Winter’s officially here! Time for your wools to be out from your closets! Layering up with cardigans and sweaters can be fun and fancy, and cuddling up indoors with some hot, hearty, and warm food can be so comforting.

Although winter can be lovely, it is also a time for stuffy noses and sore throats, painful joints and aching bones, itchy skin and flaky hair, windy weather can be glum for some. It can bring on an asthma exacerbation, a flare-up of eczema, exaggerated joint pain, or even seasonal depression.

“Many patients report to us for various ailments like eczema, psoriasis, hair fall, arthritis, URTIs and bronchitis, etc. Winter aggravates their symptoms. So, our only job is to boost their immunity with Homeopathy, which raises their resistance to the dry, cold weather and advise them to follow a wonder winter diet with immunity-boosting foods”, says Dr. Preety Shah & Dr. Prajakta Vaidya, founders of Healing Harmony Homeopathy Clinic.

From hot piping soups to fresh carrot juices, winter foods taste yummy and healthy. Let’s explore the best foods in the market when the temperature outside is plunging!

And let’s stock up on them and use them to their fullest potential for fabulous health and good times!

• Seeds, Dried fruits, and Nuts: Widely used, nuts and seeds are the real super-foods and go well down our systems, especially during winter. They are power-packed, they make for a nutritious snack, and their heat-generating properties can be so helpful in winter.
  • Nuts have anti-inflammatory properties and are rich in powerful antioxidants which are excellent for immunity. Go nuts this winter in form of dry fruit laddoos, or just add a handful to your smoothies. Or maybe you can just have soaked nuts early in the morning.
  • Dried fruits especially dates and figs are essential components of Indian winters. Warm date or fig milk is all you need to drive the chills away. They are iron-rich, fiber-rich, and vigor-inducing!
  • Seeds like sesame are generously used in chikkis, Kazaks, theplas or puris, sweet or savories, these little geniuses are bountiful of iron and calcium and improve your bone and heart health. Add it to anything and feel the magic within. Methi seeds too are widely used in winter especially because of their medicinal properties and protein content.
• Millets: Popularly known in the form of Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, Amaranth, Bhagar, Koda, etc, millets are rich in Vitamins B-complex, calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium. They are gluten-free, have a low Glycemic Index, and are an excellent alternative to wheat.
  • Bajra: Enjoy this winter, with Bajre ki khichdi, Bajre ki raab, or just Bajra roti. It gives warmth and forms a wholesome meal.
  • Ragi: Most recommended for kids, it is also super rich in iron and calcium. Indulge in some Ragi porridge, Ragi Idlis, or Dosa, and get your blood pumped up with iron.
• Leafy greens Vegetables: Walk into a market, and find your eyes glued to those luscious greens. Not only are they good for eyes, they are good for blood and bones too. They are detoxifying, they aid digestion, and balance sugar as well. Use as much as you can in the form of soups, sabzis, juices, or even raw salad dressings or smoothies. Eat spinach, kale, collards, coriander, mint, dill leaves, methi, etc. generously throughout the winter. Indulge in the delicacies of the famous Sarso da Saag with Makke di Roti when you are on the northern side of India.
• Root Vegetables: If you are from Gujrat, you will know the importance of Undhiyo, Kand ni pattice, and kand bhajiyas, especially during winter. Food lovers are on a joy ride to have most winter vegetables on one platter Undhiyo.
  • Kand and sweet potatoes are highly rich in fiber, and carotenoids. They are good for digestion, they enhance brain function, and boost immunity as well. 
  • Fresh Turmeric roots are freely available during winter. These potent curcuminoids are rich in antioxidants and are good to keep cancer at bay. Turmeric reduces joint swelling, clears skin complexion, reduces inflammation, and is good for diabetics too. Just binge on them as much as you can.
  • Ginger: What makes ginger powerful, is that it aids digestion, lowers blood pressure, has anti-bacterial properties, and is the blood-sugar regulator. Eat it raw, or throw in some chopped ginger in your soups and dals, or just a cup of adrak-waali chai.
• Seasonal Fruits: Apples, oranges, guavas, kiwis, grapes, plums, water chestnuts, just don’t miss out on any.
  • Fruits are super rich in vitamins and they contribute a lot to your immunity.
  • Indian gooseberries, famously called Amla, is one fruit you will find in every Indian kitchen during winter. Mothers tenderly make Chyavanprash, murabba, pickles, salads, chutney, and whatnot. This sattvic, ayurvedic superfood also has Sanskrit nicknames like, “mother”, “nurse”, and “immortality”. Not just Vitamin C, it is also rich in Vitamins A and E, and they are good for skin, hair, bones, teeth, immunity, and possibly every cell of your body.
• Edible gum: Indian mothers and grandmothers swear by the medicinal effects of gond or edible gum. Gond katira or Tragacanth gum can be generously had in the form of Goond ke laddoo, and is found in about every Indian sweet made in winter. It has anti-aging properties and delays the development of wrinkles and fine lines too. It is known to act as a lubricant for your joints as well. It is especially good for nursing mothers and is beneficial for the baby too.

For winter this list is incomplete, it can be endless, but these are the minimum and ought to be had foods especially to boost your immunity, keep you warm within and keep diseases at bay! At Healing Harmony, managing diseases and maintaining health is not only about the right medicines, it is also about the right diet, mindful eating, adequate exercises, and mindful living. Our Homeopathic treatments which are completely research-based, are backed by our other holistic approaches too.

For more mindful eating tips, diet consultations, meal plans along with Homeopathy treatment, with Dr. Preety and Dr. Prajakta, contact us at www.healingharmony.com