During the festive season, the time begins for merriment, fun and rich food. This is the time when most people begin the period of indulgences which lasts almost till the New Year.The result of the indulgences is a rise in weight and a fall in health, though one can not avoid the festive binge, but if one can keep few aspects in mind then a lot of festive indulgences can be made enjoyable without compromising on health

Tips for the festive season

1. Increase the intake of water —–Water is one of the best detoxifiers and surprisingly in our normal course we do not drink enough water. If we keep a bottle of water by our table side and make it a point to finish at least 2-3 bottles of water a day, it will be a great help to the system. Water flushes our intestines, liver and kidney, in almost all the Naturopathy or Ayurvedic treatments water is given in large quantities to cleanse and balance the system. Many people are not aware that water has many minerals which make it an important part of the diet. In fact many diseases including heart disease is due to mineral deficiency in the system.
2. Increase the intake of fiber — fiber both soluble and insoluble is one of the most important aspects of cleansing, detoxifying and weight management strategies. If we have enough fiber in our diet we can control our weight, control serious diseases like cancers and chronic diseases like arthritis, colonic diseases. In almost all diseases, the nutrition therapy includes fibers as part of treatment. The kind of fibers one can take are wheat bran( 1 Tsp a day), oat bran( 1 teaspoon a day), plant fiber( 4 cups of vegetables a day) fruit fiber( 3 fruits a day)
3. Take 2 glasses of vegetable juices to fulfill the antioxidant, enzyme and vitamin requirement for the day. vegetable juices are actually medicinal in nature and they are capable of several cures besides detoxifying in nature. Vegetables like, bottle guard, pumpkin, tomato, cucumber, amla, aloe vera etc are wonderful as cleansers
4. For acidity take cabbage juice, 2 tablespoons daily. Its is rich in several elements which protect the intestinal lining and promote healing of gastric ulcers
5. Stretch the muscles, through Yoga, pilates, or any form of isotonic exercises
6. For women post 35 and men who consume alcohol regularly, Take vitamin B1 and B12 along with Vitamin C, regularly during the festive season to protect the nerves and the liver
7. Make 35% of the diet full of raw and fresh foods, for example in this season one can have fresh water chestnuts(singhara), barley grass, wheat grass juice, spirulina juice mxed with, curry patta, rose petals, tulsi leaves
8. Keep one day of the week for naturals oils rather refined oils. Natural oils are found in nuts, peanuts, olives. so one can have salads like boiled potato and corn salad with nuts, boiled white channa salad with olives, steamed sprout chat with anar and almonds. Potato and walnuts salads.

This is one of the best seasons to enjoy good food and Good health, provided one is aware and conscious, an aware living and being in present consciousness can be truly liberating .