India Today – October 08, 2018

52 INDIA TODAY OCTOBER 8, 2018

If you’re looking for a heart-healthy eating plan, the Mediterranean diet might be the

right answer. Research shows that it reduces the risk of a host of health problems:

heart disease, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s

This diet replaces butter with healthy

fats, such as olive oil, which has

monounsaturated fatty acid and anti-

oxidants, very good for heart, various

cancers and age-related cognitive

disorders. The other sources of fat are

nuts and fatty fish

Nuts, seeds and legumes, high

in heart-friendly alpha-linolenic

acids, soluble fibres, proteins,

vitamins, minerals: chickpeas,

peas, lentils, beans, walnuts,

peanuts, flaxseed, chia, pumpkin

Fattyfish,richsourceof

long chain omega-3 fatty

acids, is good for the heart

and cholesterol. Heart dis-

ease risk is associated with

red meat (once a month);

moderate poultry and eggs;

one-quarter or less of your

plate should be left for meat

or fish

High consumption of fresh fruits

and vegetables makes this diet

heart-protective (also helps better

lipid profile, blood glucose and

immunity levels). Vegetables and

fruits should fill half your plate

Whole grains (unpolished and

brown rice, oatmeal, millet,

quinoa, sorghum, wheat flour)

that contain very few unhealthy

trans fats; bread is eaten plain

or dipped in olive oil, not butter

or margarines, which contain

saturated or trans fats. Should

fill one-quarter of your plate

Limited use of dairy, compared

to Indian diets. Weekly consump-

tion of a small amount of fat-free

or low-fat dairy (such as yoghurt,

whichisassociatedwithlower

carotid artery thickness and higher

HDL (good cholesterol) levels, but

notsomuchofmilkorcheese.

Uses herbs and

spices instead

of salt to

flavour foods

ADOPT THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET

HEALTH | WORLD HEART DAY

Graphic by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY

of eating and then falling asleep is not a good thing for your
health: your body and digestive system should rest while you
sleep, not digest food.
People are often in a rush and don’t do justice to their
breakfast. That’s a big problem. Breakfast should be heavy,
lunch should be moderate, and dinner should be light and
early. That’s very hard to implement, but needs to be done.
Lack of sleep and quality sleep is another challenge.
Many times people come to me complaining that they are
always fatigued, can’t get up on time, sleep during the day,
can’t concentrate. And then you find out that their sleep
hours are about five hours. There are all these stories about
famous people sleeping four-five hours, but, let’s say, they are
superhumans. For ordinary mortals you need seven hours of
sleep. Most people complaining of day-time tiredness are not

getting their full sleep.

Third is physical activity. I come across people with

very long home-to-work commutes every day. Long com-

mutes take away any time for you to do things you like. You

also spend less time participating in moderate to vigorous

exercise—be it a social experience like aerobics, playing

sports, doing yoga or taking solitary walks. But that doesn’t

happen. And after dinner there should be a little bit of activ-

ity. Prolonged sitting is a risk factor for diseases of the heart,

diabetes and stroke.

Finally, food at the workplace. Many companies and

organisations now ofer food, but usually it’s not healthy.

Healthy food means more of fruits and vegetables, less of

roti and maida-based stuf. But everything is simple carbs

in our life. If you have a lot of high-fibre veggies and multi-