While it maybe tempting to deal with the Diwali hangover by indulging in leftover namkeen and mithai, we encourage you to dust the crumbs off and re-commit to being healthy. Easier said than done, we know, so we reached out to nutritionist Anjali Peswani and put together an easy-to-follow post-Diwali cleanse guide to help you get back on track. The result? No bloating, acidity or acne — all tell-tale signs of a binge.
For the first 12 hours, Peswani recommends sticking to raw food. “The idea is to eat foods that naturally cleanse your system and raw foods release certain enzymes that aid this process. This will help you get rid of the bad residue and higher fat percentage that binging leaves you with. This is different than a detox, which is an internal process that happens when you breathe pure air, flush out toxins, etc,” she says.
During the first half of the day, stick to fruits, warm lime water with honey, aloe vera juice with honey, gooseberry (amla) juice and coconut water. Throughout the day, sip on a detox drink that’s really simple to make — put cinnamon, ginger and cucumber in water and keep it overnight. Strain it the next morning and sip on this calming elixir through the day.
For the next 24 hours, load up on minimally cooked food like soups, steamed/sautéed veggies, salads and vegetable juices. Avoid dairy products and wheat — they won’t do you any favours. Cutting back on salt is also something your body will thank you for.
As a thumb rule, try and stop eating by 8pm, and never skip breakfast. “Morning meals are important since they wake your body up by providing it with fuel,”says Peswani.
Go on then, hit the ‘reset’ button on your life.
