Karva Chauth, a celebrated tradition among Indian women, can also be a great opportunity to prioritize your health. Fasting not only supports your spouse/partner's well-being but also offers significant health benefits. Discover the power of nature's way of fasting with these tips:

Fasting allows the body to detox. As we shed toxins, over a period of time we lose weight, feel more energetic, improve immunity, and are able to prevent as well as cure disease. With fasting, the body is able to recycle old damaged parts of cells so that cellular function can be done properly. This is very important as cells are the building block of our body. Healthy cells mean a healthy body.   

Here’s How You Can Fast Nature's Way This Karva Chauth:

What is usually eaten? - Fruits, tea/coffee, paranthas, sweets, roti-sabji, etc. Idea is to stuff yourself up so that you don’t feel hungry while fasting.

Result - 

1. Eating fruits with other food groups should be avoided. Fruits are easy-to-digest foods & should be eaten alone so that they are properly digested.  

2. You have also eaten a lot of heavy-to-digest foods, including dairy, white sugar & grains. 

3. You have disturbed the body’s elimination cycle of the circadian rhythm from 4 am - 12 pm by eating cooked foods.

All these increase the digestive work of the body. The Health benefits of fasting lie in the body's deep cleansing, which it is able to do only when freed up from digestion work!

What To Eat, Nature’s Way?

Fruits, fruits & fruits - They are the easiest to digest out of all the food groups that exist. 

• Eat seasonal fruits, as much as your hunger demands that time. 

• You can also eat soaked dried fruits such as dates, apricots, raisins and figs. Soak them at night. 

• If you want to make your fruit meal more filling, reach out for bananas, apples, chikoos, pears, pineapple. You can also make a fruit smoothie with 1 or 2 of these fruit varieties, add in 2-3 soaked dates, a pinch of elaichi or cinnamon powder, and water for desired consistency. Blend it well & enjoy drinking in a tall glass.

• It is very refreshing to eat sweet foods. Add a fully ripened papaya or juicy grapes to your stock of fruits.

Another option is coconut water - from a green coconut - along with its malaai. It is quite filling. Sit calmly & drink sip by sip. If you are someone who doesn’t like to eat too much in the early morning, this is a very doable option. 

What is usually eaten? - Water, fruit juice or tea/coffee

Result - 

1. Tea/coffee are acidic foods. They disturb blood’s pH balance which should be moderately alkaline.

2. Packaged fruit juices are dead foods. Enzymes and nutrients are depleted when the juice is pasteurized. They also include artificial colors, taste enhancers, sugar, & preservatives.

The above takes away from your body’s vitality / praana shakti, rather than adding any life to your life. The Health benefits of fasting accrue only when we conserve the body's vitality. Also, fast must be broken in a gentle way rather than jolting the body with the digestion of negative foods. 

What To Eat, Nature’s Way?

• Breaking your fast with a glass of plain water is fine. Sit calmly & drink your water sip by sip. Don’t gulp it down as we want to drink only as much as our thirst demands. Room temperature water is the easiest for the body to process, vis-a-vis cold or hot water.

• Followed by that, you can take a homemade fruit juice. Sweet lime, orange, grapes, pomegranate, pineapple - mix and match to make your energy booster drink. Keep it completely natural, don’t add any salt, sugar or masalas.  

• Other options - 

  • Coconut water

  • Vegetable juice - Get some recipe ideas here. Do ensure you use seasonal veggies only.

  • Herbal tea -  You can get some healthy recipe options here.

What is usually eaten? - This meal is treated as feast time. Feasting after fasting! There can be traditional home-cooked meals for concluding the festive day. Nowadays food is also ordered from outside or couples step out for dinner to their favorite restaurants.  

Result - 

Body is in digestive stress. The whole day it was resting & suddenly there is overburden now. 

What To Eat, Nature’s Way?

• Make nut laddoos at home to break your fast with moon sighting & pooja. You can avoid the dairy & white sugar laden sweets. Nut laddoos are healthy fats, sweet & will give you a happy high to end your fast successfully. They are also very easy, tasty & fun to make. You can always make along with your friends or family a day or two in advance when you begin your karva chauth preparations. You can also treat yourselves with some chocolate laddoos! See recipes here.

• Many women actually don’t feel very hungry for dinner. This is because the digestive power will reignite gradually after fasting. In such cases, it is better to eat light for dinner. Your healthful feast can include a vegetable salad, soup and / or cutlets. This grain-free dinner will help you maximise the health benefits of fasting.

• However, if you feel hungry for dinner, the traditional Indian khichdi is your go-to food. Add a lot of vegetables in the khichdi. Sit & eat, chew well, don’t overeat & be in gratitude for the wonderful festive & healthful day.  

Bonus Tips: 

1. Do combine Karva Chauth fasting with physical & emotional rest too. Ensure that it is a relaxed, happy day so that the body can reset & reboot.

2. Oxygen is one important food that you can continue eating during fasting!  Practice conscious deep breathing to fully utilize the power of your lungs and belly. This improves the oxygen supply to our entire system. Do note that lungs and belly expand with inhaling and contract with exhaling. Do it in equal time ratios of 1:1:1:1, i.e. Inhale hold : Exhale: hold for equal amounts of time. Do it for 10 minutes or more as per comfort, do it every 3-4 hours. 

3. Prepare your body for fasting by eating healthy the day before. Keep your food high in fruits & vegetables, with some bit of whole grains, pulses, nuts & seeds, and no animal foods & packaged products.   

So this Karvachauth, fast for your spouse / partner as well as for yourself. Better still, share this article with your spouse / partner & fast together!  

(About Anchal Kapur - Anchal is a Lifestyle Medicine Coach from Hippocrates Health Institute, USA & a Nature Cure Practitioner from the IMANAH, USA. She helps people take charge of their health by shifting to a Natural Lifestyle & conducts health workshops on various aspects of Nature Cure. She has worked in corporate finance of multinationals such as Dabur, HSBC, KPMG & Airtel for 10 years).