Plate Value

Food sensitivity,nutritional aspect of digestive disorders,celiac disease,probiotics…it’s a brand-new nutrition vocabulary,one that nutritionist and health counsellor Ishii Khosla deciphers for you,as she talks at a forum on the nutritional aspect of ‘gastrointestinal disorders’ at Fortis. Ishii’s an expert in counselling therapy,which is not about taboos,but gives one freedom to eat what one wants,while ensuring it does not conflict with the system,health and well-being. “It’s a challenging and exciting time for us nutritionists,as we discover new trends in food,alongside various health issues related to nutrition.’’ Talking of which,digestive disorders are on the rise,and are now considered a lifestyle disease,along with diabetes,obesity, hypertension…From simple complaints like gas,heart-burn,constipation to more chronic and serious ones,Ishii confirms what we eat contributes a lot to the disorders. A new challenge that nutritionists are facing is Celiac Disease,a condition when wheat,which is food to most,becomes poison for some. Such individuals live with a life-long restriction to gluten containing grains like wheat barley,oats et al. As the condition presents itself in many ways — typical,atypical and even silent,it can make the diagnosis and management difficult. “The confusing symptoms add to the problem and dietary management is the only available answer to deal with it,as a huge population suffers from it,’’ Ishii points to the need for more food options and adequate food labelling to deal with food sensitivity and allergies,which are also on the rise.

Preventive health is an area which is absorbing and Ishii talks about the new field of probiotics which is gaining ground and helps in managing digestive disorders like gas constipation and also boosts immunity. “These are good,live bacteria given in certain doses and perform beneficial functions in intestines,the vehicles being milk-based products like yoghurt and also some pharmacy preparations,’’ explains the nutritionist,who has Whole Foods,health stores in Delhi and Chandigarh. Nutritional therapies,which focus on helping people deal with minerals,antioxidant,vitamin deficiencies are on the rise,‘’strangely,in a sunshine country like ours Vitamin D deficiency is rampant and as we are feasting on food which is high on sugar,starch and is processed and refined,we are losing out on fibre,phytochemicals,antioxidants and are now getting prone to several serious diseases,’’ rues Ishii. While eating a healthy,wholesome diet,should come so easy to us Indians,as we are blessed with a variety of grains,vegetables and fruits,going the western and conforming to food fads has played havoc on our health and systems. “The Japanese recommend 21 kinds of foods daily,and I don’t know why we don’t include just five servings of brightly coloured veggies and fruits in our meals. It’s time we got over our fixation of paneer and potato and looked for more interesting and healthier vegetable options,’’ omit maida,unpolished rice,add makki,bajra,legumes to the daily meal. Low-fat dairy,leaner meats,eggs,nuts,seeds are some must-haves too. Maintaining a food diary,setting goals,introducing good fats like cold-pressed oils,mustard,olive,butter and avoiding too much refined and giving up on vanaspati are few more recommendations. “Say a big no to trans-fats,found in commercial bakery products,namkeens,biscuits. These clog the arteries,can cause cancer,inflammations,diabetes. Eat simpler,natural food and get moving,’’ Ishii has the last word.