Chaitra Navratri Diet Plan And Health Benefits: list of food we can eat during 9 days of fasting and Its health benefits

Chaitra Navratri Diet Plan and Health Benefits

Navratri has started from April 9 this year. People will do the fasting for the next nine days and will worship all the nine avatars of Devi Maa Durga. The term " Chaitra " means the lunar month of the Hindu calendar which is the month of March or April. So The Chaitra Navratri is considered as the Hindu's new Year and this year 2024. 

There are two types of Navratri in the whole year first is Chaitra Navratri ( March - April) and the second one is Sharad Navratri happens from October to November months. 

During these holistic nine days of Navratri, people celebrate it by worshipping all the different avatars of Devi Durga, by keeping fast, praying and gathering together at Durga Mata's temple to offer their prayers and take her blessings. Each day of Navratri the different forms of avatars of Goddess Durga are worshipped also known as Navdurga.

Goddess Durga's nine avatars are Mata Shailputri, Mata Chandraghanta, Mata Brahmacharini, Mata Kushmanda, Mata Katyayani, Maa Mahadurga, Mata Skanda, Mata kaalratri, Mata Sidhiratri.

On this auspicious occasion of Navratri, people prioritise their fasting by avoiding garlic, onion, alcohol, meat etc. We have come up with all the essential food items that one should include in their respective diet to stay more positive and energetic during these nine days of fasting.

Navratri list of food one should eat during 9 days of fasting

Well, Chaitra Navratri occurs in summer, so due to the hot weather we should focus on consuming more hydrating types of food in our diet. We should include food items that are rich in healthy nutrients and protein so that we can maintain our health during the fasting as well.

List of Food items that are allowed in Fasting

Here's the list of Food items that you should eat during 9 days of fasting.

• All the Diary And Milk Products such as buttermilk, curd, Paneer, khoya, and ghee etc.
• Some Spices like seendha namak, jeera, laung, kali mirch.
• Flour like singhara ka atta, kuttu flour, fox nut flour etc.
• All types of Fruits are allowed and some people do the fasting depending on only fruits and milk products.
• All dry fruits and nuts are allowed. They are also rich in fibre and vitamins.
• In cooking oil use only Ghee and peanut oil.
• Vegetables like Potatoes, sweet potatoes, lauki ( bottle gourd ), mirch ( chilli ), cucumber, lemons and ginger are allowed.

List of Food items that are not allowed in Navratri 

Here are some of the food items that should be avoided by all the devotees during Navratri fasting.

1. Garlic and onion are not strictly not allowed.
2. Plain white salt.
3. Grains like besan, rava, rice, whole wheat flour.
4. All non-veg items are strictly prohibited.
5. Processed food items.
6. Turmeric, garam masala, hing etc.
7. Pulses.
8. Alcohol and tobacco.

Health benefits of fasting in Navratri

Research says that fasting regularly can improve our immune system. The scientific reason behind the fasting of Navratri is that it is a seasonal change that happens during this time, especially in India. Due to this seasonal change, our immune system gets a little weak, to survive this change we keep fast by avoiding such food items that could harm our health.

Fasting improves our health in so many ways, here are some of the best health benefits we get while fasting for 9 days in Navratri.

1. Help In Weight Loss

Fasting is a proven method of reducing weight. In fasting, we maintain a low-calorie diet, by avoiding sugar, salt, and processed food items. We keep a healthy diet with essential nutrients and minerals to stay healthy and we eat comparatively less than the normal days, which leads to a great amount of weight loss. If you do fasting for regular time intervals you can see the changes where you can fully transform your body.

2. Detoxifies our Body

During fasting, we kind of give a break to our stomach from unhealthy eating, and we eat more of a light and healthy diet. In this way, our body detoxifies itself by removing toxins from our body and helping to clean it.

3. Provides good mental health

Fasting indirectly provides a good mental state to us. When we do fasting our brain nerve cells get a boost in terms of growth which leads to a decrease in inflammation and stress in our mind. During fasting, If you want good mental health and relief from stress then you can also try the Top 10 Stress-Relieving Yoga Poses.

4. Improves Immunity

It gives a boost to our immune system as well. We eat only healthy plant-based products and dairy products. During that seasonal change, we eat Satvik food which strengthens our immune system and gives us more power and energy.

5. We eat more healthily during this fasting

We should thank Navratra fasting, as it forces us or you can say motivates us to consume a much healthier diet as compared to our normal days of eating. We avoid plain white salt, processed junk food, non-veg, alcohol, meat, and other unhealthy dietary food. Consuming satvik food during that seasonal change helps us to stay healthy and benefits us in so many ways.

Conclusion 

So Fasting in Navratri can give us many health benefits and it is also important to know as it affects us in so many good ways. We lose weight, reduce our stress, maintain a healthy diet plan and have the immune power to get an immense boost. In this article, we have deeply described the health benefits and diet plan for a straight nine days of fasting. We have also discussed the food items that we should avoid.

FAQ's