Food to EAT to fight Pollution

While most of the Delhi residents are worried with the increasing and alarming pollution levels, the easiest cure can still be found in the food we have as our daily nutritional diet. As they say Prevention is better than cure but preventing all the pollutants to enter our system seems  difficult in the current scenario lets see what food we can include in our diet to flush out the pollutants / toxins or at least reduce their effect.

As per The World Health Organization (WHO), pollution is the 5th  leading cause of death in India, after high blood pressure and tobacco smoking. WHO says Delhi’s air quality is worse than Beijing – a city where rising levels of air pollution has brought about a new disease — Beijing cough lets not get there in Delhi.

Pollution damages our lungs and liver the most and these 2 needs the maximum care to neutralize free radical damage caused by air contamination.

So while there is very less we could do , least fixes are to follow a  Right diet ,go one Detox plan  and do Breathing exercises at least once a day.

Lets quickly review what are these foods

Broccoli :  Pollution or no pollution ,Winter or no winter, add broccoli to your daily diet. This wonder veggie, apart from being a great cancer combatant and lowering body weight, goes a long way in protecting you from air and vehicular pollution, according to a study at Johns Hopkins University. And if you don’t like the taste than here a quick recipe to help you gulp it ( Click here  )

Lemon & Amla  : Vitamin C is single most potent antioxidant for our body.This water soluble vitamin is present throughout our body and it scavenges on free radicals and is also known to contribute into regeneration of vitamin E. Lemon and Amla are a great source of vitamin C, include both of them to level up at least 40 mg of this Vitamin requirement of our body. At least consume one Lemon a day.

Green leafy vegetables : Most of us hate this but little we could do to consume these, so include Spinach (Not so Palak Paneer ),amaranth ,Fenugreek , radish leaves and coriander to your diet daily. All these foods are good on Beta Carotene and are loaded with anti oxidants and known to control inflammation.Don’t miss to wash them well as most of the Delhi grown vegetables ought to be high on pollutants. and washing them with warm water at least helps reduce the surface pollutants.

Almonds and Nuts : Almonds, Walnuts  and Nuts are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids thus help the body to rejuvenate and fix the damage. even walnuts, chia seeds and flax seeds are good in omega 3 fatty acids.

Kale : Kale leafs / Leaf cabbage is one of the easy food. In a 100 gram serving, raw kale provides 49 calories and is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, folate, and manganese . Kale is a good source of thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, vitamin E and several dietary minerals, including iron, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus. Kale looses most of its nutrients when cooked so it’s ideal to  consume it uncooked and one way to do this is just  pick up a handy  pack from The Green Snack Co ,they are available in 3 flavors of your choice to make munching easier – Thai sweet chilli, Onion& cheese  & Sea salt & Vinegar.

Fenugreek seeds & Mustard Seeds  : These are also rich in Omega 3 FATTY Acids thus are very helpful, while mustard seeds can be used in most of the food as a spice , or can be consumed in pickles, Soak fenugreek overnight and have it in the morning for detox.

Jaggery : Jaggery had been in use for long and most of the people working in fields use to consume jaggery to eliminate dust particles from the body which they inhaled while working. So this is the easiest food on your rescue during this pollution. include it daily in your diet. and it will also help you relieve from dry and cold cough, just mix onion juice in jaggery and consume.

Tulsi Leaves : No wonders this plant is so important it is loaded with medicinal properties and is at your recuse in cold , cough, building body’s immunity and now from pollution. just eat 4-6 leaves in the morning or use it in tea or even curd.

Ginger : This is the first thing that hits us as we get on winter tea, a cup of ginger tea is a great relief from cold and cough, and so it is from pollution.include it in your diet if you don’t like tea , drink it with hot water and honey.

Turmeric : known for its healing properties Turmeric is one of the best thing we have in kitchen that is out for our rescue. Its antioxidant properties helps protect lungs from toxic effects of pollutants. Mix Turmeric with honey / Jaggery / butter / ghee and this helps most of the respiratory problems.

Tomatoes : Your diet should also include lots of fresh tomatoes as they have lycopene, an antioxidant that protects against respiratory illnesses. A bowl of fresh , hot Tomato soup is a great way to consume them or have them in salad or just add few tomatoes to your daily juice routine with carrots.

flaxseed :Flaxseed has high levels of phytoestrogens and omega 3 fatty acids. Phytoestrogens have anti-oxidant properties that help to reduce the symptoms of asthma and other allergic reactions. You can take flaxseed daily in smoothies, salads or add it to your baked foods.

avocado : Studies shows that  avocado is extremely rich in vitamin E, and this property can help to counteract the effects of certain types of particulate pollution.

Olive oil : Alpha-tocopherol, the vitamin E contained in olive oil, improves lung function. The fatty acids contained in olive oil are also helpful for reducing inflammation. The best way to ingest olive oil and get maximum benefits is through your salads as salad dressing.Cooking in olive oil kills most of the nutrients so consume olive oil and olives raw only.

So while you still can wear mask to protect yourself , stay at home or work from home to avoid exposure to the pollutants, instal air purifier at home or plant more trees / green plants with  ability to purify air , Food still makes the easiest cure and what you eat defines how you respond to the undo the damage. So eat healthy and stay healthy.