Coffee or tea, butter or margarine, white rice or brown rice…. Confused by the variety of products, and the plethora of dietary dos and don’ts? Take a closer look at what’s on your plate
From the time we wake up to the time we go to bed, we are chewing on something or the other. And at the same time, we are also constantly chewing on a single thought – are we doing it right?
Is it okay to have buttered toast for breakfast or is margarine better? Can’t stand fruits, so will packaged juices do the trick? Red meat is bad but is a chicken leg fine? Sugar or sweetener, cakes or cookies, coffee or tea…
Are you hopelessly confused? The plethora of new products entering the market every other day doesn’t make your choices any easier either. Well, we know the feeling. So we put together a –guide-to-eating-right just for you with the help.
Breakfast
For most of us, breakfast is the most compromised meal. We find our selves running out of the house, apple or cookie in hand, to avoid rush hour traffic and make it to the morning meeting in time. And yet, breakfast, is the most important meal of the day, this is the time to pack in the carbohydrates, calories, proteins and fibres that will keep your engine roaring all day long. Weight watchers, here some advice: skipping breakfast won’t help you. Even a Mercedes without fuel is no better than a lemon.
Milk
Full cream milk is teeming with proteins and calcium and has restorative properties. But it is also a high calorie, high fat drink. So it is better to go for skimmed milk. It has all the good properties of milk and the least of the bad ones (calories and fat content).
Remember:-
Yes, milk is good, but it is not quite the complete food that it is touted to be.
Recommended intake: - 1-2 cups per day
Juices
These are rich in vitamins and antioxidants. But they also come minus fibre and plus loads of calories. Mango and guava juice have a lot of calories because of the natural sugar content, while orange and apple juice have less calories.
Remember:-
It is always better to have the whole fruit rather than fruit juice. The fibre in the fruit will leave you feeling fuller. Conversely, the lack of it in juice means that the juice gets absorbed very fast, there by increasing the sugar level. This, in turn, leads to insulin release, which on the whole, is not good for the body.
Market watch:-
When choosing from the variety of packaged juices in the market, go for those that do not have added sugar.
Recommended intake: - 200 ml per day
South Indian breakfast
A typical South Indian breakfast comprising idli, dosa and vada can be quite healthy. Idli is basically steamed rice. It provides the body with the necessary carbohydrates and has very few calories. The coconut chutney is fattening but it can be replaced by tomato or pudina chutney. The dosa and vada are the idli’s oilier cousins. They are fried and it is the oil that is responsible for the greater fat content. But while the oil cannot be eliminated. It can be regulated.
Remember:-
Idlis made from brown rice will have high iron content. They are particularly good for those with low hemoglobin levels.
Cereals
There is nothing like healthy whole grain cereal for breakfast. Cereals could be either the cooked kind like porridge or barley or the cold kind such as cornflakes or museli. These are rich in fibre, fortified vitamin D and iron, and are very filling.
Remember:-
It is best to mix your cereals instead of having the same thing every day.
Market watch:-
While choosing from cold cereals, check the list of ingredients carefully. The first ingredient should be whole grain. Then scan the list for partially hydrogenated oils (bad for you). Finally, check for added sugars (you want little or none) and fibre (you want a lot).
Bread
Bread is a source of carbohydrates. Brown bread is considered healthier than white bread. Wholegrain, whole meal and brown bread contain B vitamins, vitamin E, fibre and a wide range of minerals, white bread also contains a range of vitamins and minerals, but it has the least fibre.
Remember:-
White bread involves the use of fats in the baking process. It therefore has more calories than brown bread.
Recommended intake: - 2-3 slices
Toppings
Butter is a high-energy food, containing about 715 calories per 100 grams. It is high in butterfat (80-85 per cent) and low in protein. Colouring is sometimes added and salt too.
Cheese is rich in calcium, sodium and vitamins. But it is a high fat, high calorie food item. Most packaged cheeses available in the market are just high fat food items. The more solid and yellow the cheese, the less healthy it is.
Most margarines are plant-derived but the original plant nutrients may not appear in the margarine. There is less saturated fat which is good, but the hydrogenated oils are not. So in a way butter is much closer to being a whole food than margarine.
Jam and marmalade are very high in sugar content and do not have much to recommend themselves.
Remember:-
A little bit of each consumed on a daily basis cannot cause much harm. But Indians are prone to heart ailments, so it is better to be safe than sorry. These can be replaced to an extent by dhaniya chutney and hung curd.
Recommended intake: - just for taste.
Egg
This is your best source of protein. It contains all the eight amino acids that are essential to the human body. But it is very rich in pure cholesterol, almost 250-300 milligrams. (The daily amount of permissible cholesterol intake is 300 milligrams.)
Remember:-
Most of the cholesterol comes from the yolk.
Recommended intake: - only 2 to 3 eggs in a week.
Meaty portions
An integral part of the western breakfast is salami, bacon, sausages etc. these meat products might be tasty but they are high in sodium, contain zero fibre, and are also high in animal fats. Therefore, they are avoidable. They are an integral part of the western diet, but the climatic conditions there make them easier to digest.
Lunch
Here is your rule of thumb – as the day rolls on, meals should move from heavy to less heavy to least heavy. By that logic, lunch should be lighter than breakfast but heavier than dinner. A typical Indian afternoon meal comprises roti and /or rice, subzi, dal and a portion of red meat, chicken or fish.
Rice
Rice is a major source of our carbohydrate intake and therefore an important food component. There are two kinds of rice that are available in the market – white and brown. The difference is not just in colour. The difference lies in nutritional value.
White rice is actually brown rice that has had its husk removed. It is the husk that contains most of the nutrients – dietary fibre, manganese, vitamin B complex and the minerals selenium and magnesium. The complete milling and polishing process that converts brown rice into white rice destroys 67 per cent of the vitamin B3, 80 per cent of the vitamin B1, 90 per cent of the vitamin B6, half of the manganese, half of the phosphorus, 60 per cent of the iron, and all of the dietary fibre and essential fatty acids. The white rice that most of us eat comprises mostly carbohydrates, with the nutrients stripped off in the milling process.
Remember:-
Rice is rich in carbohydrates and carbohydrates are a good source of energy. However, excessive intake leads to sugar imbalance and diabetes mellitus. It is advisable to avoid rice at dinner-time because it is difficult to digest all that carbohydrate.
Recommended intake: - one small bowl.
Indian bread
The most commonly consumed roti is made of atta or refined flour. Like white rice and brown rice, refined atta is seriously depleted of its vitamins, minerals and even fibre. It is therefore digested very fast, is not all that filling, upsets the insulin balance and is responsible for obesity and diabetes. It also causes hydrogen ions to be secreted in the stomach, thereby causing acidity. It is best to go for chakki ka atta. Otherwise, just limit your intake.
Remember:-
Paranthas and puris, whether stuffed or otherwise, are not as healthy, because of the added oil factor. Over the years we have become partial to wheat. But the fact is that oats, barley, Soya and channa are equally nourishing cereals, Rotis made of a mixture of two or three such cereals are nutritious and filling.
Recommended intake: - 1 or 2 rotis
Lentils
These are a rich source of protein, particularly for vegetarians who have to do without eggs and meat.
Remember:-
Sprouted dals are the healthiest as they are still living and contain the optimum level of nutrients. Sabut dals are also good because they come with the skin and it is the skin that contains a lot of the nutrients.
Cooking tips: - squeeze in a lemon when your dal is in the last stage of cooking. It aids digestion.
Vegetables
These are important constituents of your daily diet as they contain dietary fibre, antioxidants and phytonutrients. High intake of dietary fibre may reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, premenstrual syndrome, and colon cancer. Antioxidants in their turn protect the body cells. And phytonutrients help prevent cancer, heart disease, and other degenerative diseases.
Some of the good vegetables are carrots, broccoli and lettuce. The potato is a great favourite and also much maligned. Truth is, in itself the potato is not unhealthier than any of the other vegetables (a steamed potato in its jacket is quite innocent) but the moment it is fried, and it assumes a villainous nature given its tendency to absorb the fat.
Remember:-
Eat seasonal vegetables. They are nature’s way of handpicking the nutrients your body needs at a particular time.
Non-Vegetarian Portion
Depending on which part of the country you are from. The non-vegetarian component in your diet will be fish, meat or chicken. Fish is rich in protein and also contains omega 3 fatty acids that are good for the heart. Chicken is rated as a good source of protein and chicken breast is also quite lean (unlike the more delicious leg). Red meat is high in cholesterol and is better had only on occasion.
Remember:-
Ideally, try and restrict meat portions to the day. They take time to digest.
Recommended intake: - Fish: twice a week. Chicken: two to three times a week. Red meat: once in a while.
Oils
Are unhealthy in excess but quite unavoidable. And inevitably, the kind of oil and the quantity used makes the difference. Unsaturated oils are usually healthier than the saturated ones.
Remember:-
Too much heat destroys the natural properties of oil and Tran’s fats are formed. For the same reason don’t reuse oil.
Tip:-
Oils that do not solidify at room temperature are unsaturated oils.
Salt
All natural foods contain salt; there is no need to take it separately.
Remember:-
Too much causes hypertension, heart ailments and high blood pressure. Some sources of invisible salt are pickles, tinned food, processed food, salted nuts, potato wafers, salads and raita.
Recommended intake: - ½ Tea spoon per day.
Snacks
All the intervals that stretch between meals constitute your ‘snack time’. And snack times have a habit of outdoing meals in sheer duration. Which means, all those little bites have a greater impact on your body? So, look before you snack.
Coffee
Breaks are synonymous with coffee. But this is one drink that has virtually no calories or fats, no carbohydrates, no sodium, no cholesterol. In fact, its nutritional value is possibly a big zero.
Remember:-
Though coffee in itself has no fat or calories, the cream and sugar added to it has a lot of both.
Coffee contains caffeine, a mild stimulant. Caffeine promotes wakefulness by interfering with adenosine, a chemical in the body that acts as something of a natural sleep-promoting drug. It is better avoided in the latter half of the day as the caffeine causes sleeplessness.
Recommended intake: - 2-3 cups a day.
Tea
It contains a lot of antioxidants. These are believed to act as a preventive for cancer and heart diseases. Tea also has a lowering effect on bad cholesterol. Green tea and herbal tea are good for the body.
Remember:-
A lot of added sugar and cream take away from the nutritional value.
Recommended intake: - 2 to 3 cups
Sugar
Sugar is a carbohydrate and therefore a valuable source of food energy. Brown sugar is simply ordinary table sugar made brown by adding molasses. Because of the added molasses, brown sugar contains a trace more nutritional value than white sugar, but not enough to make it any more valuable as a source of nutrients. ‘White’ sugar on the other hand is nothing more than crystallised, refined sugar with a touch of molasses left in. because raw sugar appears in larger crystals than the refined granules of ordinary table sugar, and it seems healthier. But that is yet to be proven.
Remember:-
All natural forms of food contain sugar. The extra sugar that we add is it in cooking or in beverages, is for the taste buds.
Sugar Substitutes
There are quite a few sweeteners in the market. It is true that they have fewer calories than sugar but it is believed that they also slow down the basal metabolic rate (BMR). So while fewer calories are consumed, fewer calories are also burnt.
Remember:-
Sweeteners are usually meant for diabetics and weight watchers. The best option for the latter is to simply give up on these added calories altogether instead of opting for sugar substitutes. Sweeteners keep alive the craving for sweetness.
Recommended intake: - Not more than 4 tea spoon a day.
Alcohol
While this is no reason to coerce teetotalers into drinking, recent research shows that alcohol consumed in moderation is actually beneficial. It decreases the bad cholesterol and increases the good cholesterol. It also has the same thinning effect on blood as a low dose of aspirin, thereby reducing the chances of blood clotting.
Remember:-
Red wine is good, while beer is very high in calories.
Aerated Drinks
These have no nutritional value and are teeming with calories – as many as 200-250 calories per bottle.
Recommended intake: - Better avoided, or at best, had occasionally.
Biscuits and Cookies
These are made of refined flour and are therefore bad for the system. And a lot of bad fat is used in baking them. Then again, some come with cream or jam (basically, added sugar content) which makes them not only fatty but also high in calories. They are typically calorie-dense foods with no dietary fibre and little or no nutritional value. Moreover, some cookies are high in refined carb sugars and high on the glycemic index, which means they can cause a rapid rise in blood-glucose levels. The longer-term effects include obesity and diabetes and insulin resistance.
Remember:-
If you want to lose weight and stay healthy, keep your intake of refined sugary carbs to a minimum.
Pastries and Cakes
Made of refined flour, cream, fat and sugar, these are very high in calories. One pastry can have as many as 300 calories.
Remember:-
They are not meant to fill your stomach. So keep a check on the portions.
Recommended intake: - once a week
Nuts
Most nuts are an excellent source of protein, and for many vegetarians, a primary protein source. They are also high in dietary fibre, and sometimes vitamins A, B and C, as well as calcium and iron.
Remember:-
Nuts work well to keep hunger at bay, partly because of their high protein and fat content. That is why airlines persist in providing bags of peanuts as snack food when they want to hold passengers over without providing a meal. Other than the high fat factor, the added salt makes them particularly unhealthy.
Dinner
For most of us, this is the most relaxed meal of the day, all the stress of work is behind us and we fell we have earned the right to binge. That is where we are wrong. By dinner time, your body has slowed down and whatever you consume is likely to pile up on that midriff. So to allow for proper digestion, have an early, light dinner. And happy dreaming about breakfast, just a few hours away.
Soups
Depending on whether they are made from vegetables or non-vegetarian items, the nutritional value of a soup varies. But on the whole, soups are filling and a great source of nutrition. Do not pile on the seasoning – salt and pepper – it alters the nutritional character of the soup.
Remember:-
Clear soups are better than thick soups that contain refined flour or cream. Corn starch in Chinese soups make them very fattening, so next time you dine out you can ask the chef to go easy on the corn starch. Packaged soups have too many preservatives and do not compare to their homemade counterparts.
Salads
Vegetables are full of vitamins and fibre and antioxidants. Usually the Indian way of cooking a vegetable with oil and seasoning takes away from its nutritional value. At night when the metabolism has slowed down, it is best to take a softer approach. Salads are a far healthier option for those who have a taste for them.
Fruit salads are another healthy option. Try apple, papaya, and seasonal fruit. Don’t worry about the portion; the fibre present in the fruit will fill you up.
Remember:-
Go easy on the dressing. Steer clear of mayonnaise and whipped cream (for fruit salads). Some healthy options are lemon juice, honey, vinegar or balsamic vinegar, olive oil and hung curd.
Non-Vegetarian
Eggs, chicken or fish can be consumed at night in moderation because that is the time when the body needs protein for its repair work. However, at night, they are best eaten in a lighter form. Try grilled fish or baked chicken. And avoid red meat altogether.
Water
Water regulates body temperature, carries nutrients (food) and oxygen to cells, cushions joints and dissolves nutrients to make them available to the body.
Chocolate vs. Indian Sweets
Finally, time for dessert. Most Indian sweets are fried and therefore teeming with fat. And though chocolates are believed to be equally harmful, they are not.
Remember:-
Dark chocolate is good for the body. It contains flavonoids which are part of a group of antioxidants that reduce bad cholesterol and ensure a healthier heart.
If you still think it is a maze that you’re stuck in, you are possibly right. But if you think you can starve yourself into enlightenment, you couldn’t be more wrong. Deprivation is not the key, moderation is. Listen to your need, not your greed.
