Colour- code your diet
Fruits and vegetables make people indomitable, literally. Several studies have shown that eating eight helpings - four cupsful of cooked or eight cupsful of raw fruit and vegetables - prevents cancers, heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis. So most of us try to include some fruits and vegetables in each meal every day, but are we eating the ones that offer the best health benefits? It seems not. A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association last month reported that most people do not select the most nutritious fruits and veggies because they do not know better. Nutritionists say eating a wide variety of produce provides the most nutritional benefits. "The motto 'five a day' of different fruits and vegetables, works. If you include different coloured ones - papaya (orange) for breakfast, tomato and cucumber sandwiches for lunch (red and green); cauliflower (white) and brinjal (purple) for dinner - you will end up with a very balanced diet," says nutritionist Ishi Khosla. Colour-coded diets have been proven to improve overall nutritional intake. "Of course, eating 'white' does not mean you eat a lot of potatoes. Cauliflower and mushrooms would be healthier options," says dietician Shikha Sharma. Eat more of dark lettuce, spinach, broccoli and Brussels sprouts instead of iceberg lettuce and green beans. For yellows and oranges, eat more carrots, papaya, oranges sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, oranges and grapefruit. Tomatoes, red capsicum, strawberries and apples can add the dash of red to your diet. An easier way to begin a meal plan, says Sharma, is to begin with eating more of the healthy things you like, then moving on to newer tastes. "There is a huge difference between what we want to do and what we have to push ourselves into doing. Eating something you don't like is not sustainable," says Sharma. "My clinical experience shows that people who breathe faster feel hungry quickly," opines Sharma. "We ask clients to do breathing exercises to keep down hunger pangs. Just watching your breath makes you calmer and brings hunger down," says Sharma. The semantics of dieting have also changed. Rather than counting servings, people are now asked to count cups, which are easier to keep track of. Adults who want to meet their nutritional needs should have eight to 10 cups of raw fruits, vegetables and legumes every day "Fruits and vegetables are low in calories and sodium and rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibre. Eating more of these protects against obesity heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and certain cancers," says Khosla. A whole fruit packs in a lot more nutritional punch than its juice. The fibre in a whole fruit also fills you up, so you tend to eat less. Eating fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables is always healthier "Up to 60 per cent vitamin C is lost within two months of the fruit being plucked, which is the time it takes for artificially-ripened fruit to reach the market," says Khosla. Eating salads three times a day is not the only way to add more fruits and veggies to the diet. A more sustainable way to eat more colours is to add a dash to every dish.
NUTRITIONAL PUNCH:
Ways to brighten up a staid menu: Add 1/2 cup boiled beans (rajma, moong, soyabean or lobia) to salad. Add spinach or other chopped veggies to rice and pasta dishes. Make smoothies by whipping fresh fruit and yoghurt. Toss 1/4 cup almonds or raisins into breakfast cereal. Include onions, tomatoes, capsicum and mushrooms in omelettes. Add fruit to tossed salad; orange segments, grapes, bananas and strawberries. Drink a bowl of tomato juice or unsweetened orange juice as an appetizer. Include fresh lettuce, tomato and onions in sandwiches and chappati wraps.
Top pizzas with mushrooms, capsicum, onions and broccoli. Give sandwiches and chappati wraps the veggie treatment with lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado and shredded carrots.
Always have grilled veggies such as capsicum and onions with barbecued chicken or kebabs.
Fruits can be satisfying if given a chance. Dipped in chocolate, they make for a great dessert.
HT Media Ltd
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