Balance that diet

                               (By Lisa Sarah John, Courtesy Bangalore Times, July 30, 2007)

Eating healthy is about getting a good balance of the essential nutrients through your daily menu plan. The six nutrients are:

water, minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Water is lost from the body daily as perspiration, urine, saliva and other enzymes. This has to be replaced daily as 2-3 litres of plain water (not juices or tea etc). For children up to 15 years, 2 litres is a must. If this is not supplied you will be fatigued, the brain will not function well and your mouth and body odour will be unpleasant.

Minerals and Vitamins do not provide energy or calories but they are the oil in the machinery of our body. The secret of getting these is to ensure that you consume a whole variety of food, never miss a meal and make sure that all the three meals are properly balanced. Anybody skipping breakfast or only eating fruit for breakfast, those skipping lunch and dinner to lose weight or only having a bowl of salad at lunch or a glass of milk for dinner will usually have a deficiency. Most often we see an iron deficiency or anaemia in such cases. Consuming two fresh fruits, at 11am and 6 pm, plus adding fresh salad to both lunch and dinner is one way to guarantee a vitamin and mineral supply.

Another major problem is calcium deficiency which is responsible for most dental and bone problems. This could be a result of all the misinformation on milk intake. All of us from birth to death require at least 2-3 glasses (500-700 ml) milk daily. Yes, the cream in the milk is fattening but it can be removed. The protein and calcium that milk provides cannot be got from any other source on a daily basis. So milk as milk/coffee/tea, curd/buttermilk must be consumed daily.

Carbohydrates are the energisers of the body. Whole cereals are more nutritious as they provide more vitamins, minerals and fibre. Also, at least half to 1 cup cooked vegetable (sabji/porial) must be eaten daily by all ages.

Protein is the building block of the body and the basis for all cell formation. Children need it as they are making new cells all the time to grow. Adults need it for tissue repair and maintenance. Milk/ curd, dals/pulses, egg or non-veg must be there in every meal. 2-3 glasses milk/curd daily, plus half or one cup dal/pulse must be eaten twice daily, at lunch and dinner.

Fats, 3-4 teaspoon oil is essential for all ages daily and will come in the seasoning of food. Fats besides this must be carefully controlled. Saturated fats in cream, ghee, butter, cheese, coconut, dalda, etc must be highly controlled.

Eat consciously and carefully, drink plenty of water and walk 30 minutes daily to be healthy, wealthy, and fit.

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