Fads come and fads go. But a healthy nutrition plan must remain. With each new fad, we're torn between information we should believe and information we want to. Dissect the top five fads of the day: genetically modified (GM) foods, probiotics, organic foods, diet foods and ready-to-eat meals, and decide what's going to end up in your gut and what should not.
GM foods
"Genetic engineering allows for faster and more precise production of new and more useful species. Scientists select a desirable trait in one species and then introduce the gene controlling that trait into another," says New Delhi-based nutritionist Dr Ishi Khosla.
GM foods can contain more protein and more nutrients. There are also disease resistant varieties that can be grown without pesticides, lowering cost of production and are thus cheaper, as well as those that don't spoil easily, thereby reducing the need for preservatives.
Health boosting value?
Yes
GM foods can help make food more nutritious, abundant, convenient and cheaper. "But there are many concerns that genetic manipulation of plants might cause potentially harmful bacteria in our digestive tracts to become resistant to antibiotics," says Dr Khosla.
"Genetic modification is in conflict with the concept of biodiversity preservation, the emergence of 'super-weeds' (herbicide resistant weeds) and threats of crop failures. On the positive side, use of GM products may lead to reduction in pesticide use, preservatives and additives.
Diet foods
Diet food (or dietetic food) includes anything whose recipe has been altered so that it has fewer calories than it normally would. The usual aim is weight loss. The process of making a diet version of a food usually requires finding an acceptable low calorie substitute for some high-calorie ingredient. This may include replacing some or all of the food's sugar with a substitute. This is common with diet soft drinks. It also includes baking instead of frying (diet chips) or using low fat ingredients.
Health boosting value?
No
"Diet foods are neither weight loss miracle-foods, nor are they all bad; their health quotient depends on the amount of artificial flavour, chemicals, trans fats, salt, sugar and refined flour they contain, as well as how long they've been on store shelves," says New Delhi-based weight loss consultant Dr Shikha Sharma. You need to remember that while some roasted snacks may be healthy, diet chocolates, cookies and colas are definitely not.
Probiotic foods
The hoardings promise easy health-but how much do we know about probiotics? "Good health fundamentally depends on more than 400 types of friendly, symbiotic bacteria that are present in our digestive tract. When the balance between good and bad bacteria is disturbed (due to stress, an unregulated lifestyle, or improper eating habits), problems such as flatulence, bloating, constipation, intestinal toxicity and poor absorption of nutrients arise.
This is where probiotics come in. "They are live microorganisms (in most cases, bacteria) that are similar to the beneficial micro-organisms found in the human gut," explains Dr Khosla. "These friendly and beneficial bacteria when ingested help in maintaining a healthy intestinal tract and fighting illness and disease."
Health boosting value?
Yes
Though you will end up paying more if you go organic, it's worth the money spent as organic food is your safest bet for a low pesticide diet. "Organic is a 'process' not a 'product'," says Dr Khosla.
"An organic label signifies that the farmer is producing the food item without synthetic pesticides or fertilisers. If the label is on meat, poultry and dairy products, it means that the animals have not been given antibiotics or growth hormones." A note of caution here though: products claiming to be 'organic' sometimes may not be so. To make sure that they are, check International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) certification on the pack.
Ready-to-eat meals
It started off with noodles in a cup and mixtures for dosa, idli, gulabjamun and dhokla. Now, however, packaged foods encompass everything from chole, rajma, shahi paneer, dal fry, aloo matar subzi and pulao, to Thai chicken curry or mutton stew (not to mention chappatis and biryani). If you don't have the time or inclination to cook, just open a packet, dunk it in a pan and heat it over the stove. Presto! A fairly tasty meal is ready. With a long shelf-life, these signify a high level of urban living convenience that has tricked us into believing they are the best.
Health booting value?
No
All they save is the amount of time you'll spend in the kitchen making the dish with fresh ingredients. "There's a good reason to be cautious as these packet meals often have high amounts of stabilisers, preservatives, trans fats and salt. What's more, they are usually on shelves for six months to one year," points out Dr Sharma. So beware: the shahi curry could actually be stale.
"It is important not to make them the mainstay of your regular diet. Always make sure to check the expiry date carefully and use your common sense while buying them." So the next time you visit the supermaket, stifle the urge to reach for that easy meal and use the better way to stay healthy. Buy fresh veggies instead.
Five foods that shouldn't be on your plate but are
Caffeine: Found in coffee, tea, beverages, etc, caffeine causes the release of adrenaline, thereby increasing stress level.
Alcohol: It stimulates the secretion of adrenaline resulting in problems such as nervous tension, irritability and insomnia. It also limits the liver's ability to remove toxins from the body. During stress, the body produces several toxins. In the absence of its filtering by the liver, these toxins continue to circulate through the body, resulting in damage.
Chocolates: These are serious comfort foods, but you must stay away from them when you're stressed. "Chocolates are a mix of sugar, fat and caffeine. Not a healthy mix when you're under stress," says Dr Rupali Datta, chief, clinical nutrition and dietetics department, Fortis Hospitals, New Delhi.
Sugar: You're already facing an increase in blood glucose levels when you're stressed out. Sugar will only add to those levels, increasing your risk of getting diabetes.
Junk foods and fast foods: These foods contain protein, fats and refined carbohydrates in inappropriate proportions. What's worse, they don't contain the essential vitamins and minerals. "The body has to work overtime to metabolise these foods," says Dr Datta.
Read the label right
Most branded, packaged foods have a label on the back or on one side of the package, which gives you the nutrition information about the food you've just picked up.
What to look for: The serving size, servings per container, and the major nutrients per serving. Most labels list the serving size and the number of servings on the package, with the nutrition information generally applying to one serving size. For example, a 40gm pack of potato chips might suggest a serving size of 20gm, and the nutrition facts stated on the pack will apply to that serving size. So if you chomp off the pack in one sitting, you're effectively consuming double the calories mentioned on the label!
Major nutrients: Step two is to look for the major nutrient groups including dietary fibre, proteins, vitamins, energy, fat, carbohydrates and sodium. A high percentage of dietary fibre, protein, and selected vitamins are essential components of a healthy diet.
Calories and calories from fat: If you are looking to lose or manage your weight, choose ones that have lower amounts of calories from fat. Also check for fat content, trans fats, salt (humans require only 4gm of sodium per day) and fibre content.
Source: http://in.yahoo.com/?p=us
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