You hear a friend, who is just over 40 and been diagnosed with diabetes, state “These days it's normal to have diabetes once you cross 40.” You're surprised to learn that he is a “strict vegetarian”. Being vegetarian or vegan doesn't translate to being health conscious. And diabetes after 40 is not ‘ normal'. Well-informed medical practitioners and clinical dieticians will tell you that the high incidence of diabetes and related lifestyle ailments in Andhra Pradesh is due to sedentary lifestyle and a diet heavily skewed towards refined carbohydrates. Is there a way out?
The select gathering that came together at So, the European restaurant above Little Italy in Jubilee Hills, on Wednesday afternoon were treated to an interactive session on healthy eating, not mindless calorie counting and starving, by yoga practitioners Sharmila and Hirendernath. Chef Gregory Bazire, meanwhile, whipped up yummy, healthy food.
“A diabetic is often told to avoid fats. How do you compensate for excluding a food group? Vegetarians, in particular, turned towards grains. Eating a lot of fruits or avoiding fats like ghee and butter cannot make you lose weight,” says Hirendernath. He points our that before the onslaught of refined vegetable oils, Indians were used to adding a spoon of ghee (homemade) to their home-cooked meals.
“A diet that's high on grains, particularly refined carbohydrates, spike up your blood sugar levels for a short duration. Eat food that keeps your blood sugar levels stable through the day,” says Sharmila.
There are no simple answers for questions we are faced with constantly — how much should we eat? What do we eat and when? What's the ideal mix of carbs, proteins and healthy fats? How do we lose weight and fight obesity? Rather than blindly following guidelines given to us in the form of ‘Ten things to do to stay healthy' or ‘Five tricks to boost your metabolism', Sharmila and Hiren urge us to read extensively on food and nutrition to make the best use of local produce and eat heartily, arriving at a right balance of healthy carbs, fats and proteins in moderation. A good meal should make you feel satiated but light and energetic and not sluggish and drowsy.
Eat right
l If vegetarian, get your protein fill from sources like whey protein and sprouted beans. White butter, homemade ghee, nuts like walnuts and pistachios are healthy fats.
l Include plenty of vegetables in your diet. Avoid drowning the veggies in heavy masala curries.
l Limit intake of fruits high on sugar.
l Limit the dependence on refined carbohydrates in the form of white rice and rotis.
l Instead of refined white sugar, turn to black ‘ gud'.
l Cookies and biscuits (even five-grain variants) do not constitute food.
Chef's choice
Gregory Bazire put together the most unlikely ingredients to make delicious and healthy small eats and main courses during the session.
l Consider a blend of green apples, bananas, spinach and coriander. What we got to sample was a surprisingly delicious Raw Energy Soup.
l Portions of guacamole dips made from ripe avocados (rich sources of healthy fats) served with carrot and cucumber sticks.
l Bite-sized servings of Tomato-Mozarella salad.
l A juice made with a blend of carrot, beetroot, apple and ginger.
l Steamed lime chutney curried Basa wrap in banana leaf. The fillet, stir-fried in olive oil with the sweet and sour lime chutney, was steamed in banana leaf and garnished with cabbage and spring onions.
l Goan red rice served with chicken and Thai green veg curry.
l Raw lasagne made with layers of aubergine, red and yellow bell peppers, feta cheese and peanut sauce.
l Choose light and healthy desserts. The chef presented Coco-Papaya, combining papaya puree with coconut cream, lime juice and organic sugar.
l Besides, there was the ‘So' favourite, Poached Pear with coconut cream and chocolate sauce.
