According to Ayurveda, Varsha Ritu or monsoon aggravates the Vata dosha and pitta. The acidity in the atmosphere and gas leaving the earth weakens digestion and immunity. With the pitter-patter outside the window, everyone including children craves for oily and deep-fried snacks. But the increased microbial activity slows down digestion or may lead to food poisoning. So, to protect your children from the harmful weather condition, follow these Ayurvedic tips:
Prepare simple and easy to digest foods for your little ones; oats, moong dal, chickpea, barley, wheat, and gram flour.
Make sure you boil their drinking water to kill all the germs. You can also add honey. Honey is an antimicrobial, that breaks down mucus, calms the throat and reduces Vata. You can prepare a honey concoction by mixing raw honey with finely chopped garlic and pepper.
Add spices such as ginger, garlic, jeera, turmeric, pepper, asafoetida, and coriander into the food. These will improve your child’s digestion abilities and will also boost their immunity.
Use seasonal vegetables; yam, bitter gourd, snake gourd, apple gourd, and cluster beans, as nonseasonal ones are prone to get infected by microbes. Also, these bitter vegetables contain antioxidants and medicinal properties that prevent infections. Seasonal fruits such as banana, pomegranates, lychees, plums, and cherries will help your children fight cold, flu and viral infection. Amla and citric fruits contain Vitamin C that improves immunity levels.
In case your child catches a cold, make them drink fresh radish juice with a pinch of rock salt and pepper. This will control the formation of mucous.
To improve your child’s overall health, make them practice Kaaplabhatti, a forceful and rapid breathing exercise. It helps in clearing the nasal passage and prevent infections.
Ayurveda believes that monsoon induces the Kapha dosha; feeling of nausea, fatigue, and tiredness. To balance this, Ayurveda advice one to drink coconut water every day and avoid junk food.
An effective Ayurvedic home remedy to treat viral fever is to boil ginger, tulsi, honey and prepare a juice.
To protect your kids from skin infections, boil neem leaves and mix it with their bathing water.
Ear oil - Warm some nasya oil and pour 1 to 2 drops inside your child’s ears before going to bed. Since the ear canals are a part of the respiratory system, nasya oil helps in balancing the Vata and protecting the body against cold.
Massage with garlic oil – Heat sesame oil and add crushes five to six crushed garlic cloves. Fry them well. Then, strain the oil and let it cool down. Massage your child’s scalp, soles and back. Also, make your child inhale the essence of this oil. It will protect them from all sorts of infection.
These Ayurvedic methods will safeguard your child during monsoon and keep diseases at bay.
