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Tag Archives: shravan fasting

Categories Advice, Diet, Fitness, food, nutrition, Protein, skin, Wellness

6 skin benefits of fasting during Shravan

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In case you are fasting and keeping your non-vegetarian diet aside, here are seven food items that will help you get a healthy glowing skin in the month of Shravan

If you think that fasting during Sharavan can turn your skin dull and dry, then you need to think again. This is because a vegan diet comprising of fruits, vegetables, health drinks and nuts, improves the digestive system, keeps you healthy and helps you attain a glowing skin. The fasting diet is equally rich in vitamins and minerals, fasting do have some skin benefits. These seven food items listed below will help you get a healthy glowing skin in the month of Shravan:

banana

1. Banana: Rich in vitamins, minerals, and potassium, the fruit nourishes and revitalises dry skin. Consumption of banana protects the skin against free radicals that cause pre-mature ageing. While it’s zinc content fights acne-causing bacteria and the vitamin C content promotes the production of collagen.

papaya

2. Papaya: Rich in vitamin A and Papain enzyme, papaya helps to reduce pigmentation and promote rejuvenation. Also, it removes tan and controls acne breakout.

3. Pomegranate: Its antioxidant property builds up immunity and reduces tanning. Also, pomegranate has anti-ageing property that help rejuvenate the skin internally and externally. The delicious fruit if consumed during the fasting season, will keep the skin healthy and glowing.

4. Sweet potato: It contains vitamin A, C, D along with niacin, riboflavin and potassium. Sweet potato is a rich source of natural antioxidant that reduces pigmentation and signs of ageing. During Shravan, sweet potato can be eaten in boiled or mashed form. It can also be sauteed in olive oil and eaten for taste.

5. Sabudana: This is another rich source of carbohydrate, which is eaten universally during fasting period. Carbohydrates are rich source of energy and will keep you active throughout the day. Sabudana is eaten mostly in the form of khichdi, popularly known as ‘sabudana khichdi’. Mix milk and dry fruits in a sabudana recipe to increase its nutrition level. Sabudana along with milk and dry fruita contribute to a healthy skin.

6. Cold Milk: This is one of the most important drinks to have during Sharavan. Drinking milk increases the nutrition level of the diet and helps attain a healthy skin. Anytime you feel an acid formation in the stomach or heartburn coming on during the fasting period, have a glass of plain cold milk without additives or sugar. It can also be consumed as the main drink in the morning or evening.

Stay away from high calorie foods during fasting month as such food items can weaken the immune system and lead to a dull skin.

Categories Advice, Diet, Fitness, food, Wellness

Why fasting during Shravan is good?

Tags , , , Categories Advice, Diet, Fitness, food, Wellness Posted on Leave a comment

The Hindu month of Shravan is when many people follow fasts on certain days like Mondays or eat only one meal for the entire month. There are also other days like the Chaturthi, Ekadashi, Poornima (full moon day) etc. when fasting is followed too. Why did this practice of fasting begin? What are the rules? Does it have any benefits – health and otherwise?

The spiritual reason

It is believed that fasting has been a part of Hinduism, which is a way of life, since the beginning. We, humans, spend a lot of time in planning, procuring, cooking and eating food which not only becomes an exhausting activity by itself, but it also takes away from what should be a spiritual way of life. Or so is the belief! So, certain days were followed as days of fast when one would abstain from eating or would eat limited, saatvik foods.

Hence, the food allowed on fasts were supposed to be those which are easy to procure throughout the year, like the tubers sweet potato, yam, tapioca, the millets like the Indian barnyard millet (samo/varai/bhagar/saamai), grains like amaranth (rajgira), dried fruits, water chestnuts etc. It was believed that when you don’t have to spend too much time in managing the food part of every day, you end up having more time to be close to the Almighty or the higher spiritual powers, and hence one would take up these fasts with joy.

The present reality

Unfortunately, over time, fasting has become more of a feasting where people indulge in deep fried starchy foods like potatoes, sabudana (sago palm starch pearls), sweets made using dairy products and heavy handed use of ghee. Also, often people forget the real purpose and goal of a fast eat simple foods (eg. Fruits), do not over eat, eat less at each meal or decrease the number of meals, cook food in a saatvik way (avoid deep frying, processed foods).

So instead of being able to derive any of the reported benefits of fasting like improved digestion, improved insulin levels, decreased body weight – one ends up actually feeling bloated and is unable to sleep at night due to the ‘upvaas’ feasting induced hyper- acidity.

How to derive health benefits from fasting?

  • Take the focus away from food: Instead of planning a visit to a new upvaas food joint, eat a fruit and enjoy the light feeling tummy.
  • Eat nutritious carbs: Stay away from starchy potatoes and sabudana and derive the nutritious benefits of foods like water chestnut, rajgira and varai.
  • Follow the ancient Chinese rule of eating: Eat one morsel less than what makes you feel full. Do not overeat at any cost.
  • Detox: Drink plenty of water and eat fresh fruits as that is what will keep you feeling energetic.
  • Revive the Saatvik way: Use healthier cooking methods for making delicious upvaas food eg. Make sabudana appe instead of sabudana wada or a upvaasache thalipeeth made from upvaas bhajani instead of sabudana thalipeeth.
  • No feasting after fasting: Once you are done with the fast, do not try to compensate for the imaginary loss of calories by bingeing the next day.
  • Exercise, always: It would be useful to remember that a fast does not mean you are unwell, no need to use that as an excuse to not exercise every day.
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