Aastha Jessica Nutrition Expert: It's Raining.

Aastha Jessica Nutrition Expert: It's Raining.: "Precautions to be taken during monsoon. We need to be extra careful about the food we eat and the water we drink. During the rainy season..."

It's Raining.

Precautions to be taken during monsoon.

We need to be extra careful about the food we eat and the water we drink. During the rainy season, our digestion is weakened and the dosha (the Ayurvedic term for the three basic metabolic principles connecting the mind, body and biological functions) most likely to go out of balance is thevaata dosha.

Vaata aggravation leads to gas formation and indigestion, which most of us unknowingly experience. Following these do's and don’ts will help us enjoy the rains without worrying about diseases.Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly, particularly leafy vegetables and cauliflower, which not only contain larvae and worms, but also collect dirt from the streets.

·         Eat in moderation as the body finds it harder to digest food during the monsoon.

·         Drink warm beverages; add mint or ginger or dry ginger powder to tea.

·         Moong dal is easy to digest and should be the dal of choice for the season.

·         Garlic, pepper, ginger, asafoetida (hing), jeera powder, turmeric and coriander help enhance digestion and improve immunity.

·         Non-vegetarians should go in for lighter meat preparations like soups and stews rather than heavy curries

·         Stick to freshly cooked food, but if you prefer to store cooked food in the fridge, heat it before eating.

·         Drink only boiled and filtered water, and make sure that it is consumed within 24 hours of boiling.

What fruits and vegetables should be prescribed

·         The cardinal rule about eating during the monsoons is that you should never eat when you are not hungry. You can eat something in the winter because it appeals to you, but during the rains, this is an invitation to indigestion and illnesses such as jaundice.

·         Vegetables recommended during the rains are the non-leafy ones such as — snake gourd (turi), gourd (dudhi), pointed gourd (parwal), yam (suran), cluster beans (gavaar), apple gourd (tinda) and bitter gourd (karela).

·         It is better to stick to seasonal fruits because non-seasonal ones tend to get infested with worms during the monsoons. Among fruits, stick to pomegranates, mangoes, bananas, apples, litchees and cherries.

How to protect against monsoon-related ailments such as malaria and jaundice

·         Malaria and jaundice are common due to stagnant water and contaminated food. Use mosquito repellants, creams and nets if you live in mosquito-prone areas or places with stagnant water. Wash vegetables with clean water and steam them well to kill germs. Avoid eating uncooked food and salads unless they are organic and cleaned well.

·         Freshly prepared radish juice is a good remedy for colds. Haldi milk is beneficial for cold and also build immunity.

What foods should we be wary of

Avoid eating chaats, fried items such as pakoras, pre-cut fruits and juices from roadside vendors. When eating out, choose restaurants that conform to basic standards of quality and hygiene, in order to avoid contracting serious infections such as viral fever, diarrhoea and other water borne diseases.

Have a healthy and disease free monsoon.

Qualities of a Nutritionist/Dietitian

Nutritionist need to be reasonably fit and healthy because they need to act as role models for the people they are giving advice to.

There are few traits and qualities which a Nutritionist should possess:

* Skills and Knowledge:

o Food and its nutrients, including the nutrients needed for human health

o How food is digested and absorbed

o Science, including physiology, biochemistry and nutrition

o Analyze how patients may respond to advice and treatment

o Latest health and nutrition research techniques

o Food preparation techniques

o Different cultures, and an understanding of their beliefs and protocols relating to food

o Public health systems

o Business and management skills, including the ability to manage people and resources

o Communication skills

o Planning, time management and organizational skills.

o Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

* Personal Qualities:

o Self Motivation

o Confidence Building — Able to inspire confidence in others

o Personal Interest — Interested in science and food.

o Team Worker — Need to be a good team worker, who enjoys working with people and helping them.

o Patience — Have to be mature, tactful and sensitive, with good motivational skills and boundless patience.

o Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

o Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.

o Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.

o Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

o Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

o Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

o Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

o Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

o Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

o Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

o Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

o Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

o Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.