Hyderabad: Since a very young age, we have been taught to have a balanced diet, to keep ourselves healthy and fit. On being asked what an ideal balanced diet is, Doctor Sangeeta Malu (Nutritionist) responds, “A balanced diet is one in which a person’s requirement of nutrition is being fulfilled depending upon their age, height, weight, gender and physical activities."
Nutrition including Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats, Minerals, Vitamins, Fibres Anti-oxidants and water are required by the body. Talking in a common man’s language, our diet should be colourful, i.e. a Rainbow Diet”
All these nutrients are found in food that we eat every day, but we are unaware of it. Although now due to the lockdown, many vegetables and other food items have been restricted and are not available. So how can we replace them in our diet? Doctor Sangeeta says, “In our diet, we should have chapatis, pulses, vegetables, fruits, rice, nuts and lots of water.
Now since the green vegetables are not available and even if they are, I would recommend not to buy them since they are touched by many hands until they finally reach you. Therefore, we can use vegetables that we dried and stored earlier and replace them with fresh vegetables for the time being. Since a long time, it has been in the Indian family tradition to store things like vegetables by drying them and storing them in the freezers.
Vegetables like peas, green chickpeas, fenugreek leaves, etc. can be used now.” Thus we should practice eating healthy, freshly cooked, less oily and a variety of food. Avoid packed or ready-to-eat food, since they have added preservatives.
Apart from these, she stressed on boosting our immune system amidst the Coronavirus outbreak. She recommends the intake of vitamin C that is most commonly found in citrus fruits like lemon, oranges, gooseberry (amla) and antioxidants like flax seeds (commonly known as Alsi), Tulsi leaves, Neem leaves (Meethi neem), etc can be taken. Dry fruits like almonds, walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids can also be consumed.
“Apart from the food, increase the consumption of water. Try to drink warm water throughout the day. A little tea masala and jaggery can be added for flavour to the warm water”, says doctor Sangeeta.
Hence, staying at home with a lesser variety of food to eat might get difficult but there are many alternatives available in our homes which can be counted and hundreds of recipes that can be tried with very fewer ingredients. Therefore, with very basic things available, we can try and utilize them to the fullest, while maintaining a healthy diet.
The lockdown will get over soon, but it is recommended to not consume food in restaurants or anywhere outside until you are sure that fresh ingredients are being used for cooking. The best and healthiest food you will get is nowhere but at Home!
Also, read: World records low pollution amid lockdown; WEF says learn from experience
