Thursday, marked the beginning of Navratri an auspicious and important Hindu festival. This festival is celebrated with a lot of joy and revelry every year. However, with the current pandemic of the Coronavirus, those who observe fasts as an important constituent of these celebrations are left wondering if it can be life as usual for them or should they rethink on this aspect as remaining fit and healthy is being cited as the biggest defence against this disease for which there is no known or developed cure as yet.
Many nutritionists have given their opinion and advice on this which we have compiled below:
It is said that for fighting Coronavirus a persons’ immunity must be very high. So if you fast for long hours and don’t drink water you may get dehydrated and weak which in turn may harm your health and immunity. This may make the person more susceptible to the virus. In case if you do decide to go ahead with the fasting it must be planned well.
It is advisable not to go in for long spells of no food or water intake so don’t plan to abstain completely from food or water. This year you may fast but eat and drink a little throughout the day.
You may plan your fast by eating fruits and drinking tender coconut water at regular intervals to ensure that you do not get dehydrated. Keeping yourself hydrated is the key to protecting yourself from getting dehydrated.
It is important to eat light foods and avoid deep fried and junk food during this period. You can plan to include healthy options like Sabudana, cottage cheese, buckwheat, vegetables and yoghurt. All these will go a long way in improving your immunity.
Experts also say that eating a lot of antioxidants during your light fast and maintaining high hydration levels is good.
A consolidated view would thus be that while it is not advisable to fast during this Navratri because of the pandemic and risk our immunity levels, but if you do choose to observe a fast, don’t make it a rigorous one you can eat light and must avoid an empty stomach and dehydration since good immunity is a must during these COVID -19 infected times.
