Parul Bahl
Nutritionist
www.dietexpression.com

WINTERS….What do you think of when someone mentions winter? Heavy, itchy woollen clothes? Chapped lips and cracked heels? Sure winter is all of this, but did you also know that winter is the best season to improve immunity? During this time, people feel hungrier. Amazingly, the body engine works better in the winter and foods are better digested. This aids in providing more nourishment to the body.

So how does one boost immunity OF YOUNG CHILDREN during winter?

In winter, our body craves for rich food which provides warmth along with nourishment. Growing children need warming foods to satisfy this craving. Any vegetable that takes time to grow, and in which the edible part grows beneath the surface of the ground is usually warming and a good vegetable to eat in winter. Certain dry fruits (dates), nuts and oilseeds (sesame seeds) are also warming. It is also a time of the year when you may want to eat more spices than in the summer months.
All animal foods fall into the warming category, including lean dairy, meat, fish and poultry. Whole-grain cereals, proteins and healthy fats too provide much-needed energy to keep warm. The most warming vegetables that are good for your body are root vegetables like carrot, potato, onions, garlic, radish, yams, sweet potatoes, beets, turnips, etc, and hearty winter greens like palak, methi, sarson, muli, pudina, etc.

Therefore to keep our children warm in winters The OM Foundation provides hot milk, seasonal fruits like oranges, apples etc. to our less fortunate children of society. They love drinking milk before their class begins and it is highly satisfying to see young children smiling during milk intake. Chairperson Suryaputry Rashmi Malhotra speaks “This nourishes their body as well as boost their mental strength also.”