What You Need to Know When You Want to Diet

Weight gain due to unhealthy lifestyle, junk food, and decreased physical activity has become one of the commonly encountered entities nowadays. Lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity etc., have gained popularity in recent times due to an exponential increase in the incidence of such conditions.

Awareness regarding these conditions is also increasing as the medical fraternity is determined to reduce the incidence. This is being achieved by immense patient education on lifestyle including exercise advice, diet modifications, weight loss tips etc.

Diet modification has become an effective tool in preventing non-communicable conditions. It is being widely practiced and is efficacious. People are being educated by many nutritional specialists in a tailored manner, meeting the specific needs of the patients.

Dieting is effective, but it can be hazardous if done wrong. Overt deficiencies of important minerals and vitamins may occur which can lead to metabolic disturbances. Such disturbances not only deviate us from our weight loss goals but can be harmful to the body as well. Dieting right is compulsory to reap the benefits of a modified diet. There are certain principles one needs to follow while dieting. One should always take advice from a trained nutritionist and ponder upon questions like:

·       How to diet

·       What are the important facts pertaining to diet?

·       What are the side effects of a diet?

Include Important Factors and Plan a Diet

·       Ensure to Meet Nutritional Requirement

A good food menu is one which not only provides adequate calories, fat and proteins but is also essential for the physical and physiological health of each family member. In a balanced diet, the ratio of energy distribution from carbohydrate, protein and fat needs to be 7:1:2 respectively. The diet should contain basic four food groups including optimum minerals.

·       Put Together Meal Patterns That Suit the Family

A meal pattern varies with age, occupation and stages of life in the family members. A meal for the family needs to cater to the requirements of all its different members. A growing adolescent boy may need a variety of foods to satisfy his appetite, whereas a young child may require a soft and bland diet. Pregnant women need more of green foods in the diet. A physically active person and heavy worker would require more calories and B vitamins when compared to other family members. The family must offer children enough fat and flexibility in caloric density so that their energy needs are met. The specific requirements in the diet of the individual is to be considered and the diet tailored accordingly.

·       Plan Meals to Save Time and Energy

Planning meals need to be done in a way that would inculcate recipes that are simple and nutritious. Unnecessary processing of food in the name of diet needs to be avoided. Use seasonal and convenient foods that are easily available to save time and energy. Raw and clean foods stand first in choice.

·       Consider Economic Constraints while Planning Meals

Planned meals that cannot fit into a set budget cannot be put into practice. The cost of meals can be lowered by purchasing seasonal fruits and vegetables. A healthy diet does not always ask for high priced ingredients. In fact, natural and less processed foods should dominate a healthy diet.

·       Incorporate Maximum Nutrients in Meal Plans

Loss of nutrients during processing and cooking of ingredients is to be minimized. Sprouted grams, malted cereals and fermented foods enhance the nutritive valve. Proteins of various kind and of good quality are best when distributed in all meals. A pressure cooker can be used to conserve the nutrients. Diet planning needs to be such that a day’s meal should comprise of all the major and minor nutrients the body needs as per daily recommended allowances. Cutting calories can result in low quantity food which can pose a risk of reduced choices of nutrients. It is very important to get all the nutrients for better health while dieting. Hence, ask a doctor or a nutritionist on what to cut down and what not to?

·       Consider Individual Likes and Dislikes while Planning Meals

A good meal plan not only meets Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) but also an individual’s choices, like vegetarian or non-vegetarian preferences. If a person does not like a particular greens, it can be tried in a different form or substituted by some other equally nourishing food. Food habits and dietary patterns also are to be considered. Religion, traditions and customs of the individual are generally considered in planning the menu.

·       Assemble Meal Plans That Provide Variety

Routine is always boring. The same kind of meal not only forces one to deviate from their diet but also worsens the nutrient deficiencies and interests. Variety can be introduced in terms of color, texture and taste, by using different kinds of foods and cooking methods. This helps in also meeting the nutritional requirements of the day across all meals. Variation in cooking methods can help in making the nutrients absorbable which weren’t in previous preparation methods and vice versa.

·       Meals Need to Provide a Sense of Completeness and Sufficiency

Each meal should have some amount of protein, fat and fiber to give satiety or a feeling of fulfilment. While planning a menu, the interval between meals also is to be considered.

·       Make Menus That Take Locally Available Foods into Account

There is a wide variation in dietary patterns all across the world because of the availability of different kinds of foods in different regions. Diet is not always bread and broccoli, it must be designed based on the nutrient and calorific value of any food article available in the place.

·       Create Meals Consisting of Healthy Foods

Ideal diets provide bioactive chemicals which can help prevent and retard disease processes besides nutrients. Care has to be taken to avoid processed food with unclear information on preservatives.

Following the international conference of nutrition in 1992, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) recommend that all the regions of the world provide public advice through dietary guidelines (qualitative and quantitative) relevant for different lifestyles and age groups appropriate for the general populace. Dietary guidelines published by the WHO as a technical bulletin expresses the principles of nutrition education and reinforces the link between patterns of diet and the reduction of risk of certain diseases.

Tips to Follow while Diet Planning

·       For all nutrients, a minimum RDA must be met

·       For energy, the total calories can be as per RDA

·       Energy derived from cereals should not be more than 70%

·       It is better to include, brown rice, hand pounded rice, unpolished or parboiled rice or malted grains which give higher nutritive value and higher phytochemical value

·       Flour should not be sieved for chapati as it reduces bran content

·       Refined cereals made of all-purpose flour (maida) should be taken in minimum quantity

·       To improve the cereal and pulse protein quality, the minimum ratio of cereal protein to pulse protein should be 4: 1

·       In terms of grains, pulses and cereals, they need to be in the proportion of 8:1

·       Two or three servings of pulses are to be taken everyday

·       Germinated pulses are more nutritious

·       An egg served along with cereal or pulses improves the quality of protein in a meal

·       One serving of poultry can also be included in the diet in place of cereal/pulses with egg

·       Red meat must be taken in minimum quantity

·       A minimum quantity of 500 ml milk per day is to be consumed

·       Two glasses of milk or curd needs to be included in a balanced diet

·       Curd provides probiotics

·       Low fat milk should be preferred

·       Foods rich in fiber are to be included in the diet

·       Extracting juice out of fruits causes loss of vitamin C and fiber; hence, it is better to serve the fruit as is

·       Fruits should never be cooked

·       Fish, preferably oily fish, are to be included in the diet at least twice a week

·       Inclusion of vegetable salads or curd salad (raita) not only helps in meeting the vitamin requirements but the meal would be attractive and have high satiety value due to the fiber content

·       Green leafy vegetables are to be consumed a minimum of one serving per day

·       Five servings of colorful fruits and vegetables are needed in a day’s diet to meet antioxidant requirement

·       Energy derived from fats or oils should be 15- 20 percent of total calories and 5 percent from sugar and jaggery

·       It is better to use more than one type of oil; a combination of oils gives a proper balance of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids

·       Diets low in fat, saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol are ideal

·       Fried foods cannot be planned in low calorie diets or if oil allowance is less

·       No single food has all the nutrients

·       Use salt and sugar in moderation

·       Each meal preferably consisting of all five food groups is best

·       Usually the number of meals a day are four

·       For very young children and patients, the number of meals can be more than four

·       Each well planned meal meets one third of the total calorie and protein requirement

·       For quick calculations, a food exchange list can be used

·       If possible, try and plan meals for several days at a time

·       Adequate quantities of water are to be taken

·       Use processed and ready to eat foods judiciously

·       Processed foods contain a variety of food additives which are not good for health

·       Supplementary foods can be given to children and patients whose nutritional requirements are high.

 Written by Dr. Raju A. T.