Our good old Indian food is the best to remain healthy
The Indian diet consists of a lot of carbohydrates and protein in the form of rotis and dal. We also have fibre, vitamins and minerals in our vegetables (sabjis). Hence, the best way to keep fit and healthy is to stick to our good old Indian food.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and must make up at least 30% of our daily energy requirement. Eating a hot and wholesome breakfast is the key to maintaining a healthy diet. An ideal breakfast would comprise poha, upma or two rotis with any vegetable along with a glass of milk or a fruit.
Lunch may include rotis, sabji, salad and a small portion of rice, if required. It would be better to eat bhakri made of jawar, bajra et al as they are full of fibre, which is essential for the body. Also, unlike chapatis, oil is not used while making bhakri.
In the evening, you must have a small snack along with your cup of tea. However, instead of munching on cookies and chaklis, go for healthier options like nuts or roasted chana. If you are outside, you can eat bhel or a sandwich. However, the best option is to carry a fruit whenever you step out.
Dinner must not be too heavy. It could comprise one roti, vegetable, dal, salad and some curd. You must remember to drink a lot of water throughout the day. This is something that most people ignore. Also, salad is another essential part which must be integrated in our diet as much as possible.
Aarati Pillai, clinical nutritionist & dietician
Listen to what your body needs and give it just that
I believe in eating everything. However, it is important to listen to your body. Rather than consulting doctors and dieticians, ask your body what it needs and feed it just that. This is what will keep you healthy and in shape.
It is said that energy follows attention. Thus, if your real intent is to maintain your health or to look a certain way, you would automatically pick up foodstuffs that complement it.
However, you must eat only as much as is needed; do not overeat. Overeating need not just mean an extra chapati, even half a teaspoon more of something is termed as overeating.
I have seen people, who are naturally thin, unconsciously following all this, whereas those who are always on a diet have a constantly fluctuating weight.
Many people have a tendency to do other things while eating, such as talking on the phone for example. In such situations, they are more likely to overeat as they do not realise when they are full. This is because they are not paying enough attention to how much they are eating.
Lippi Lal, CEO, LILAC Academy
Good nutrition is essential when you’re young to avoid disease later
Do you ever think about why you eat? The obvious answers are because you are hungry, tired and your stomach is rumbling. Sometimes, you may also eat because you are bored, sad or
happy, only because it is lunchtime or that chocolate-covered doughnut looks so good.
However, we do not understand that nutrition is important now, not after we receive news of clogged arteries, osteoporosis, heart disease or a bad liver. To prevent disease later in life, we have to eat a balanced, nutritious diet when we are young, so our body stays strong and fit.
What constitutes a good breakfast for children? An example would be an egg, a slice of whole grain toast with nut butter, a piece of fruit and a glass of low-fat milk. Tofu, lean meat and whole grain cereals are also good choices for breakfast.
The protein and fibre from the whole grains will keep your child satisfied until lunchtime.
Carbohydrates, fats and protein have each got a specific function to serve in the body. The key to good health lies in maintaining balanced food nutrition. The body transforms carbohydrates into sugar, which gives it the necessary energy to perform daily activities such as work, study or exercise.
Carbohydrates can be found in fruits, whole grain bread, pasta and rice. Protein is the main component of the muscles of our body. Food that provides protein includes red meat, white meat, nuts and dairy products. We recommend eating more white meat like fish and chicken rather than red meat.
Teaching your children to follow a healthy diet will have a bigger impact if you set the example. Eat right, get some exercise and make a healthy lifestyle a family affair.
Dr Srinivas Devisetty, senior consultant, Dr Devisetty’s Healing Touch
Do not self recommend as it will get you nowhere
The nutritional plan differs as per a person’s physical activity and status of health. The goal of the person willing to follow a food plan is important and matters in our recommendation.
If a person wants a nutritional plan to lose weight or body fat, our recommendation may differ after taking his/her physical history into account.
Following a diet or nutritional plan is not enough if you want to lose weight. We take the metabolic rate and muscular build-up of your body into consideration and suggest a physical exercise regime as well. A combination of a food and exercise plan is necessary in this case.
It is wrong to seek help from books or the Internet and self recommend a food plan. Nobody understands hormonal needs, body requirements, health profiles and other aspects, where expert opinion is necessary. Generally, people do not know their own health requirements.
The media does not take expert guidance while going on about such topics. People follow them blindly and instead of benefiting them, it leads to health problems.
There is a lack of awareness among people about healthy and suitable food plans; they feel they know everything. In reality, they have a big list of ‘don’ts’, but they do not know what they should follow. For example, a 45-minute workout for three days a week is better than doing wrong exercises every day.
Aditi Kulkarni, fitness & nutrition consultant
We chalk out a food plan according to the person’s needs
We use nutrition therapy to chalk out a food plan as per the person’s requirements. Many illness or diseases are related to nutritional deficiency. Any deficiency due to illness, travel, stress or other reasons can take toll on your health.
The gap must be filled with nutritional supplements and changes in the diet plan. In such a case, suggestions by nutritionists or dieticians are important because they can draw out a food plan for you by using a scientific method.
There is nothing like a non-vegetarian diet is more nutritional than a vegetarian one. In fact, I recommend a vegetarian diet to my clients. However, if they cannot follow it, they are given preferences like eating white meat instead of red.
White meat includes seafood and fish; we also recommend which fish to select. Every individual is unique — physically, metabolically and depending on the activity he/she is involved in. We try to understand the person’s body, his/her medical history, food preferences, the workplace and then make a food plan for him/her.
Vijaya Sathe, nutritionist
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