Sharad Navratri 2020: 5 food items that you must avoid while fasting

Sharad Navratri 2020 will begin on October 17 (Saturday). Navratri is dedicated to the nine forms of Goddess Durga. During this time,  many people observe the ritualistic Navratri fasts to please their beloved deity. On the day of fasting, devotees only consume certain, fruits and grains.

During Navratri it is advised that meals should be prepared without using onion and garlic. According to Ayurveda, garlic and onion should be avoided during seasonal change as they are Tamaasic in nature and they tend to heat up your body from within. Apart from avoiding alcohol, smoking and meat, Goddess Durga's devotees across the country observe Navratri fasts for nine days.

Here are five types of food items that should be avoided during Navratri:

Chicken, mutton, fish, lamb, eggs and all animal products are a strict no-no during this time.

Devotees also avoid consuming legumes and lentils while fasting. Vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, arbi, suran, carrots, cucumber and bottle gourd (lauki) are permissible.

Regular processed salt for preparing your meals are not used, instead you can opt for pure rock salt (sendha namak).

Several types of flours including cornflour, rice flour, all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, gram flour and semolina are avoided during fasting.

Packaged food items, Candies, chocolates, cold drinks, Packaged chips, biscuits etc are also avoided during Navratri.