Going back to the basics and to the roots has never been in vogue as much as it is now!

Chef Gautam Chaudhry, Promoter, Demiurgic Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. & Joint Secretary, Indian Culinary Forum, does some myth-busting, and lays down the new rules of winning the dietary game.

There is a lot of talk around healthy food these days. People are talking about lowering their intake of oils, fats, junk and fast food, which indicates the rising consciousness towards eating organic. Even in terms of diet plans, there are various things that many health food gurus are suggesting, that is, FODMAP diet plan, Atkins diet, Caveman diet, Fat flush diet, etc.

Let’s start with, What is healthy food? Healthy food refers to the food that leaves a positive impact on our body. In this context, the famous saying of ‘You are what you eat’ stands absolutely correct. Ayurveda, the oldest known medical science, claims that every edible commodity has some or the other health benefit or constraint, which supports the above statement that food affects our body. Its pros and cons depend on three questions: what, when and where.

Although healthy eating can be fairly simple, the mushrooming of various diet plans and diet gurus have created great confusion among many. To a layman, these trends often create distractions rather than providing a solution to his queries. Please keep one thing in mind that every body type is different and operates differently, which can be based on your lifestyle, daily work routine and of course, your eating habits.

There are four things that are extremely important for a healthy lifestyle that fall under ‘MUST DOs’

1. Balanced Nutrient Diet: It is important that every meal should have balanced amounts of nutrients, i.e., the right proportion of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, fiber, etc, whether it’s our main meal or a snack. For an easy evaluation and understanding of a plate, it should have 50% vegetables, 25% starch and 25% healthy protein. Please note that fats are important for our body; it is just that we need to differentiate between healthy and unhealthy ones.
2. Quantity of Food and Interval: It is important that we intake smaller and frequent meals. If you involve  your body in consuming smaller meals every 2.5 hours, then the body is continuously working to burn those calories, which in turn is going to increase your metabolism. The high metabolism rate will take care of your fat deposits and will break down that extra food giving you the right energy that your body requires.
3. Exercise: A number of diet plans will suggest easier ways to reduce fat deposits by advising you just to change your eating habits. But, it is imperative to do at least a 45-minute routine dedicated to simple cardio exercise. It can be a brisk walk, cycling or any other cardio.
4. Biodynamic Produce: I would certainly recommend everyone that eating organic is not enough and one should follow biodynamic farmed produce. Biodynamic is not complicated, it is all about going back to the basics of farming. There are seasons and geographies for every produce to grow, and hence the consumption patterns should be based on them. Biodynamic fruits and vegetables are easily available in the local marts. Always remember, ‘Cheaper is Better’, i.e., any fresh produce (fruit or vegetable) which is cheaper in the market is better for your health as cheaper means in-season, low carbon footprints and local atmosphere-grown.

Top Five Myths of Nutrition Science that fall under ‘DON’Ts’

• Egg yolk is unhealthy: It is considered the healthiest available ingredient on earth. Just imagine that egg yolk has all the nutrients to take care of an upcoming life.
• Excessive protein is bad for bones: High consumption of protein initiates excretion of calcium from bones, but regular consumption of higher proteins reverses the process.
• Fats are not healthy: The past decade saw an epidemic of heart diseases and a few studies have floated around indicating that fats are unhealthy. However, it is a proven fact today that our anatomy requires unsaturated and healthy fats.
• Dieting will help lose pounds: Dieting without proper knowledge can be a disaster. If you want to lose weight, you need to increase your metabolism and in order to do that the first step is to increase your number of meals and reduce the size of each meal.
• Refined products are difficult to digest: It is not true at all. The complete truth is that refined products like sugar, salt, flour, etc., are immediately digested by our body and simultaneously they do not have any required nutrients and give only calories. In addition to this, they affect our metabolism adversely. They have high fructose content, which helps gain fat in a rapid manner.

I merely discussed a few pointers above and believe me that the list is probably endless. While that being said, you need to start following the above healthy daily routine and only once you follow the above routine you should be looking to opt for a diet plan as per your need, which suits your body type and daily routine. Please note that if a plan has worked well on one of your acquaintances, it doesn’t give any certainty that the same plan will work wonders on your body as well.