Nutrition for the Homemaker

It’s time for the homemaker to take a careful look at her diet and lifestyle, to help maintain a healthy balance of both, reports GEETA

In recent years there has been a considerable increase in women who go to work for economic reasons, to fulfill professional needs or to utilize their acquired higher education. But inspite of adding to their monetary status, scores of women across the world ignore themselves while looking after and caring for their family and loved ones –and this is especially true of working women. The longer the working hours, more deadlines to meet or more boardroom meetings to attend, the more she tends to ignore her own nutritional needs. Struggling to maintain a balance between being a professional at work and competing within the workforce and trying to be a perfect wife and a loving mum, somewhere along the way her own health and nutrition are compromised. It is almost the same scenario for most women rushing to the office with just a cup of coffee and a couple of biscuits, then returning home in the evening most times too tired to cook and ordering takeaways or just having ready-to-eat frozen meals. But ignoring one’s diet and health can lead to long-term health issues and deficiencies.

The combination of inadequate diet and inadequate activity can be a lethal one for many chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, cancer and diabetes on one hand, and anemia, vitamin and mineral deficiencies on the other. And amidst all their responsibilities, women also have to undergo hormonal changes, pregnancy and even menopause, all of which take their own toll. But there are some simple health tips that can help make a drastic change in the health of women.

KHURANA

l Start the day with a healthy breakfast. Do not just survive with just a caffeine boost. Prepare upma, poha, cereal or multigrain toast to start the day with a kick. Skipping breakfast makes you feel drained right at the start of the day and decreases concentration at work. If you do not have time to sit and eat something in the morning, carry your breakfast and eat it on the train or on the way to work.

l Plan your menu for the week during the weekend or on off days, so that you can do your weekly grocery accordingly l Prepare masalas for curries during weekends and freeze them for use during the week. This saves a lot of cutting, chopping and sautéing time during the busy week. l Though frozen foods and ready-to-eat food options are very convenient, attractive and timesaving, most are high in sugars, salt and other preservatives and contain little or no nutrition. l Try not to have lunch sitting on your desk going through files or reading emails. Try to get up and move your limbs and either go to the canteen or move to the office kitchen; maybe even go and sit at a friendly colleague’s desk. When you sit in front of the computer, reading and eating at the same time, you tend to eat more as you are too engrossed to realize how much you have eaten. Taking a proper break does away with the monotony of sitting and refreshes you. l Try to carry nutritious food from home instead of just grabbing a white bread sandwich or something equally high in carbohydrates from a takeaway. Carry something like rice and beans or sandwiches with multigrain bread to have low GI foods that keep you full for a longer time. Eat a wide variety of food items which includes vegetables, grains, fruits, fish, meat or egg. Limit the intake of fried food and sugary items. l Carry a box of fruit or salad or both with you to work. This will help meet your daily requirement of 2 serves of fruits and 5 serves of veggies every day. Keep the box on your table, munching whenever you have time during the day. l It is always good to have small and frequent meals. Keep some healthy snacks ready with you such as nuts, yoghurt, crackers, fruit and salads instead of grabbing a high calorie chocolate bar, when suffering from hunger pangs. l Try and have your 3 serves of calcium each day or you might end up with weakened bones and osteoporosis, especially around menopause. l Shift to green tea, lassi, nimbu pani or just plain water instead of tea, coffee and aerated drinks. Try to avoid having fruit juices and eat whole fruits instead, as fruit juices are high in calories and have less fiber in them. l In your busy schedule do not forget to have 8-10 glasses of water every day. Keep a bottle of water on your table and sip throughout the day. l Most women who work indoors have more chances of vitamin D deficiency, so make sure your regular diet contains margarine, egg yolk, salmon, tuna, sardines and light Swiss cheese, as all these are vitamin D fortified foods. l For most of us dinner is the heaviest meal of the day. Try not to have large portion size for dinner. Instead, have a healthy snack for evening tea or a bowl of soup before dinner, as you will tend to eat smaller portions. l Exercise is also very important for your health. Normally we tend to make excuses as we already have been working throughout the day or that we do not have time. But no matter how tired you are, a brisk 30 minute walk keeps you fit and helps decrease anxiety and stress.

Remember that in fact the more you work, the healthier your diet should be as better nutritional status helps in improving your concentration at work, gives you more energy and vitality and also helps combat infection.