Rujuta Diwekar Spills The Bitter Truth About Superfoods Of India

Celebrity nutrition and exercise science expert Rujuta Diwekar always has nuggets of advice over simple eating that can keep us healthy. This time she revealed the bitter truth about super foods. From posting about healthy meal plan for kids to writing about the goodness of traditional meals, she specialises in simplifying the eating habits and never pushes for the fancy diets. When we talk about super foods, most of us will think about nutritionally dense foods such as spirulina, acai berry, kale and more but little do we realise that most of these foods are not grown locally or even in our country. When it comes to health, the best things for you are the ones that are grown in the same climate that you live in. Yet we still tend to run after exotic superfoods thinking that these will fulfill our bodies’ nutritional needs.

What Are Superfoods?

Whether they are plant based, fish or dairy based, superfoods are a storehouse of nutrients. Usually there are no set criteria to define a superfood and yet every year we can see a list of superfoods that one should have in order to stay fit. Also, most of the times we end up not even having them in their raw form but as tablets, powders or preserved juices. Do you think that really serves the purpose? Absolutely not!

Traditional Indian Superfoods And Their Myriad Benefits

Writing about India’s superfoods such as Neem, Rujuta says that in India every part of this tree is known for its anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and analgesic properties since many ages. As part of festivals, food and folk lore, Neem has been a pretty famous component. In Hyderabad, Neem flowers are used to make a special drink while the tender leaves are made into a special sabzi in Bengal. Eating this helps the body stay in tune with the change in season, and not get bloated, acidic or dehydrated in response to the heat.

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What's Healthy Eating All About?

Lamenting the fact that we have turned our back to traditions, Rujuta says that we are turning into a population that chews raw salads for lunch and pops a neem tablet for health. She says that the same thing is valid for consuming haldi tablets or huge amounts of flaxseed/ jeera / ajwain with water. Or for that matter, starting the day with coconut oil or adding ghee to coffee. This means that we are basically trying to maximise the intake of a particular nutrient for the perceived benefit of weight loss, detox etc. The truth, though, is that health doesn’t lie in isolated compounds of our native produce but in its link to our food combinations and cuisines. Food industry teaches us to be greedy. Time-tested food traditions teach us to be in tune with nature and enjoy what’s on our plate. The choice is simple, she says.

What are your thoughts about this? Do you think that having a neem tablet is the same as adding them to your plate? Would you opt to choose convenience over health due to lack of time? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section on Her Zindagi’s Facebook page. To know about the benefits of having early dinner, staying energetic naturally and more, keep reading and #BeHealthy.

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