BALANCED DIET MEANS ?

Surviving the seduction of miracle-promising weight-loss programmes, fad-diets and food-fads is tough. After all, these are times when we have deep concerns about fitness for cosmetic and health reasons. Tougher still is making sense of their conflicting claims on the best ways to get fit.

However, doctors and nutritionists say the secret to lasting good health is not a quick weight-loss plan, fad-diet, or gorging on ‘super-foods’ but building Good Eating Habits. This means consistently watching what you eat –– planning each meal and its timing, following simple, golden rules.
Balance check

A balanced meal sounds simple but most times we slip up eating more of one food over the other because it’s our favourite or easier to source and/or cook. Result: nutritional imbalances.

Suja Mathai, nutritionist, Soukya, Bangalore, says: "Ensure your meal incorporates the five food groups: cereals and grains; pulses and legumes; fruits and vegetables; milk and meat products; nuts and oilseeds/oil."

Dr. Kalpagam Polasa, Deputy Director, National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, advises: "The largest servings must be cereal-based; followed by vegetables and fruits; milk and milk products; pulses/non-veg protein; and lastly fat, oils and sugars."

Drink two litres of water daily to maintain body’s water-balance, flush out toxins, prevent dehydration and build-up of kidney stones, etc.

Go Organic. Avoid foods bred on artificial pesticides and fertilizer. Organic products are difficult to source, but make that effort. Or grow a kitchen garden.

Trim portion size. It’s directly proportional to waist-size. Moderation is the key to healthy eating.

Though, says Suja, moderation is a subjective term; one man’s moderation may be another’s excess. Therefore, each person should determine for himself or in consultation with a nutritionist, how much they need to add or cut down and of what, given their current constitution.

General rule: cut down first on fat intake (butter, cheese, oil, nuts, fried food), and then carbohydrates (rice/wheat, potatoes, mango, sapota, banana).
When good becomes bad

Limit portions even of healthy foods. Olive oil is healthy but an olive-oil drenched vegetable/pesto-sauce isn’t.

Vitamin tablets are beneficial but overdosing on certain varieties is counterproductive, causing health problems. Salad is great but not one smothered with mayonnaise.

Eat plenty of greens. They provide iron, fibre, calcium, and prevent indigestion, constipation.

Minimalism is in. Cook using minimum oil/ghee/butter. Unfortunately, some ruin that effect by smearing that dry roti or roasted papad with oil/butter/ghee or adding dollops of ghee to steamed, starch-drained rice.

You can’t do away with oil, ghee and butter; some of it’s actually healthy. Only, minimise their use. Steaming, broiling, roasting and poaching are healthy alternatives to deep-frying, shallow-frying, sautéing in lots of oil/ghee.
Don’t recycle oil

Avoid recycled oil or ghee. It’s rich in cancer-causing carcinogens. Sadly, many Indian homes, restaurants and street-food vendors repeatedly recycle cooking-oil/ghee. Seen that deadly brackish oil in simmering woks at street-food peddlers?

Homemakers and singles who celebrate today’s easy availability of sweets/snacks at condiment shops or supermarket shelves could be trading in convenience for ill-health. Ideally, home-cook these if you must have them.

Dr. Polasa explains: "Oils heated repeatedly at high temperatures for long time result in formation of peroxides and other chemicals, which are mutagenic (can cause changes in RNA, DNA); and of heart-damaging transfatty acids."

Go Natural. Fresh fruits and vegetables (including garlic, onion) are weapons against cancer, digestive ailments, heart disease. And wherever possible, with their fibre-rich peels on. Fruits and veggies prevent clotting tendency and protect arterial walls, says Prof. K. Srinath Reddy, eminent Delhi-based cardiologist and WHO consultant.

Conversely, limit foods high in cholesterol, saturated fat, transfat, salt and added sugar; like creamy pastries, cakes, chocolates, doughnuts, cheeseburgers, French fries, soft drinks, namkeens, sweets; Reddy adds.

Vitamin tablets are health-aids but your natural diet is the better source, says Mumbai-based physician Dr. Gireesh Mansukhani.
Travel discipline

The high-flying professional travelling 20 days a month often complains of lack of control over diet. Actually, she/he’s not that helpless. For example, from bread-baskets in planes choose multigrain or brown bread over transfat-rich croissants. At restaurants, order salad and fruits with each meal. Check menus for low-calorie options/health foods.

Or, design your own meal. For a snack, ask for a sandwich of multigrain/brown bread with filling of spinach and low-fat cheese; eaten with fresh-fruit juice/yoghurt.

A meal could be soup; dry rotis; steamed veggies/grilled fish; salad; skimmed-milk yoghurt; and fresh-fruit dessert.

Most hotels will give you customised meals if informed in advance. Carry bottled water when leaving the hotel and ensure you have downed two one-litre bottles by the end of the day. Best of all, ask your family doctor who knows your body-type and medical history, for a list of healthy-meal combos to order when travelling.
Regular timings

Adhere to regular meal-timings. Else, your body is thrown off-balance attempting to compensate. Also, eat a good breakfast, followed by a moderate lunch and light dinner, advises Dr. Polasa. "High-fatty meals are particularly to be avoided at dinner as there is little physical activity after consumption, so unused excessive calories are converted into fat stored in the body."

Go slow. "Chewing slowly," says Dr. Polasa, "prevents excess intake as satiety is reached 10 to 15 minutes after commencing food intake."

Finally, when it comes to the overall good-health menu, eating right is a major but not the only item. For best results, include: Regular exercise; regular check-ups. no -smoking; a package of positive thinking; yoga; and meditation.