Your westernized diet is keeping you MILES away from losing weight, making you a statistic of heart disease, diabetes, cancer & ultimately KILLING you…. much before you die!
Nutrition Transition is a term used for the recent transition of developing countries from traditional, nutritious diets high in cereal, vegetables, fruits and fiber to more Western pattern diets EXTREMELY high in sugars, fat, and animal-source food. Just like in India burgers , pizzas, coke, French fries, pasta ,hakka noodles, burritos , donuts etc. are now very popular & sadly, a STAPLE diet for many people. For such people, these foods have replaced the very nutritious traditional meals of Roti, Subzi, Dal, Rice, Salad, Buttermilk, Limbu Pani & so has good health & fitness been replaced by ever increasing number of obese & overweight people, heart patients, diabetics, cancer patients! & what’s worse.. we get to hear of so many diseases we Indians NEVER knew existed!
As a kid I had only ‘heard’ about burgers! Coke, 7Up & such fizzy drinks were rarely consumed ..maybe once in a few months! It was just not a part of the culture! Pizzas, Pasta & other such fast foods were only available to us after we got into college.. when Mc Donalds, Dominos, Pizza Hut were introduced ! Thankfully, by that time I was well aware of the importance of eating right. So If I ever consumed these fast foods, it was once in a few months – just the way they were supposed to be consumed !
Potato chips, Biscuits, Cookies, Potato Smileys, Heat-n-eat foods, Coke, Diet Coke, Brownies, Ice-cream, Pizza, Burger, Pasta, Noodles, Fried foods, Instant Noodles, Chicken Nuggets, Tang, Packaged ‘natural’ fruit & veg juices, Jams, Jellies, “Diet” foods, most restaurant foods are loaded with chemicals , preservatives, emulsifiers, fats, salt & sugar. Many of these additives are directly linked to Cancer, Insulin resistance, diabetes, PCOS, Thyroid malfunction, Accelerated ageing, Fatty Liver, Obesity, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease & several other disorders the list of which can fill a book!!
I so often see people consuming the above mentioned food on a daily basis, almost like a staple food! & then they wonder why stepping on the weighing scale gives them grief!! To make it worse, they even expose their innocent kids to these foods.. & wonder why they are malnourished!
Remember: Ignorance is bliss…only till REALITY hits you!!
It’s a BIG FAT LIE that eating healthy = eating boring food! It depends on your outlook & awareness! There is a nutritious, low fat substitue for every junk food you crave. You may have to prepare it yourself or have someone prepare it! You simply need to add the right amount of spices like garlic, ginger, curry leaves, black pepper, mint, coriander powder, red chilly powder, chilly flakes, oregano, nuts like cashews & coconut
Here are a few examples of foods that are nutritious & tasty:
Whole wheat pasta arabiatta
Dal dhokli
Fresh Orange juice/Fruit juice
Fresh Fruit smoothies
Paneer paratha
Palak paneer
Veg + Alu paratha
Masala Rice/ Tomato rice/ Lemon rice
Veg Pulao
Veg Biryani
Usal
Pav Bhaji with whole wheat bread
Low fat Paneer Bhurji
Bhel/ Sukha Bhel with sprouts added(minus the puri)
Dal tadka
Dal makhni
Rajma-Chawal
Poha
Seviyan Upma
Upma
Sindhi Curry
Dahi kadi
Idli/Dosa with sambar, chutney
Tomato kadi
Seviyan kheer
Ragi / Wheat Sheera (with jaggery)
Variety of fillings in a sandwich: Chutney, Coleslaw, Masala toast sandwich, Vegetables etc.
Vegetables made in onion-tomato gravy with a bit of cashew paste/curd for a creamy texture.
The list is endless! Anything (even salads) can be made tasty with a bit of creativity (or by learning). Of course, for it to be nutritious, food should be freshly prepared, Home-made & with moderate oil/ghee & salt & very less sugar/jaggery. Add a yummy salad to your meal if its lunch/dinner time & voila! You have nutritious, tasty food every time!
Remember, we are creatures of habit! If you are simply in the habit of eating junk, it will take you about 3 weeks to get rid of your old brain patterns. Simply replace it by a new habit of eating nutritious & tasty foods!
Stay fit! Stay happy!
