid consuming salty foods and beverages high in sugar, as they can adversely affect your gut health.”