How the Monsoon Affects Your Health: A Macrobiotic Perspective

The monsoon might bring poetic skies and lush greenery, but for your body—especially your gut—it’s a season that demands careful recalibration. As someone who has long worked with individuals through seasonal transitions using a gut-first macrobiotic approach, I’ve seen firsthand how the rains affect digestion, immunity, and even emotional well-being. The heavy, moist air of the monsoon can easily throw your internal balance off if you're not eating or living in alignment with the season.

Let’s explore how the damp weather impacts your system, and more importantly, how to stay grounded, strong, and inflammation-free through conscious food and lifestyle choices.

Why Monsoon Demands a Shift in Your Daily Routine

From a macrobiotic perspective, the seasons mirror the shifts within us. The monsoon is yin in nature—cooling, wet, expansive. While this can bring relief from summer’s fiery intensity, it can also make your digestion sluggish, weaken immunity, and trigger emotional turbulence.

You might notice:

• Bloating, gas, or irregular bowel movements
• Water retention and puffiness
• Increase in respiratory issues or allergies
• Joint aches or flare-ups in thyroid conditions
• Increased cravings for fried, heavy or spicy foods

These are signs that your “agni” (digestive fire) is weakened and your gut bacteria may be off-kilter, which in turn, impacts every system in your body—including the endocrine and immune systems.

The Gut-Monsoon Connection

Your gut is your first line of defense during this season. Why? Because 70% of your immunity resides in your gut. The high humidity can alter the balance of good and bad bacteria, giving rise to fungal overgrowths, sluggish detoxification, and low-grade inflammation. This also increases susceptibility to viral infections, skin issues, and flare-ups in autoimmune conditions like hypothyroidism or PCOS.

In my consultations, I always begin with the gut—no matter what your presenting issue may be. During the monsoon, it's crucial to shift towards a gut-cleansing, anti-inflammatory approach that strengthens your core, both physically and energetically.

Foods to Embrace During the Monsoon

Here are my macrobiotic guidelines for monsoon-friendly meals:

1. Warm, Cooked Meals Over Raw

Cold salads, raw juices, or smoothies dampen your digestive fire. Opt instead for:

• Light soups with root vegetables
• Steamed or sautéed greens like methi, palak, and laal saag
• Brown rice porridge (congee) with healing spices like ginger, cumin, and turmeric

2. Fermented Foods to Balance Gut Flora

Add small amounts of natural probiotics:

• Homemade pickled vegetables
• Miso soup
• Kanji (a fermented drink made from black carrots or beetroot)

These not only restore bacterial balance but also support immunity and digestion.

3. Avoid Mucus-Forming Foods

Cheese, yogurt, white flour, refined sugar, and excess dairy should be limited as they create mucus and stagnation in the body—perfect conditions for viruses to thrive.

4. Choose Grains That Ground You

Millets like jowar, bajra (in moderation), and amaranth work beautifully in this weather, as do short-grain brown rice and red rice. They offer fibre and stability.

5. Use Agni-Supporting Spices

Think ginger, ajwain (carom seeds), black pepper, hing (asafoetida), and cinnamon. These enhance digestion and dispel excess moisture from the body.

Cooking Styles That Support the Season

Just as important as what you eat is how you cook it. The rainy season benefits from:

• Pressure cooking to make grains and legumes easier to digest.
• Sautéing or steaming rather than frying, which adds more heaviness.
• Avoiding reheated food as it tends to stagnate and lose life-force energy (prana)

Soups, stews, lightly sautéed vegetables, and one-pot meals are your best friends now.

Lifestyle Practices to Stay Balanced

It’s not just food—lifestyle matters too

1. Dry Body Brushing

Stimulates the lymphatic system, supports detoxification, and combats sluggish circulation that worsens in the damp weather.

2. Foot Soaks with Epsom Salt

Particularly helpful if you feel water retention or joint aches.

3. Breathwork and Movement

Daily pranayama and a 30-minute walk (ideally after meals) are important to move the stagnation out. Even a simple yoga practice focused on twists can aid digestion and eliminate toxins.

4. Set Consistent Eating Times

Erratic eating throws the body into a stress mode. Try to eat at the same times every day to maintain digestive rhythm.

Emotional Wellness in the Monsoon

This season has a strange way of dampening our spirits. That’s not just metaphor—it’s biological. Low sunlight, higher melatonin levels, and unbalanced gut flora can affect serotonin, your feel-good hormone. Mood swings, fatigue, and low motivation are common.

• Prioritise sleep hygiene.
• Reduce screen time, especially before bed.
• Nourish yourself with grounding rituals—cooking, journaling, or spending time in nature (even if
• it’s just on your balcony).

Sample Monsoon Meal Plan

Morning:

• Ginger-lime shot + warm water with lemon
• Steamed red rice idli with coconut chutney (no curd)

Lunch:

• Brown rice khichdi with moong dal, bottle gourd, cumin, and turmeric
• Beetroot and carrot kanji (small glass)
• Lightly sautéed spinach with garlic

Snack:

• Roasted makhana with black pepper and rock salt
• Tulsi tea

Dinner:

• Red rice porridge with grated bottle gourd and ginger
• Sautéed methi leaves with sesame seeds

Every season demands a shift—not just in wardrobe, but in the way we eat, think, and live. The monsoon is not a time to ignore your gut; it’s the time to nourish it with intention and wisdom. When we align our food and habits with nature, we build resilience from the inside out.

If you’ve been feeling bloated, lethargic, emotionally off, or prone to colds and flus during the rains, your body is telling you something. Listen to it.

I offer personalised guidance through my Gut Health Diet Programs and Deep Detox plans that consider your constitution, condition, and current needs. Together, we can help you transition through the season with strength, clarity, and joy.