There are tons of information out there about what to eat, what to avoid.
Be it on social media or or on TV or in print .
Anyone of us not close to the food industry is more than likely to get thoroughly confused.
And then some advice seem impractical, like avoid rice or wheat, eat only millets, for instance.
Then there is advertizements parading itself as information, "infomercial", they call it.
Selling us things that we have never seen before, as a panacea to all health issues, protein powders, for instance.
And then, the final joke is when there is straight out contradiction. "Avoid ghee" versus dip everything in ghee, like add ghee to even coffee.
Having spent 11 years running Bio Basics, and 10 years before that learning about food and health, changing my food choices myself, here are 5 principles I follow.
Just sharing. Please do not treat this as advice. If these make sense to you, try it out. But decide for yourself.
That is not just a disclaimer, but based on a solid fact that each of us are wired differently, and need to make our own choices.
There is no "one size fits all"!
So here it goes:
1. Know Your Food
A. Know where it came from (which farm/farmer/region)
B. How/where was it grown (with/without chemicals)
C. How/where was it processed (in a factory using what additives and why?)
D. How was it cooked, using which ingredients and by whom?
This is a good test, because most of us don't even try to know where a packet of food comes from.
Not knowing completely alienates us from the reality of where that food has been before it goes into our mouths.
That alienation introduces several layers of players between us and our food, and we wonder why we get sick?!
2. Stick to Basics
We need to eat foods, not fads.
Fads come and go. Companies promoting them come and go.
Our understanding of nutrition changes, so does Technology.
Stick to time-tested traditions. Eat what our grandparents ate.
That is the best anti-dote to all the noise around nutrition!
There is a reason why we are called "Bio Basics".
3. Cook at home:
Another quick anti-dote against outsourcing our food to others we don't know.
Cooking at home ensures good quality ingredients, and avoids profit-maximizing taste-enhancing methods to prepare food.
4. Eat Diversity
"Eating the rainbow" is a good idea not only for vegetables and fruits, but for all categories of foods.
"Balanced food" means not just balanced in macro-nutrients (carbs, protein, fat) , but also in micro-nutrients (Calcium, zinc, magnesium, etc.)
Each grain has a different micronutrient profile. So eat as many grains as you can.
Try out different rices, wheats, millets, pulses. Enjoy their different tastes, textures and flavours.
When we eat a diversity of dishes, why should all the dishes be made from one or two grains?
5. Cheat a little
Food is mainly for the body. But, at times, it can also be for our minds.
Sweets & snacks are not healthy (even if the company selling you that tells you so!).
They are fun foods. Our bodies don't crave it, our minds do.
Fun foods with friends are an integral part of who we are. But limit that to just 5-10% of our meals.
Out of 90 meals a month, perhaps 5-7 such fun and "cheat" meals are ok.
Not the other way around!
So there. Those are the 5 principles for eating better.
Not the secret sauce of becoming young again, but pretty close!
Think about it. And do what feels right. Choose to be happy!
