The fear of food and festivals, taking to fad diets for weight loss, fasting for long hours, feeling guilty after a meal, seeking permission for cheat meals or holidaying at detox retreats — these are the new normals in today’s fitness-conscious world.
When we fail to cope with the rigours of eating schedules and do not get dream results, depression strikes. “Wisdom is in understanding and following the three Cs — climate, culture and cuisine, to enjoy food without remorse,” says Delhi-based certified nutritionist, Madhavi Karmokar Sharma.
She has creatively crafted a food planner for the new year hoping to clear confusion because she believes the root cause of ailments is unverified information.
“Appetite is a moving entity; if we understand it, we don’t need to standardise our diet,” says Madhavi and adds, “When you eat the right type of traditional and seasonal food, the body knows how much is sufficient for you.”
The festival recipes handed down by generations have stories of logical reasoning much like the seasonal fruits and vegetables. Madhavi is confident that the tool she has created will help people make informed choices and also become food intelligent.
Innate wisdom survives due to succession of knowledge and that is why she has named the planner Parampara. Brought up in a family that always ate what was available locally and cooked traditionally, in her role as a food educator now, she wants people to embrace food with joy.
“My mother would always say I do not count when I cook, nor should you when you eat,” says Madhavi, underlining that food is not a road block to health but has a purpose. She cautions against the ways of the food industry who use celebrities to promote certain diets. .
Food education, according to her, is about embracing food in harmony with nature and mindful eating. It is important for all, who do not wish to ruin their health. It pains Madhavi to see how people in cities homogenise breakfast with bread, eggs and cereal whereas it has been a tradition to eat paranthas in the North, idli and upma in the South or poha in the West. India is a diverse country and each culture has its indigenous culinary wisdom, which needs to be followed for sustainable health.
Why should we randomly replace sugar with jaggery in everything, she asks, or believe raw food is always trusted to be beneficial? Sugar cools the body in summer and jaggery warms it in winters. The soup-and-salad combination backfires in the cold months but we do not give it a thought. Cucumber, a summer vegetable, or the high-fibre carrot, bitter and plain gourd, pumpkin and beetroot are consumed round the year. Many buy hybrid varieties or preserve them for the lean seasons. “These are warming foods that can cause inflammation and mucous formation, toxic for the body.”
Bajra is a winter grain while jowar is for summers and raagi during the rainy season, she says. Yet people choose multigrain atta for 365 days. If our ancestors had sweet potato and koottu ka atta during navaratri and sesame and walnuts for Lohri, it is not without a reason.
Replete with such information, Madhavi has structured the planner with brief notes for each month that are broadly divided under six categories pertaining to the season and weather of the month, mood and celebrations, festive delicacies and rituals, seasonal foods and recipes and how they impact the body. It is also designed as a health tracker to record sleep, workout, breathing, hydration, self-discovery and positive communication.
If we are vigilant about our food, it will boost our immunity. That is what we require during these pandemic days, she says.
The Planner Parampara is available on www.informedhealth.in and on Amazon
