“Count the memories, not the calories” well said and true also because good food must look good how much sugar, salt, spice or oil it contains. We all have myths about dieting, we think dieting is for people who want to lose weight or who are obese. But it is basically a healthier way of eating. Diet seems like bidding goodbye to all your favourite food but really not. Diet means controlling and balancing not stoping. It is like giving your body all the required nutrients in the required quantity. Because in long run the effects can be seen.
Nowadays we are becoming nutrient deficient. Especially in Iron, Calcium, Vitamins D and Zinc etc. Heart artery blockage, Cholesterol and uric acid issues, diabetics, High/Low blood pressure is a common disease now, and children are also getting these. Which questions us about our daily food intake. In this matter, a healthier diet is a cure.
A balanced diet must have 4 macronutrients which are Fats, Carbohydrates, Proteins and fibre. Our Indian thali is a complete balanced diet. According to Ayurveda, it contains all the shad rasas or six tastes, that makes our food nourishing. This combination of flavours makes the digestive process easier. There are six primary rasas viz. Madhura (sweet), Amla (sour), Lavaṇa (salty), Kaṭu (hot), Tikta (bitter) and Kaṣaya (astringent).
- The sweet taste is wheat, rice, pumpkin etc.
- The sour taste is lemon, pickled vegetables and tamarind etc.
- The salty taste is sea vegetables, sea salt etc.
- The spicy taste is chillies, garlic, hot peppers and onions etc.
- The bitter taste is Turmeric, green vegetables etc.
- The astringent taste is Unripe bananas, green beans etc.
We all think that we eat right but we forget to add important items to our diet, Like Curd, chaach, raita, salad, chutney and pickle. They play an important roll in digesting food and balancing all the nutrients. Making your palette colourful is very important. You will feel fuller fast and will get all the required nutrients.
Portion control is the most important thing to get in our head before going on this journey because it helps you from overeating. Like eating a plate full of pasta and eating one Katori of it in both u will satisfy your tastebud but the latter will give you both taste as well stop you from overeating. And it is not that you can have healthy food as much as you can that also needs portion control.
We only get stick to two types of oils most of our lives. Ghee or mustard oil and if we belong to the southern region than its coconut oil. Other than that we don’t use other oil much but introducing different types of oils in your diet will improve your heart health and also helps in curbing problems related to cholesterol and diabetics. Like olive oil, sesame oil, gingelly oil, Canola oil and groundnut oil. All these oils give different flavours if you cook with the correct combination than your food will taste the best. Try using at least 4 to 5 types of oils in your daily diet.
For a healthier lifestyle, healthy eating is a must. I am a foodie and earlier I also have the same perspective about dieting but after discussing it with my sister who is a dietician I was able to understand what it is. I tried it myself and I feel a big difference and now it is a habit. I didn’t compromise on any food. A healthy body means a healthy heart and an active mind.