Chef Manisha Bhasin, ITC Hotels
What you eat through the seasons defines your health. Follow a simple approach: eat what is local and seasonal, because your body recognises and metabolises it far more easily than food that has travelled thousands of miles in cold storage.
In summer, or grishma, when body energy is at its lowest, eat cooling, hydrating and naturally sweet foods—mangoes, coconut water, buttermilk. At the same time, avoid pungent, salty and heavy foods that aggravate heat in the body.
Come monsoon (varsha), and digestion weakens. Eat warm and easily digestible meals, steamed vegetables and have ginger tea to rekindle the gut fire. Avoid raw salad and stick to cooked food.
In autumn (sharad), when heat peaks, consume bitter and sweet cooling foods to balance the system. Avoid spicy and fermented food. Winter (shishir) is the time to rebuild, so it is good to have warm, oily food. Ghee, sesame and nourishing soups build strength and immunity.
Finally, spring (vasant) calls for lightness. Choose light, dry, bitter and pungent foods, and avoid heavy, sweet, cold or oily foods to counter sluggishness.
My advice: let nature guide you. When diet is right, you don’t need the medicine.