Fit & Fine in Rains

The rains are here and with them come a splurge of health concerns. I don't know about you but rains is really a difficult time for me health-wise. I have found these natural remedies to be really helpful in the rains. Some if followed regularly might even prevent colds and coughs but then most of us are lazy enough to do that :)

Anyways, here's a list of natural remedies that might help you in case of cough and cold:-

1. Ginger and boiled water - Take a glass of water and boil some bits of ginger in it. Once the water is cools down a bit and is warm enough to drink, add a little sugar in it. You are good to go, having this drink first thing in the morning prevents cold, throat infections and even prevent asthmatic attacks. Over a period of time it even helps you lose weight as the warm water facilitates bowel movement.

2. Honey and Lemon Water - Well most of us know about this one as the way to lose weight. You need 2 teaspoons of honey, juice of half a lemon and warm water. This again needs to be taken first thing in the morning. Lemon is rich in vitamin C and honey soothes the throat thus apart from loss of weight, this also prevents throat infections and colds at bay.

3. Ginger Powder and Hot Milk - This one's a miracle drink, really! You need 1/2 a teaspoon of dried ginger powder in a glass of hot milk. I usually don't need sugar with this but you can add as per your taste. It tastes yum and guess guess, it can actually even help vanish fever! If you have a blocked nose, cough and or fever, take this at bedtime and chances are you will wake up the next morning fit as a fiddle!

4. Tulsi and Cloves - Take a clove and some tulsi leaves. Put the clove inside the tulsi leaves and just eat it. This helps sooth sore throat. You can also add honey to these if preferred.

5. Tulsi-Ginger-Honey Syrup - This one's my favourite. I get sore throat and fever due to that very easily and really now its kind of become that even antiseptics cannot completely cure my throat infection. So my Mom makes this for me and this really helps make my throat healthy again. You need a bunch of tulsi leaves - 50. Little bit of ginger and 2 spoons of honey. Run the tulsi and ginger through a blender so that it becomes liquidy but not totally like juice. Take this paste sort of mixture and add the honey to this and mix it all up. Store it in the fridge and have atleast 2 spoons of this mixture after every meal. Before having it, heat it and then have it. You can store this upto 2 days in the fridge.

6. Tumeric Powder and Hot Milk - Hot milk with tumeric powder just before bedtime keeps a lot of infections at bay.

7. Almond Oil Drops - 2-3 drops of almond oil in nose and ear helps prevent colds and ear infections. A head massage, massage on the soles of the feet or rubbing a bit of oil on the temple soothes the body and ensures a good night's sleep.

Another simple thing that you can do daily is start your day by munching a few tulsi leaves - 2-3 before or after your breakfast. Also, remember to dry up as soon as possible after rains - key areas to take care here are your head and feet as cold enters from these extremities at first and its easier to catch a infection through them. One mistake that most of us also make during the monsoons is that we drink less water. Remember to always have atleast 8-10 glasses of water daily.