Healthy Eating for the Desi's

Whether you are a mast Desi Babydoll or a stud Yo Yo boay living a masti filled life, beware sometimes life knocks us down, and brings you down with health issues. Say you have a history of cancer in your family, or are currently battling any disease, lifestyle factors, including your diet, can make a huge difference in helping you fight off any ailment. Some foods actually increase your risk of cancer, while others support your body and strengthen your immune system. By making smart food choices, you can protect your health, feel better, and boost your ability fight any disease. Also the Indian food by nature is full of natural ingredients which are good and helpful in fighting of diseases. For eg. Turmeric (haldi) is an excellent anti-cancer food.

What you need to know about yourr diet.

Not all health problems are avoidable, but you have more control over your health than you may think. Avoiding cigarettes, limiting alcohol, and getting regular exercise are a great start to a healthy lifestyle. 
But to best support your health, you also need to look at your eating habits.What you eat—and don’t eat—has a powerful effect on your health, including your risk of cancer. Without knowing it, you may be eating many foods that fuel cancer, while neglecting the powerful foods and nutrients that can protect you. If you change your diet and behaviors, you can minimize your risk of any disease.

 Your diet should predominantly be a plant-based diet that includes a variety of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. A plant-based diet means eating mostly foods that come from plants: vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, and beans. The less processed these foods are—the less they’ve been cooked, peeled, mixed with other ingredients, stripped of their nutrients, or otherwise altered from the way they came out of the ground—the better. Keep in mind that you don’t need to go completely vegetarian. Instead, focus on adding “whole” foods, which are foods close to their original form. Just as important, try to minimize or reduce the amount of processed foods you eat. Eat an apple instead of drinking a glass of apple juice, for example. Or enjoy a bowl of oatmeal with raisins instead of an oatmeal raisin cookie.

Simple tips:-

Breakfast:
Add fruit and a few seeds or nuts to your whole grain breakfast cereal (such as oatmeal). Go smart. Not all Indian breakfast is good. That Aloo Paratha (Indian stuffed bread) is NOT an health option specially when served with chucks of butter. But say a Idli is a great light steamed option. Again avoid the processed stuff. Yes that old saying still hold true. and I wont get into why its still the way to go. 

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.

Lunch:
Eat a big salad filled with your favorite beans and peas or other combo of veggies. Always order lettuce and tomato (plus any other veggies you can) on your sandwiches. Order whole grain bread for your sandwiches. Have a side of veggies like cut up carrots, sauerkraut, or a piece of fruit.

Snacks:

Fresh fruit and vegetables. Grab an apple or banana on your way out the door. Raw veggies such as carrots, celery, cucumbers, peppers, etc. are great with a low-fat dip such as hummus or any other spread (low fat please). Keep trail mix made with nuts, seeds, and a little dried fruit on hand. Do NOT go for those Haliram mix namkeens, chips etc. You will just kill the effort. Or simply get a few Coconuts (get them half cut) home and have  it any time you feel low and tired. Instant Nirvana..

Dinner: 
Add fresh veggies to your  dinner. Try to go low on the number of Rotis or the quantity of Rice to be low. Try baking - baked potato with broccoli and yogurt, sautéed veggies, or with mint chutney. Replace creamy pasta sauces, butter chicken curries with sautéed vegetables or tomato sauce made with healthy olive oil. Try more of grilled food than fried stuff. 

Dessert:
Try and kill that craving for a sweets post every meal. Its a stupid Indian house hold habit. Choose fruit instead of a richer dessert. Or a single square of dark chocolate. 

Drinking :
Ok. Let talk about what got you here. The mis-leading picture. Not really. SO what about Drinking Let me not preach here. Well a man has to drink some times (Its called Social Maajburi).  Well make the smart choices again. Drink in moderation. Try and drink red wine (An excellent anti- oxidant). Understand your mixers. A cocktail is a trap of empty calories. Snacks (chakhna-makhna) with drinks are seldom healthy. Rather go simple and enjoy a good drink. You wont like me for this like. But drinking can be treated in the below fashion. 

Remember - Always go for Quality over Quantity

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