This Navratri, try out a low calorie diet

New Delhi: For most of us, nine-day long Navratri fasting is only a religious practice but if we look at it closely, there is a scientific reason behind it.

During Navratris, we witness a change in weather and changing climate lowers our body's immunity, this is why we fast - to keep our diet healthy and to protect our body against infections. But there are some rules that we must follow to have a healthy fasting.

So plan your navratri fast to not only detoxify your body but to also to keep your body strong and fit.

Here are a few tips by Deepti G Dua, Dietician at Mutation Diet Clinic, Gurugram, for smart eating during navratras.

-Eat small meals: It is important to eat small meals at regular intervals. It will keep your metabolism intact. Also, try to have these heavy-meals in the first half of the day for easy digestion.

-Avoid sabudana: Try to avoid Sabudana or other fried food and include more of yoghurt, smoothies, lassi and fruits which not only will keep you full but maintain the optimum fluids in the body.

-Avoid oily food: Instead of Kuttu poori or pakodas, have boiled aloo chaat or paneer tikki airfried, makhana kheer, mixed fruit curd or flavoured curd.

-Include Samak/ Rajgira in your diet: Samak chawal is a common fasting food. It is gluten free by nature and is ground separate from all other grain products. So try idli or dosa from samak chawal atta or samak chawal pulao. You can also use singed flour or rajgira flour instead of using Kuttu flour.

-Adequate Liquid intake: Keep drinking water, coconut water, lemonade, chaach, as much as you can. It works as a great detox.

-Include roasted makhanas or nuts: Instead of having namkeen, that is loaded with calories, try having a handful of roasted makhanas as they are low in cholesterol.

-Eat more fruits- Fruits are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber and they're low in calories. So include fruits like papaya, guava and banana everyday in your dietary habit and take a slice of pineapple at night if you feel constipation.

-Include Sendhanamak in your diet: You should use 'sendhanamak' in your diet during fasting as it is great for digestion. Sendhanamak also helps to reduce swelling and water retention in the body and helps in maintaining your blood pressure level.