Your Health Matters

Eating right in health and sickness

“Eating is one of the greatest pleasures of life. However,what you put into your mouth determines just how healthy you live,” says Tushima Mashelkar,dietician at Jehangir Hospital.

Food contains vital nutrients,giving you energy for life and aiding in all bodily functions. There are about 45 nutrients to maintain health and vigour. No average person is going to keep track of even fraction of these nutrients,so eating wide range of foods from different food groups would ensure that body gets the required amount of these nutrients. Incorporating foods from different food groups will help you to consume a balanced diet.

According to Mashelkar,“Body building foods comprise of proteins,vital for tissue building and maintenance. They also form part of various enzymes,hormones and antibodies.”

Meat poultry,fish,eggs,legumes (such as lentils),pulses,soybean,milk and milk products and nuts and oilseeds are sources of protein. Additionally this group also contributes vitamin A,vitamins of B group and minerals.

Energy giving food includes foods rich in carbohydrates,like cereals and their products,starchy roots and tubers,sugar,and those rich in fat like nuts,oils,butter and margarine.

Protective foods comprise of all types of fruits and vegetables that contain ample amount of vitamins and minerals for protective and regulatory functions of the body. In addition,we now know that beyond nutrients,vegetables and fruits contain a diverse group of plant substances called phyto-chemicals that are beneficial for human health.

Dr Walter Willett,Harvard University nutrition expert,describes that a diet rich in fruits and veggies offer several benefits such as-

* Decreases the chances of having a heart attack or stroke.

* Provide protection against a variety of cancers. Lowers risk of lung,oral,esophageal,stomach and colon cancer.

* Lowers blood pressure

* Helps you avoid the painful intestinal ailment called diverticulitis.

* Guards against cataract and mascular degeneration,the major cause of vision loss among people over 65 years of age.

* Adds variety to your diet and wake up your palate!

The benefits of eating healthy not only extend to supplying essential nutrients and lowering your risk for diseases but eating well can also help you to manage certain diseases.

For example,in cardiovascular disorders,you can lower your cholesterol levels by eating foods low in saturated and trans fats and high in soluble fiber. Similarly in diabetes healthy eating can help in controlling your blood sugar while in cancer staying nutritionally fortified can help cancer treatment go uninterrupted!

Optimal nutrition therefore becomes even more crucial in state of illness as in such conditions the body tissues either do not receive proper nutrients in sufficient amounts or cannot utilise the available nutrients owing to faulty digestion,absorption or transportation. Thus a sick person like a healthy person has to be maintained in state of nutritional homeostasis.

“A good diet therapy during illness not only maintains the nutritional status but also corrects nutritional deficiencies,supports immune function,rebuilds the body tissues,helps in speedy recovery,thus improving quality of life,” says Mashelkar.