FOOD/HEALTH SPECIAL..Eating what’s in season is an easy way to beat illness.

Eating what’s in season is an easy way to beat illness.

    With November come oranges’ is a retro statement for a generation that has known all fruits and vegetables to be available throughout the year. While some varieties — bananas, onions and potatoes — are common throughout the year, most are strictly seasonal, say organic farmers.
    Mumbai-based eco-nutritionist and the woman behind Farmers’ Market, Kavita Mukhi says, “Nature plans for perfection. If we follow its cycle and eat seasonal foods, being healthy is easy.”
    Not only do foods taste best when they are in season, they are far fresher since they haven’t been transported over long distances (which is why they are often picked prematurely, robbing them of their nutritional benefits).
    Research has proven that au naturel foods are nutritionally richest when they are picked in season. Preeti Patil, a Dockyard Road resident and organic farmer, says ‘eating local’ is the only way urban Indians can beat dubious farming methods and pesticide over-kill. There is a direct co-relation between eating what’s in season and keeping illnesses at arm’s length.
    For instance, if you eat melons in winter, you are inviting a fever since they have cooling properties. They have a naturally high water content, and are packed with potassium, vitamins A and C. “Eating them in the hot months, when they are in season, refreshes you instantly. Likewise, when mangoes are eaten on an empty stomach in summer, they bring down the body temperature,” says Mukhi.
    Nutritionist Naini Setalvad offers a simple rule: Buy what’s available in abundance in its freshest avatar at your local market. That’s the best indicator of what’s in season. 

JANUARY
VEGETABLES
Brinjal, palak, tendli, tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, radish, beetroot, peas, broccoli, capsicum.
FRUITS
Strawberries, grapes, guava, papaya, pomegranate, pineapple, passion fruit. 

FEBRUARY
VEGETABLES
Cabbage, methi, carrot, radish, spring onion, capsicum, broccoli.
FRUITS
Chickoo, musk melon, grapes, oranges, guava, papaya, pomegranate, pineapple, strawberries. 

MARCH
VEGETABLES
Spinach, fenugreek, capsicum, carrot, parwal (pointed gourd), tindora (ivy gourd), pumpkin.
FRUITS
Watermelon, mango — raw, Totapuri, Badami — grapes, orange, pineapple, banana, muskmelon, strawberries. 

APRIL
VEGETABLES
Lady’s finger, cucumber, doodhi, tendli, karela, chawli, beans, parwal, tindora, pumpkin.
FRUITS
Same as March + jackfruit. 

MAY
VEGETABLES
Spinach, cucumber, doodhi, karela, beans.
FRUITS
Mango — Alphonso, Kesar, raw — papaya, black jamuns, litchis, jackfruit, watermelon, muskmelon. 

JUNE
VEGETABLES
Spinach, lady’s finger, cucumber, chawli, gawar, corn, capsicum, sweet potato.
FRUITS
Mango — Alphonso, Kesar. 

JULY 

VEGETABLES
Same as June + round gourd, doodhi, snake gourd, karela.
FRUITS
Mango — Kesar, Totapuri — cherries, peach, plum. 

AUGUST
VEGETABLES
Same as June.
FRUITS
Same as June + custard apple. 

SEPTEMBER 

VEGETABLES
Same as June.
FRUITS
Guava, papaya, pomegranate, custard apple, passion fruit. 

OCTOBER
VEGETABLES
Brinjal, tomatoes, dill, spring onions.
FRUITS
Same as September. 

NOVEMBER
VEGETABLES
Same as October + French beans.
FRUITS
Orange, dates, guava, papaya, pomegranate, custard apple. 

DECEMBER
VEGETABLES
Same as October + radish, beetroot, yam.
FRUITS
Strawberries, orange, sweet lime, fig, guava, custard apple, pineapple.

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