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Diet = Health?
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Throw out all the diet books and protein drinks. You’re on the road to fitness if you eat right and get enough exercise, says VIDYA PRADHAN
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IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE A combination of moderate eating and exercise makes you a healthy person
‘Diet’ has to be one of the most misused words in the English lexicon. When a woman says, “I am on a diet” (words she practically learns in the womb), she could be downing nothing but cabbage juice or attacking the meats in a no-carb frenzy. At trainer Shobha Reddy’s gym and studio, a client said plaintively, “All I eat is an egg white omelette for breakfast and vegetable soup for lunch and dinner.” A diet that didn’t seem to be working for her.
Sure, what you eat plays a very significant role in your physical and mental health. If you are diabetic, it is important to reduce simple carbohydrates and concentrate more on protein and whole grains. For high-cholesterol patients, saturated fats may be a no-no. Hepatitis patients must be kind to their liver by abstaining from alcohol and fat.
Contradictory information
What if you simply want to improve health by eating right? For average Joes and Janes like us, navigating through the sea of contradictory information can be quite a challenge. A walk past the checkout aisles at the supermarket is sure to boggle the impressionable mind. “Get fit before Christmas,” promises one women’s magazine as the next one screams, “Lose 10 pounds in 10 days – guaranteed!” Each claims the diet will take the determined reader on the path to weight nirvana.
Fad diets or ‘Get thin quick’ schemes abound. Eschew carbs, eat meat, says the ‘Atkins diet’. Bikram Choudhury, founder of Bikram Yoga, said in an interview that vegetarians die quickly, fruits and vegetables are chemicals and the secret for a youthful life is in eating meat, fish, eggs and chicken. But before you throw the idli out with the sambar, consider this rebuttal by Barbara Rolls, nutrition expert. “No one has shown in any studies that anything magical is going on with Atkins’. In the end it’s not fat, protein or carbs, it’s calories. You can lose weight on anything that helps you to eat less, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for you.”
At the other end of the spectrum, raw foodists eat raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds (including sprouted whole grains), eggs, fish, meat, and unpasteurised dairy products (raw milk, cheese, yogurt). Taking inspiration from early humans, they believe it can help to lose weight and even cure chronic diseases. In between are fads to suit every temperament and taste. There is the South Beach diet, the Zone diet, the low Glycemic Index (GI) diet and the Blood Type diet. All capitalise on our desperation to lose weight fast.
Our obsession with modern diets is puzzling given that Ayurveda wrote the book (literally) on this subject years ago. Of course, the Ayurvedic diet needs to be customised to the individual. It has no one-diet fits all approach, meant for selling books and products. But Ayurveda’s dietic message is not that complicated. It can be broken down into the following simple steps
- Eat foods that agree with you.
- Eat warm foods in winter and cool foods in summer
- Choose local produce for freshness
- Choose freshly cooked food over processed foods.
- Eat a wide variety of foods for balanced nutrition and a feast for the senses.
Looks like what your mother and grandmother have been doing? Sometimes old ways are the best!
“It is all about balance,” agrees fitness guru Shobha Reddy. “The rule of thumb is - fistful of carb, palmful of protein and thumb-size helping of fat per meal.” In her years as a personal trainer and exercise consultant, she has tried out many diets herself before recommending them to clients. “I find that most diets require you to cut out something significant from your meal plans. The results may be dramatic in terms of weight loss but ultimately your body loses the ability to recover from illnesses if you deprive it of adequate nourishment.”
She also addresses the elephant in the room – EXERCISE. “About 30 per cent of your weight loss plan has to be about exercise. Well-exercised muscles improve metabolism and help the body break down fats. Get off your couch or cubicle to walk at least 3-5 times a week.”
Ultimately, the prescription is simple. Throw out all the diet books and the protein shakes. Eat simply, eat in moderation and exercise as your body allows you to. It may not give you quick results and satisfy your need for instant gratification, but will certainly bring you mind-and-body peace in the long run.
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
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Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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