1.Vitamin C rich foods such as Orange, Amla, Lemon, Kiwi, Vitamin C supplements (e.g. Limcee/Celin). You can get these supplements from any pharmacy.
2. Don’t eat raw & undercooked meats. Make sure it’s hygienically cooked.
3. Improve your immunity by adding foods such as garlic, ginger, coconut oil, Antiviral herbs (Turmeric, Oregano, Tulsi, Lemon Balm, Peppermint), Prebiotic & Probiotic foods (Yoghurt, Kefir) to keep your gut healthy
4. Ginger+Turmeric+Lemon water
5. Avoid eating outside food
6. Boost your immunity based on the food as recommended rather just relying on medicines/supplements.
Other key instructions to follow:
7. Wash your hands frequently using soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
8. Cover your mouth and nose with a mask, when coughing or sneezing, and throw away the tissue into a closed bin
9. Avoid close contact with anyone who has a cold or flu-like symptoms
10. Avoid travel specially countries/location affected with Coronavirus (COVID-19)
In case of any related query to nutrition or weight loss book an online appointment with Dt. Silky Mahajan. Please send us an email at info@foodsandnutrition.in or call on 7829999400 between 10:00 AM IST – 7:00 PM IST (Mon – Sat).
When we talk about nutrition, well-balanced meals and following healthy regime is more or less similar to Male as well as Female. However, it is vital to understand that women should give particular attention to these nutrients: Folate, Calcium, Iron, Vitamin D, B12 and Magnesium.
Iron: Green leafy vegetables, Ragi, Dates, Beetroot, Pumpkin seeds, Quinoa, Tofu, Meat, Fish
Vitamin D: Exposure to sun for 15-30 min, Egg yolks, Fatty fish (e.g. Mackerel, and Salmon), Cheese, Milk, Mushroom
Vitamin B12: Eggs, Fortified cereal, Milk & Dairy products, Fish (Tuna & Salmon), Vegetarians need to rely on supplementation support in case of too much deficiency
Magnesium: Green leafy vegetables, Nuts & Seeds, Dark Chocolate, Avocados, Legumes and whole grains
Suggest doing blood tests once per year to understand the blood parameters and take necessary steps.
Happy Women’s Day :).
In case of any related query to nutrition or weight loss book an online appointment for diet consultation with Dt. Silky Mahajan. Please send us an email at info@foodsandnutrition.in or call on 7829999400 between 10:00 AM IST – 7:00 PM IST (Mon – Sat).
Easy to gain but difficult to lose, Belly fat is one of the biggest ongoing problem in today’s world. It causes bad-looks and unappealing appearance.
Larger waistlines are linked to a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal and even cancer. Waistline above 40 inches (102 cm) in men and 35 inches (88 cm) in women is known as abdominal obesity.
17 effective lifestyle changes that will help you to lose belly fat:
Try cutting down your carbs especially simple ones:
Eliminate refined carbs – white bread, white rice, pasta, maida etc and also sugar and sugary drinks like soda, cola, juices, packed bars, chocolates etc.
Instead include complex carbs–brown rice, whole wheat flour, quinoa, millets such as jowar, ragi, bajra, foxtail etc.
Eating more healthy protein: Lean meats, fish, eggs, legumes, beans, nuts, low fat dairy and dairy products can boost your metabolism and reduce hunger levels, making it a very effective way to lose belly fat.
Avoid foods that contains trans fat and instead take healthy fatty acids: Unsaturated fats present in margarines, cookies, pastries, fried food have adverse effect on your health. Instead choose foods rich in omega 3 and omega 6 such as olive oil, peanut butter, nuts (almonds, pistachios, walnuts etc), seeds (Sunflower, pumpkin, chia, flax etc), sea foods, lean fish etc
Eat 6 meals (3 major + 3 small) at regular intervals and drink plenty of water.
Maintain the portion size and keep a track of your food intake by referring any app.
Include foods that increases metabolism – Matcha green tea, lemon water – unsweetened, extra virgin coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon powder are few examples to increase metabolism.
Avoid eating junk and processed foods (pizza, burger, noodles, chips, cookies, sugary juice, cola drinks)
Avoid taking alcoholAerobic exercise (like walking, running, swimming etc) has been shown to cause major reductions in belly fat.
Practising exercises such as leg raise, abs exercise, crunches, sit ups, maintain climbing, planks, burpees etc are more effective to shed excess belly fat.
Read the food label before buying any food products to check sugar contents, sodium, potassium, preservatives etc.
Get plenty of restful sleep (6-8 hours)
Reduce stress level through Yoga/Meditation
Change your sedentary lifestyle – Try not to sit too much, do stretching exercises at your desk, take the stairs instead of the elevator etc
Choose healthy cooking techniques such as boiling, steaming, stir-frying, sauteing, roasting, grilling instead of deep frying, high fat baking, microwaving.
In case of any related query to nutrition or weight loss book an online appointment with Dt. Silky Mahajan. Please send us an email at info@foodsandnutrition.in or call on 7829999400 between 10:00 AM IST – 7:00 PM IST (Mon – Sat).
Healthy snack options to curb the hunger thumbnail
Aim for Healthy snack options and whole foods as mentioned below. Avoid processed/junk foods and sugary drinks.
These healthy snack options are not only beneficial to curb the hunger in between major meals but also helpful in overall well-being and healthy lifestyle.
Replace sugary drinks with: Lemon water, Sattu drink, Butter milk, Green tea, Ragi ganji with butter milk, Coconut water
Try to add good salads in between meals: Corn/Sprouted salad, Puffed rice salad, Peanut salad, Mixed vegetable salad, Fruit salad, Jowar flakes,Soy flakes, Egg whites
Yoghurt with fruits or muesli can also be the part of the snacks
Please send us an email at info@foodsandnutrition.in or call on 7829999400 between 10:00 AM IST – 7:00 PM IST (Mon – Sat). Do follow us on youtube for latest nutrition tips & videos.
One of the main household items you will find in every Indian kitchen is wheat flour mainly used for making chapati, naan, paratha and puri. The two types of wheat flour available in Indian market are whole wheat flour and maida or all-purpose flour.
There is no debate on whole wheat flour being nutritionally enriched than that of maida which attributes mostly to their milling process.
The traditional milling process achieves 90-95% extraction through several steps
The first step in the milling process involves cleaning to remove all the impurities from the wheat either by washing or dry scouring.
The second step involves conditioning the wheat which improves the physical state of the wheat by the adjusting the moisture content which should be within 15-17%.
Finally, the cleaned and conditioned wheat is subjected to milling, which separated the endosperm from bran and reduce it to flour.
Hence, the quality of Atta is determined by the quality of wheat and the stages of grinding it goes through. The more the coarse the higher is its bran and fibre content of the wheat flour.
There are different brands of wheat flour available in every corner of India.
Let’s take a look on some major brands such as Aashirvaad atta, Patanjali and 24 mantra organic wheat flour so as to understand which is better for you to choose:
Summary
Selection of wheat flour should be based on its processing, type of wheat the company or brand is using to determine the quality of the wheat, if its available, and the nutritional content especially Fibre.
The best way to make sure that you are getting the nutritious whole wheat flour would be when you grind your own flour where nothing has been removed or added to extend its shelf life.
Sugar is considered as integral part of our life when it comes to food. After waking up in the morning we grab a cup of coffee/tea with sugar cubes and this process of sugar consumption continues entire day.
We keep having sugar by adding it in tea, milk, coffee or by consuming it indirectly through various food products such as ice creams, chocolates, cola drinks, packaged fruit juices and energy drinks.
Types Of Sugar Most Of Us Are Consuming In Our Day-to-day Life
1. White Sugar
Also called as Table Sugar white sugar contains 99.9% sucrose (50% glucose + 50% fructose). It is manufactured by the processing and refining of natural sugars found in the sugar cane or sugar beet. Ash, Moisture, Minerals, and compounds that give sugar their color are completely removed.
Since one-teaspoon sugar contains 16 KCAL (no protein, no fat but only 4g carbohydrates), it is considered part of ‘Empty Calories’ food . It has limited nutrition values and hence no health benefits as such.
2. Brown Sugar
Brown sugar is produced either through less processing to retain its molasses content or by mixing completely refined white sugar with molasses.
It contains 93.5% – 96.5% Sucrose and 3.5% – 6.5% Molasses. Due to presence of molasses, it appears brown (3.5% – light brown & 6.5% – dark brown) in color.
Any minerals present in brown sugar come from the molasses added to the white sugar.
Brown sugar contains slightly fewer calories (12 KCAL per teaspoon) as compare to white sugar. 15% of the daily value of Iron (considering 100 gm reference amount), little amount of potassium, calcium, and magnesium but they are not present in great quantities.
In summary, there is no significant difference between white and brown sugar from nutrition perspective to give major health benefits.
3. Jaggery
Known as ‘Gur’ in Hindi, Jaggery production is a simple process. It comprises of crushing the sugarcane to extract the juice, heating it to produce thick crystals and then solidifying to give the blocks shape.
Jaggery is considered as better choice as compare of white/brown sugar. It contains small amount of B vitamin and minerals, including calcium, Iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium.
Apart from these vitamins and minerals, 10 gm Jaggery provides 36 KCAL (minimal protein, no fat and 8.5g carbohydrates).
Diabetic patient should avoid Jaggery considering high glycemic index value (84.1).
Though Jaggery helps in blood purification, metabolism, nervous system, relief from cough & cold (taken with Honey and Ginger) and is considered as good cleansing agent (lungs, stomach, intestines, esophagus and respiratory tracts) but it may lead to some harmful effects too if not consumed in moderation.
These harmful effects include weight gain, increased blood sugar levels, indigestion, and nose bleeding due to heat production inside the body.
4. Honey
Honey is sugar-rich syrup stored by honeybees from a wide range of flowers.
It contains 40% fructose, 30% glucose and 17% water. Apart from water, per 100g of Honey contains Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Iron, Vitamin B and Vitamin C. 1-teaspoon honey contains 20 calories (0 protein, 0 fat & 5 g carbs).
Honey is less processed as compare to sugar and it is only purified before distribution. Due to higher fructose content honey tastes sweeter than sugar and small quantity of honey gives same taste as 1 teaspoon sugar.
Honey provides many health benefits such as rich in antioxidants, ‘less bad’ than Sugar & Jaggery for Diabetes, lowers blood pressure, improves good cholesterol, lowers triglycerides and helps in suppressing cough and cold.
At the same time we should not forget that ultimately it’s high in calories and sugar therefore should be consumed in moderate amount only.
Let’s Compare The Nutritional Benefits Of White & Brown Sugar, Jaggery & Honey
Summary
Sugar (White/Brown) is considered part of ‘Empty Calories’ food with no/limited nutrition values . Hence there are no major health benefits as such.
Also, due to the high glycemic index (GI) and the minimal amount/absence of vitamins and minerals, it raises the blood sugar levels more quickly.
Usually, Jaggery is not chemically processed like refined sugar, therefore, it’s always a better choice. Diabetic patient should avoid Jaggery considering high glycemic index value (84.1) to avoid raise in blood sugar levels.
Honey is a healthier choice compared to other sweeteners, as it is less processed. It has a low glycemic index (GI) and contains essential vitamins and minerals.
Avoid ice creams, chocolates, cola drinks, and packaged fruit juices completely as all these items contain too much sugar. Keep in mind that it is always recommended to limit your sugar intake to avoid health issues.
