Forget about acacia seeds and goji berries.The secret foods for health,vitality and weight loss lie in your own kitchens and backyards.from aphrodisiacs to fertility boosters,fat burners to mind calmers,Rujuta talks you through the 10 Indian superfoods that will completely transform you.
At a time when diets have become an all-consuming affair, fad diets have become the fad. Low carb, high fat, no fat, Paleo, intermittent fasting... The list goes on and on, with the arrival of each new fad diet confusing us further. It's no surprise we look at diets that claim they are easy and will make you lose weight fast. Unfortunately, these popular diets usually over-promise and under-deliver, leaving people feeling worse about themselves.
But an Indian dietician believes in going back to the traditional Indian foods rather than following diets and tells us why eating rice isn’t a taboo or why including ghee is helpful. Best of all she says is the most important thing, ask yourself is this the food my Nani and Dadi ate? If yes, then eat without any fear!
At the launch of Rujuta Diwekar’s latest book, Indian Superfoods, it quickly becomes clear why the nutritionist has developed a cult following over the past few years. In a diet culture defined by ‘No’, she urges people to eat. At one point during her talk, when she tells the mostly-female crowd to eat rice, there’s an unscripted wave of enthusiastic applause. Two women in the front row turn to each other and grin excitedly.
Looking around the gracious old Museum Theatre building, Rujuta tells the crowd that, much like the grand building, diets also need to be timeless and sustainable; we need to stay fit and healthy for the rest of our lives. The problem is that for weight loss, we keep looking for an answer in places we will never find it: in tabloids, at parties, during weddings and even divorces.
Rujuta is clear where the answer lies; it lies in our kitchens, the one place we don’t like going into anymore. Getting healthier is not just about becoming skinny. It’s about eating better in a holistic fashion. It’s about completely rethinking food. Her advice to all is to stop talking about food groups, like carbs, proteins and fats, and start thinking about food systems. Food systems are about not just looking after your health, but also promoting the local economy and global ecology. For when we diet according to food groups — we gain weight again and again. When we eat according to food systems, we live long, fulfilling lives.
Indigenous, locally-grown superfoods are an ideal way to begin this change. Rujuta picks three well-loved, easilyavailable foods: rice, ghee and sugar.
Her explanation very simple: Rice is truly nice. Whether you come from Kashmir or Kanyakumari it’s the first grain you eat. Our schools got it wrong when they taught us rice is just carbohydrate. It also contains minerals, vitamins, phytonutrients and amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. When we go off rice, our stomachs jut out.
That’s because our gut eco-system gets disturbed when we go on a diet. These microorganisms influence everything from our moods to our health. Rice has prebiotics, which is food for probiotics, and will nourish the necessary good bacteria in the body. Most local rice has a glycemic index of 50 to 60. Add curd or pulses and you lower it. Add ghee, and it’s lowered further. Add pickle and it gets lowered again. So in India, when you eat a traditional meal, rice becomes safe. These pearls of diet wisdom Rujuta dispenses without favour.
Ghee is next on Rujuta’s list of favourite foods. She says ghee is great because it is full of fat. It gives good gut integrity... she’s not the only person saying this. The Cleveland Clinic released a poster about the benefits of ghee, so has the Canadian Heart Association announced that saturated fat is good for the heart. Now, doctors are saying that cholesterol is a nutrient and no longer a concern for overconsumption.
Rujuta also is of the firm belief that everything your grandmom said is rooted in common sense. If you have issues of thyroid, memory loss, weight gain — it could be because of a lack of essential fats. Eat idlis with podi and sesame oil. When you have coffee, eat murukkus. When you eat curd rice, eat pickle. If you want papad — fry it. But remember to source everything carefully. Make it at home. Or buy from a small co-operative. It’s better than buying from an industry that is banking on your fears. An industry that creates a new food hero and a new food villain every year.
Then, there’s sugar. She feels we have become a population that abuses sugar. The kind we should avoid is what comes out of packaged food: the chocolates, biscuits and cereals that promise weight loss... Instead, we must eat jaggery in winter. Have sugar cane juice when you want to detox.”
Finally, she tackles the obsession with weight loss. All women want to do is lose a little more weight. We wake up thinking of this... If I was thinner my life would be better. That’s not true. A better fulfilling life comes from many other things. Never ever from losing weight. Wow, Rujuta that makes me feel much better already.