Be ready to bedazzle this Navratri

The countdown has begun to celebrate Navratri from October 5 with a lot of Dandiya, shopping and feasting. Experts share some health and beauty tips to stay fit and look best during the festival...

Festive season is knocking on the door as Navratri, one of the biggest Hindus festivals, lasting for 10 days and nine nights, is going to start soon. It is important to stay fit during the festival to enjoy it to its brim.

Though looking good or staying fit is not a tough task, it is a process and practice for sure. Therefore we need to follow some healthy habits in our daily diet on those ten days. As we commonly tend to eat a lot of sweets during the festival, it affects our blood sugar levels and leads to weight gain. Since we cannot avoid sweet, it is better to follow the alternative way to cut down on the amount of glucose from our diet.

According to nutritionist Janaki, “Salad is the best way to balance our diet in such a situation. As a plate of salad filled with vegetable or fruits will partially fill your stomach, the consumption of sweet automatically goes down. Thus intake of salad is suggested before having sweets. Salad also helps to control the blood glucose levels.”

Since Navratri is also a season of fasting for many, healthy fasting is recommended as it is helpful to detoxify the human body. Fasting is also a means of internal cleansing, physically and spiritually. So, apart from salad, munching a handful of nuts like almonds, cashew nuts and pista is a good choice to stay fit and energetic during the festival. While pista has antioxidant elements, almonds give fibre and Vitamin-E and cashewnuts are a good source of minerals.

Though health experts always suggest to follow an exercise routine to stay fit and to get a healthy body, the specialty of this season is its cultural activity and dandiya.

Since people would indulge in a lot of dancing, it is suggested that people should start shaking their legs from now itself, as it will help them prepare their body and would not lead to exhaustion or pain during the festive evening. “I would encourage everyone to start dancing from now itself to stay fit and set their mood before the festivity begins,” said the nutritionist. Nothing like a clear glowing skin to grab attention on this occasion. All we need to do is to remove the regular sunburn, dark circles following three steps of regular skin routine- cleansing, toning and moisturising. “Curd is good to get a glowing skin. Add a little amount of lemon juice to curd and apply it on the tanned areas like face, back, neck and leave it for 15-20 minutes. Wash thoroughly with normal water before shower. One can see an instant glow,” said Usha, beautician.

Following this home remedy for a week, one can experience flawless glowing skin. While cabbage juice works like a natural toner, putting a slice of potato or cucumber on the eyes removes all the dark circles and tiredness of the overnight dance party. The mantra of the season is to follow simple tips to get the best results!