HEALTH TIPS FROM DIETICIAN

A GUIDE TO MINDFUL EATING

Ms. Neetha Pratheep,

Dietician

ANATOMY OF HEALTHY DIET

Do you find it hard to figure out what to eat and how to create meals and snacks that balances taste, nutrition and convenience? Well read on...

Anatomy of a well balanced breakfast:

People generally do well if they eat three meals a day, with one or two snacks. For ensuring that your diet is simple and nutritious, Breakfast and lunch should be a combination of Carbohydrates, Protein, Fat and fibres. For example puttu with egg or Bengal gram(kadala) curry. Cereal and pulse combination is better that puttu with banana. As you can see in the picture, Carbohydrate and Protein with a good source of Fat and Fibre is recommended. This is the Mediterranean eating style, a type of eating that has the most scientific evidence supporting overall optimal health.

Anatomy of a healthy snack:

I endorse snacks because people feel better if they don’t go longer than 5 waking hours without eating a meal or snack. So if you eat breakfast at 7:30 am and lunch at 2 pm, that’s more than 6 hours between food intake !! Consider eating a snack at mid morning time. This will help you to arrive at lunch with gentle appetite instead of an overwhelming hunger. Making the right choice for snack is very important. Rather than biscuits you can opt for nuts as snack. Nuts are rich in micro elements like Chromium & Zinc. A combination of fruit and nuts is highly recommended as snack. Vitamin C from lime juice with salads can increase the absorption of iron.

Anatomy of a well balanced lunch:

The type of carbohydrate in the diet is more important than the amount of carbohydrate in the diet, because some sources of carbohydrate like Ragi, Jowar, Wheat or Rice with Bran is more nutritious than refined carbohydrates like Maida. Healthy Eating Plate as a guide for creating healthy, balanced meals consist of a carbohydrate source like rice or chapathi and a protein sources like fish or paneer or pulses and vegetable in the form salads or vegetable curry. Adding super food curd / butter milk is highly advisable. Butter milk acts as a probiotic which contains healthy bacteria that promote a healthy gut. Importance of adequate water intake cannot be overemphasized. Water helps flushes our systems of waste products and toxins, yet many of us go through life dehydrated—causing tiredness, low energy, and headaches. It’s common to mistake thirst for hunger, so staying well hydrated will also help you make healthier food choices. Drink at least 2.5 liters of water per day. Timing of food intake is also important. Have an early breakfast preferably before 8.30 am and dinner should get over by 8 pm. In between you can take healthy snacks. Eating a healthy diet is not about strict limitations, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, improving your health, and boosting your mood.