Rujuta Diwekar suggests 4 must-have foods during Navratri fasting: ‘Bananas for vitamin B6 to cashews for…’

Rujuta Diwekar recommends 4 must-have foods during Navratri fasting, including rajgira in forms like laddoo and roti, handful of cashews and more.

For many, Navratri festivities are the time to detox their bodies by observing a fast. The Hindu festival dedicated to the worship of Maa Durga and her nine divine incarnations is observed for nine days, during which devotees keep a fast. They give up foods like chicken, fish, meat, garlic, and ginger, etc, and consume sattvic items.

Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, known for working with stars like Kareena Kapoor, points out that in this age of the internet, while everyone considers Navratri as a time for fasting and detoxing. It is more than that. She stressed that the Navratri fast, or the Navratri practices, are very beneficial for digestion, diversity, and destressing, not detoxing.

4 must-have Navratri foods

In an Instagram post shared on September 22, Rujuta Diwekar highlighted how Navratri fasts are especially beneficial for women. She also suggested 4 food items that you must add to your diet during Navratri fasts. “Even if you are a male, add them to your meals. Because in every person, we believe there is energy of both male and female,” she added.

1. Rajgira

The first food item is rajgira. Rujuta suggested that you can consume this in the form of laddoo, thalipeeth, roti, and chikki. The main nutrient that you get from this is iron. When you consume iron-rich food, your hair looks good, your haemoglobin levels stay good, and your physical and mental strength stay great.

2. Cashews/kaju

The second food item you must consume during Navratris is cashews, also known as kaju. “You must have heard a lot about magnesium. So, if your legs hurt especially at night, you tend to have gas in the evening, or you cannot sleep at night, eating cashews can be very soothing because the magnesium present in cashews will literally help settle your nerves,” she explained.

3. Bananas for vitamin B6

The third important food you must have in Navratri is bananas. Rujuta explained, “Bananas contain vitamin B6, which helps keep you in a good mood and improve it, too. It also tells you not to waste today by remembering old things. B6 is also a very important ingredient for those who have breast tenderness, especially before their period. It helps provide them relief. It is also good for digestion as it has prebiotics.” So, definitely eat bananas.

4. Legumes

The fourth item, Rujuta pointed out, is a practice from South India, and it is to eat sundal or legumes, like chana, lobia, rajma, and similar food items, which you soak, sprout, and then make a vegetable out of them. She added that sundal is rich in amino acids and protein. It also gives you strength in your bones and maintains brain health.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.

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