Should you really avoid street food in the monsoon?

Imagine this: You're standing at a roadside thela and are just about to eat a delicious plate of tangy paani-puri. Stop right there!

Sorry to burst your bubble, but it's time you reconsidered your decision. 

Wondering why? 

Read on to find out the dos and don'ts to eating in the monsoon!

• Drink plenty of water

Summertime is behind us, which means that you won't be feeling as thirsty as you did a few months ago.

It also means that you could go without drinking water for several hours and feel 'normal'.

But don't do that!

Thirst signals don't work the same way as hunger signals do.

Thus it is best to keep sipping water continually throughout the day.

• Get your daily dose fruits and vegetables

Your immunity (or the immunity of a select few) does go for a bit of a joyride.

To counter this, you need your daily dose of mid-meal fruits and fresh, homemade sabzis with roti.

Fruits and vegetables provide us with antioxidants and act as anti-inflammatory agents, which help kick infections.  

• A soup to drive away monsoon blues

Monsoon is decent weather for a nice homemade soup with a dash of garlic.

The West essentially worships garlic for its immunity boosting, anti-bacterial and cholesterol lowering properties.

• Eat homemade yogurt to soothe your tummy

Monsoon brings with it a queasy stomach.

To soothe your tummy, have some homemade yogurt and eat meals, which are light and easy to digest.

You can have khichdi with kadhi, rice with dal or pulao with raita.

• Don’t ditch your workouts

So you can't go outdoors for a run, jog, bicycle ride and swimming isn't really an option either.

But don't use monsoon as an excuse to skip your workouts.

You have ample indoor options too.

• Stick to homemade food

The culture of eating fried foods during monsoon came about from the fact that frying kills germs in food.

So enjoy your fried treats once in a while during monsoon -- but stick to homemade food please.

• Stock up on food during road/train travel

There'll be train delays, endless traffic jams and commuter woes.

Thus, ensure you have ample emergency 'power foods' in your bag for these situations

Stay dry and enjoy the rains while you can.

The author is a dietitian/nutritionist. 

Have more monsoon tips. Share it on the messageboard. We would love to hear from you. 

You can also post your #Monsoon-Pics or simply e-mail your photographs to getahead@rediff.co.in (subject line: 'Monsoon Pics') along with your NAME, AGE and LOCATION where it was clicked at. We'll publish the most interesting ones right here on Rediff.com and in India Abroad. And make sure to include a little-write up of where you clicked the snap.

Remember, the theme is the monsoons, so your photograph has to gel with the season. Hurry and send in your fave pics today!

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