Human wellness – Diet and Nutrition 

Why Sensible advice on healthy diet is necessary in today’s times: 

1. Old order changeth: Our old dietary practices were healthy, as most of food was consumed closer to its natural form However under onslaught of industrialization, more and more factory processed refined food is produced and marketed . Such branded products indeed are finer, they look better under attractive packaging However it is ironical that such refined products are advertised as “healthier” or “Enriched/Fortified”. The very process of refining food makes it devoid of vital minerals, vitamins and fiber that were present in the coarser, original form.

Original product	Refined product	What is lost due to refining *
Wheat	Refined wheat, Maida, Rava	Most of Vitamins B1, B2, B3, Vit. E,  fiber , minerals  like iron,
Rice	Polished White rice	Most of Vitamin B1, B2, B3, E Minerals like Iron, Potassium, Zinc , and fiber
Pulses	Polished pulses	Vitamins, fiber
Sugar cane/Jaggery	White Sugar	Minerals like iron, Phosphorous
Oil from seeds/Cold pressed oil	Refined, double refined, filtered oil	Vitamin E, minerals
Fruits	Fruit juices	Fiber, vitamins B, F
Tap Water	Filtered/Boiled water	B12, Calcium

In many cases, after refining, few nutrients, minerals are added, as an afterthought. The product advertised as  “Fortified/Enriched”  !

उस काळा डोंगा, रस नाही डोंगा , कारे भुललासी, वरलिया रंगा– संत तुकाराम Meaning: Sugar Cane does not look appealing due its black color. However its juice is very sweet. So do not judge anything on its outer appearance, says Saint Tukaram,16^th century poet saint of Maharashtra 

• Are we making healthier and natural choices ? We not only buy refined wheat, refined super white rice, we also prefer to quench our thirst from soft drinks, juices and bottled water, ignoring making natural choices in favor of tap water or eating fruits. We have less preference for locally available green leafy vegetables  in our daily diet  instead of opting for flowery vegetables. We eat more and more starchy, tastier, sugary bakery products  like white bread, cakes, biscuits, pizza, doughnuts, pastries. We also prefer to cook in non stick Teflon coated  or aluminum  utensils , eat with plastic spoons, plates. All this  for sake of convenience. The iron, copper or silver  utensils which were used in earlier times, used to provide us with vitally important trace minerals.  We also face more air, noise, and water pollution. We are enduring  stressful situations in daily life , all of which takes a toll on our nutritional assets.

1. Reason for malnutrition during abundant times : In today’s times along with the poor even the rich are  malnourished. The poor are malnourished due to inability to buy expensive protein foods like meat, eggs, pulses and dairy products, vegetables, fruits, while the rich are likely to be opting for food that is giving empty calories, refined carbohydrates and sugar. During abundant times, we are likely to be poor in vital nutrients, minerals vitamins due to changed life style. The reason for malnutrition is more due to lack of awareness on nutrition and not necessarily due to poverty.

2. Overload of undesirable minerals We are getting overload of undesirable minerals due to convenient practices adopted by us. We are using cooking utensils made from non stick Teflon, Aluminum, or  plates from any Plastic derivatives, that gives undesirable pollutants. Use Iron Tava and SS utensils, glass instead of Teflon or Plastic derivatives If we use copper vessels for storing water, iron frying pans,  we get  free daily dose of vital minerals like copper, iron . Modern cooking utensils like Teflon coated frying pans, Aluminum vessels, plastic and wax coated paper cups, load undesirable minerals that are poisonous for body
3.  Drug resistance due to rampant overuse of antibiotics : Our poultry farmed animals are fed with antibiotics for quick weight gain. These antibiotics are giving rise to multi drug resistance among humans . Our increasing intake of prescription  drugs  like liberally prescribed antibiotics, OTC medicines  like antacids, pain killers, cough syrups, laxatives, birth control pills and other common medicines , further deplete stock of nutrients like vitamins, minerals stored in body. Many of such medicines also adversely affecting gut flora, microbes in our gut, leading to further malnutrition.
4. False propaganda  for quick fix solutions There is no dearth of quick fix solutions for healthcare viz factory produced, fortified food products like corn flakes, cocoa based milk additives, tonics, vitamin supplements, protein powders, mineral extracts and multi vitamin pills. There are half truths being pedaled that promise to “cure” diabetes or reduce weight by some wonder herb or by turning vegan or shunning carbohydrates while gorging on fat. Unless we get a deep understanding about our body’s  nutritional needs and means to get it in a preferably natural (and also  economical way), we will be as confused as “Alice in wonderland”. Proper diet and nutrition is of paramount  importance today, as a preventable medicine for most of lifestyle ailments.
5. You are what you eat : The human body needs to orchestrate below mentioned forty plus ingredients, as per nutritional experts. to remain healthy.  These are in order of importance as below

Complete proteins necessary to provide necessary amino acids: Human body needs ten different amino acids which come from protein sources.  A complete protein(or whole protein) is a  protein that contains an adequate proportion of all ten essential amino acids . Milk, Meat, fish, eggs, Soybean, yeast, and mushroom  have all the ten amino acids However grain based diet(wheat, rice, millets ) provide only nine amino acids. These grains  lack one vitally important amino acid , namely lysine. On other hand pulses, legumes have other nine amino acids but lack one amino acid namely methionine . Since the amino acid profile of protein in plant food is  deficient in one or more of the amino acids, plant proteins are said to be incomplete in meeting nutritional needs of human beings.

1. Inadequacy of plant based diet can be complimented with pulses : Combination diet (grain with pulses) is  necessary for Vegetarians . Grain diet  (like Wheat, Rice, Millets) needs to be combined with  pulses(tur, masoor, Moog ,  oil seeds like ground nut, chana, Til,  or  legumes) . Such a combination yields the required ten amino acids by plant sources. Sprouted whole grains (Moong, Methi, Harbara) give easily digestible proteins and carbohydrates due to sprouts .Traditional cooking used such combinations (example Khichdi) Another limitation is that protein from plant source are not fully absorbed by body.  Hence plant diet can be supplemented with eggs to meet nutritional needs.
   1. Protein cannot be stored in blood Body converts protein into amino acids that go to make muscles So skeletal muscles store proteins Hence in every meal, one needs to eat  food that has all ten amino acids (ie complete proteins) If body is not provided such complete protein then it borrows such protein from skeletal muscles, making them weak. Any dieting, fasting, that does not supply body with adequate proteins, results in weight loss However it is likely to be result of loss of muscle mass. Such loss of muscles, while trying to reduce weight , is detrimental to long term health. The objective of a weight loss shoudl be fat loss without losing muscle mass
   2. A thumb rule on the need for protein  Assuming a person’s weight  is 100 Kg then  75% of weight value in Grams (ie 75 grams of complete protein) are required  every day. For athletes, people recovering from illness, lactating mothers, etc the need of proteins will be more.
   3. Most of Indians, due to vegetarian diet, are eating much less protein, both in quantity as well as quality.
   4. Lack of adequate protein, and excess of carbohydrates, and oils may be single cause of weight gain among urban folks.

2.  Fifteen vitamins : The vitamins like A, D, E,K ,F that are fat soluble , while vitamins like C, B (with 8 its sub classes, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6,B7, B9, B12) are water soluble The water soluble vitamins cannot be stored in body, hence need to be taken on daily basis. Vitamin supplements are not necessary except in special situations like when taking antibiotics, or after recovering from illness or for special situations  . Body absorbs vitamins best in their natural form. Body also throws out most of excess vitamins given by supplements.
3.  Fourteen minerals : Minerals literally come from the soil that feeds the crop. Six main micro minerals (Calcium, Sodium, Chlorine, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium) are needed in daily dosage more than 200mg per day While  eight trace minerals (iron, copper, zinc, chromium, iodine, manganese, Selenium, Molybdenum) are required  in smaller doses. Calcium is  of high importance among micro minerals.
4.  Carbohydrates : For conversion into glucose for quick energy
5.  Fats: Essential Fatty Acid(EFA)comes from Lecithin(literally meaning egg yolk), linoleic (omega 6) and linolenic (omega 3). Lecithin is constituent of fat that is essential for the body to metabolize accumulated fat in the body. It can be found in egg yolks, soybean, milk, marine sources, rapeseed ,cottonseed, and sunflower seed.
6. Last but not the least Zero calorie stuff (ie Exercise,Fiber, Water and Sun) are essential part of nutrition  :
   Exercise is like a important supplement for a good diet plan. Without exercise plan, raising BMR(basal metabolic rate) is not possible. Advantage of raising BMR ensures that weight loss is sustained even after stopping dietingJust as  zero is essential to do any math, body too needs loads  of zero calorie stuff like fiber (both soluble and insoluble). The gut bacteria need fiber to produce vitamins, nutrients from food.  Fiber is also essential to eliminate body’s waste. Natural food has lot of fiber However more than 80% of  such fiber is lost as industrial process of refining works on food like wheat, rice, pulses, fruits. For example, rice is polished , wheat floor is refined, oil seeds are filtered, fruit juices white sugar made from jaggery In all such extractions , fiber is thrown off along with many minerals.
   1.  Fiber: Consumption of high fiber food also tricks body by filling stomach , giving a sated feeling. This feeling of fullness comes even with intake of lesser calories. Thus preference of  unrefined natural foods called as lazy carbohydrates, whole grains, cold pressed oil  and complete protein food with high fiber . naturally results  in CR(Calorie restricted ) diet. On other hand, refined foods that are devoid of fiber raise sugar level in blood quickly, giving empty calories.
   2. Water: Unlike hunger signal, body gives muted thirst signal. We tend to ignore such signal. Drinking water first thing in morning, even before washing mouth, heals internal organs, gets rid of constipation.  Color of urine can help regulate intake of  water .By a counter intuitive logic, boiled, filtered water is not healthy as dissolved minerals like Calcium, microbes are lost The gut microbes work best in normal water.
   3. Sun: Unlike the Westerns who tend to overexpose skin to Sun for getting a tan, the Easterners   underrate importance of Sun, due to its abundance. Simple sunlight exposure apart from strengthening bones, cures  many diseases like psychiatric disorders, Cancer and TB. Lack of Vitamin D is found to be common cause for many psychiatric diseases and also heart disease

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