Straight-talk nutrition

Diwali since our childhood has been known to be the time of the year of grand celebration. We all wait eagerly for this time of the year to enjoy all types of food, sweets and bundles of joy. However, if we don't take proper measure, just few days of over eating and over indulgence in incorrect eating pattern can lead to health issues. If you have been on the path of improving your health or losing weight, your months of hardwork can get all washed away in this Diwali week. But, unlike other strict diet plans, I will not ask you to sacrifice and eat nothing. It's the festive season after all. We all deserve to push back a little and enjoy. Following my next 10 steps, you can ensure that your health remains intact and at the same time enjoy all the delicacies of Diwali.

1. Eat everything, but in very controlled portion size.
2. Make your own mithai at home using organic and healthy ingredients.
3. Drink lots and lots of water.
4. If you have had 1 meal full of oily and sweet products, ensure the rest of your meals are light and healthy.
5. If you are going to someone's house, fill your stomach with healthy fruits before going. Don't show up empty stomach.
6. Limit sweet intake to 1 small bite or piece to satisfy tummy and mind.
7. Prefer dry fruits over fried food.
8. Stop consuming food post 10pm. Say no to overnight snacking.
9. Make sure to have a good breakfast — it prevents overeating in the later part of the day.
10. Ensure you at least have a basic cardio routine, at least once a day.

Outbreak of COVID-19 has created a lot of panic in every individual. Everyone is doing their little bit to prevent and protect them from COVID-19. Along with personal hygiene, food also plays an important role to boost immunity and protect our respiratory tract from infections. Make sure to follow the tips below in your daily routine to boost your immunity — staying healthy is the best way to prevent an infection.

1. Hydrate yourself well — include lemon water, coconut water, thin buttermilk. Hydration helps oxygenate your cells, which helps them guard your body against infection.
2. Magic of Indian spice — Haldi: add in food or make a shot with black pepper, lime juice and a spoonful of honey or coconut water, or drink haldi-tulsi milk. Jeera: add in curd, buttermilk or soup — helps fight bacteria and lung infection. Holy Tulsi: in tea, raw, or in infused water — improves digestion and helps with respiratory infection. Neem: add in dal or crush and have once a day to help purify the blood of harmful toxins.
3. Probiotics — dahi, buttermilk, curd rice, dahi raita with jeera, jeera-mint buttermilk — beneficial for immunity and respiratory infection.
4. Vitamin loading — one fruit a day. Stock your kitchen with orange, apple, strawberries, pear, amla and pomegranate.
5. Nuts for life — a handful of almonds and walnuts: omega-3, vitamin E and antioxidants that fight respiratory illness.

UTI is mostly seen in women because of their shorter urethras, which gives bacteria quick access to the bladder. Symptoms: burning feeling when you urinate; frequent and intense urge to urinate; pain or pressure in your back or lower abdomen; cloudy, dark, bloody or strange-smelling urine; feeling tired or shaky constantly; fever or chills (a sign the infection might have reached your kidneys). Follow these 5 steps:

1. Plenty of water — helps flush bacteria from the body.
2. Jeera (cumin seeds) — antibacterial. Soak 2 tsp jeera in water for 2 hours, bubble-boil and drink through the day; or 1 tsp jeera powder with warm water on waking and at bedtime.
3. Green tea — rich in catechins; 2–3 cups a day helps prevent and fight UTI.
4. Vitamin C — helps decrease bacterial growth: amla, orange, kiwi, cranberries, brussels sprouts, muskmelon, papaya, guava.
5. Apple cider vinegar — rich in enzymes, potassium and minerals. Two tablespoons in a glass of water (add lemon juice/honey), twice a day for a few days.

We as clinical nutritionists always make an effort to tell people how important it is to take nutrition guidance from the correct source. I am writing this blog to make people aware of quacks roaming the open market with 3–6 month courses. Nutrition is not only about high protein, low carb or low fat — it is much more than that. Diet and its food preferences change with different clinical conditions.

An experience: a 27-year-old client, 35 weeks pregnant, with high sugar, high urine sugars, high ketones and 30 kg weight gain (normal pregnancy gain is ~12 kg) visited for consultation. Her husband — a gym trainer with a 6-month nutrition course — refused the diet consult, saying he had more knowledge. But a diet good for a normal individual is not right for a pregnant woman whose sugars need calorie control and carefully calculated carbs and protein, especially once insulin starts.

Moral: these quacks can be more dangerous to their own family members than to their surroundings. Look for the qualification of a dietitian before visiting: BSc, PG, MSc or PhD in clinical nutrition, or a Registered Dietitian.

Yes!! You read it right... Diet Fatigue is one of the fastest developing tendencies these days. When people try dieting to lose weight and eventually stop, they gain back all of their lost weight. This makes them hate dieting — ultimately leading to Diet Fatigue. In our race to strike a celebrity body, people blindly follow diets without consulting qualified professionals. Such fad diets (diets with no science behind them) do help in losing weight, but the loss is not permanent — a person can gain back all the lost weight plus extra kilos on stopping. Many participate in "diet marathons" to lose weight faster, become victims of Diet Fatigue, and start hating dieting altogether.

Moral: to prevent Diet Fatigue, go to a qualified nutritionist who will help you plan a life-changing diet which brings you to your desired weight without compromising your health.

When you breastfeed your baby, your body releases a big dose of hormones. Oxytocin — the "bonding" hormone — sends a feeling of relaxation.

• Religiously breastfeed for the first six months: breast milk contains all the vitamins and nutrients your baby needs in the first six months, along with disease-fighting substances.
• Breast milk is proven to help protect your baby from developing allergies and reduces the risk of infection.
• According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, breast milk contains antibodies — breastfed babies have 50–95% fewer infections compared to non-breastfed babies.
• It's easier to lose weight while lactating: breastfeeding burns 300–600 kcal a day.
• Right eating at the right time gives you good health and weight loss at the same time.

Are you throwing away water after boiling vegetables? After reading this you will not repeat the mistake. When you boil vegetables, water-soluble vitamins like A, B and C leach into the water — what remains in the vegetable is fibre. Where to use this vegetable water:

1. Add vegetable stock to roti flour while making dough — enhances the vitamin content, great for children who don't like vegetables.
2. Add vegetable stock while making gravy vegetables, or add it to rawa or besan chilla batter.

How to make vegetable stock: take carrot, celery, onion, dudhi and tomato. Add cinnamon and salt. Boil, strain, store in a container and refrigerate.

What happens to oil when you fry? The chemical structure of the oil changes, and reusing it leads to trans-fat and free-radical formation. Free radicals attach to healthy cells and can lead to diseases — they can cause cancer and increase bad cholesterol (LDL), leading to blocked arteries. Reusing oil also raises the risk of acidity, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, throat irritation and heart disease.

How to minimise reuse: use very little oil for frying so it gets used up with little waste. Oils that resist high-temperature frying: sunflower, rice bran, groundnut. Avoid olive oil for frying — it turns rancid at high temperature.