5 reasons why you should think twice before eating frozen food

The use of frozen foods can be convenient and can save a lot of time as it requires one to just open the freezer, get the food and cook it. Frozen food has long durability as well. It may be saved for months and is not vulnerable to unwanted microorganisms. Frozen food also reduces food waste because of its long lasting capacity. It also helps restaurants make their process more efficient as pre-cooked food needs a shorter waiting time. It also helps in following flexible meal plans, and spontaneous food choices.

However, dieticians in Pune believe that there are many downsides of frozen food. For example, it does not taste as good as fresh foods, there is a limited variety and it faces cooling chain problems like power outages and others because of which plenty of bacteria may develop on them.

The texture of the food may be altered when freezing food. Some frozen dishes contain preservatives to make the food last longer but the regular intake of preservatives may cause serious health issues. Some frozen foods may lose precious nutrients and vitamins and most frozen foods contain far fewer vitamins than fresh food.

When we interacted with the famous nutritionist in Pune, we came across some important health tips. Herewith we are sharing them with you.

Let us look at the ill effects of eating frozen food and also the reasons why you should think twice before going for it.

1. Risk of diabetes

Starch is used to keep frozen food items fresh. This starch helps in adding taste and texture to the food. The starch gets converted into sugar before digestion takes place. Any rise in sugar levels can put you at risk of diabetes.

2. Risk of heart disease

“Packaged or frozen food items contain trans fats that increase the risk of getting heart disease, and are also linked to clogged arteries. This fat increases bad cholesterol (LDL) in the body and lowers the good cholesterol (HDL).

3. Weight gain or obesity

Frozen food items are extremely high in fat. The ratio of fats to carbs and proteins in these foods is almost double, which is why they are loaded with calories.

4. Negligible nutritional value

Freezing food for a long time may kill some important vitamins and minerals present in the items. Hence, frozen foods are not as nutritious as fresh foods.

5. Risk of pancreatic cancer

“Research by the dietician in Pune shows that eating frozen food can lead to pancreatic cancer. Frozen sausages, salamis, or other items can increase the risk of contracting cancer. This is usually because of the preservatives used in these frozen food items.

Now that you know that the odds are stacked against you and frozen food, it is time to come out of the fridge and make some nutritious health choices!

Role of spinach in your life

Diet is frequently the most discussed but frequently ignored aspect of our lives. We tend to overlook its significance and focus on only a small portion of it, ignoring the entire spectrum.

Today we will discuss some significant health tips to include in your diet to make it more nutritious!

The significance of spinach in your diet!

This leafy vegetable is a great addition to your diet because it is high in nutrients.

It grows all year and is high in vitamins and minerals.

Spinach comes in two varieties: flat-leaf and savoy. Savoy spinach is typically found in fresh, bunched spinach at the grocery store. Savoy spinach leaves are typically wrinkled and curly. Flat spinach, also known as baby spinach, is a popular vegetable in the United States and is frequently sold bagged, canned, or frozen.

Though not the most exciting of foods, here’s what famous dieticians in Pune have to say about spinach’s health benefits:

Low Blood Pressure

Spinach is high in potassium and other minerals that your body requires. Consuming potassium-rich foods can help lower your blood pressure.

Healthy Vision

Spinach is high in lutein, an antioxidant that protects against age-related eye diseases like macular degeneration and cataracts.

People who take lutein supplements are less likely to develop macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision impairment and blindness.

Cataracts are an eye condition caused by the oxidation of the eye’s lens. According to research, lutein appears to protect your lenses from UV damage. According to one study, women who ate more lutein were 23% less likely to develop cataracts than those who ate less lutein.

Cognition Enhancement

Lutein has also been shown to aid in the preservation of cognitive abilities. According to studies of older adults, those with higher lutein levels had better verbal fluency, memory, reasoning ability, and processing speed than those with low levels of the nutrient.

Bone Health

Spinach is high in vitamin K, which is essential for bone health and growth. One cup of spinach provides your body with the recommended daily amount of Vitamin K.

Skin Health

The vitamin A in spinach is used by your body to grow tissues, including your skin, which is the largest organ in your body. Vitamin A not only strengthens the skin’s immune system (prevents disease and damage), but it also keeps the skin hydrated, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Blood Pressure Control

Spinach is high in iron, which helps your body produce hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is required for oxygen transport from your lungs to the rest of your body. As a result, heavy fatigue is one of the primary symptoms of iron deficiency.

Spinach contains a high concentration of oxalate, a naturally occurring substance found in almost all plants. People who are at risk of developing calcium oxalate kidney stones should limit their consumption of oxalate-rich foods. If you fall into this category, talk to your doctor about incorporating spinach into your diet.

Importance of Hydration

Water makes up 75% of the human body. Water is essential for the survival of life on Earth. Animals, plants, and humans would all expire swiftly if they did not have access to water. Even though people are largely made up of water, they must continue to drink it in order to exist. Keeping your body hydrated and healthy is as simple as drinking water. Proper hydration is required to support regular living functions. Here are few benefits of hydration explained to you by the diet consultant – Siddhi Takalkar.

Promotes cardiovascular health

Your heart is a large muscle that is constantly pounding to ensure that all of your cells receive enough oxygen. Dehydration, or your body not retaining enough water to operate properly, is a common cause of overworking your heart. Dehydration reduces blood volume, forcing your heart to work harder and faster to keep the rest of your body supplied with oxygen.

Increases energy and brain function

According to studies, hydration has a significant impact on how well the brain performs. Mild dehydration, which causes mood, concentration, headaches, memory, tiredness, anxiety, and overall brain performance in people of all ages, causes issues with mood, concentration, headaches, memory, tiredness, anxiety, and overall brain performance. Because everyday activities can lead to dehydration, many doctors advise bringing a water bottle with you wherever you go.

Helps joints and muscles function correctly

Have you ever had a charley horse-like muscle cramp? If you have, dehydration could be the source of your discomfort. Without the proper amount of fluid, your muscles and joints stiffen up. It is for this reason that orthopaedic specialists advise all patients, particularly active patients who engage in sports or strenuous exercise, to drink enough of water throughout the day.

Maximizes physical performance

Maintaining a healthy level of hydration improves your overall physical performance. If you drink enough water, whether for sports or everyday activities, your body will function at its best. When you start to cut back on your water consumption, your body begins to lose energy. People who engage in high-intensity activities should bring adequate water and electrolyte-containing fluids to drink.

Cleanses your body

Your body absorbs toxins from food, beverages, the air, and other environmental contaminants on a daily basis. These poisons disrupt your body’s natural balance, making you feel tired and odd. Drinking water cleanses your body by assisting organs such as your kidneys in filtering and disposing of waste from your blood. The more water you drink, the more toxins your body produces both internally and externally.

Treats ailments

Staying hydrated can also help with a variety of symptoms and illnesses. It’s critical to keep drinking liquids when you’re unwell. Drinking adequate liquids will help you recover faster because your body is working hard to fight off viruses or germs that enter the body. Headaches, kidney stones, colds, flus, and seizures are all common health problems that hydration can help with.

Do’s and don’ts of monsoon diet

Our surroundings have been blessed by monsoon showers. While rain brings out the best in nature, seasonal changes have their own set of benefits and drawbacks. We must assess the state of our climate and carefully determine what we need to ingest on a daily basis, as what is outside our body has an equal impact on what is inside our body. Living in a pandemic for a year has taught us the value of healthy immunity and the importance of eating foods that support it. The arrival of monsoon also heralds the emergence of several ailments such as malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, and others. Here are some do’s and don’ts of monsoon diet, as told by Siddhi Deshpande Takalkar, best diet consultant in Pune:

Avoid these things:

Eating fried food:

While it’s normal to consume fried foods like pakoras every now and then, you should watch the amount you eat because too much might cause indigestion, diarrhea, and other problems. Also, don’t reuse the oil you’ve already fried in because it’s potentially toxic.

Seafood:

Monsoons are notorious for breeding a large variety of water-borne infections. Another reason is that the monsoon is fish and prawn breeding season. As a result, we should avoid eating seafood until the rainy season is through.

Leafy vegetables:

Leafy vegetables are completely exposed to bacterial and fungal growth, which is influenced by the monsoon’s warmth and humidity. Until the season is over, stay away from leafy greens. Dieticiansay if you must eat it, make sure it is carefully cleaned in lukewarm water and cooked so that all germs and fungus are killed.

These are the things you should eat/consume during monsoon:

Masala Tea:

Due to the extreme humidity and sweat, our bodies lose a lot of fluid during the monsoon. To meet the body’s fluid requirements, drink plenty of water, fluid, and masala chai. Herbal concoctions or masala chai mixed with spices such as tulsi, ginger, and cardamom might strengthen your immunity and help you avoid infections.

Spices:

Dietician suggest that there are antiseptic and anti-inflammatory qualities abound in spices. Including additional spices in your diet, such as turmeric, black pepper, and clove, may help you avoid infection and minimize cold and flu symptoms. They may also aid in the improvement of immunity.

Fruits:

Fruits are necessary in all seasons, but especially during the monsoon. People are less likely to keep themselves hydrated by drinking water in damp conditions. Fruits are another excellent source of hydration that will help you maintain your health.

The monsoon has arrived, bringing both benefits and drawbacks. Keep an eye on your everyday diet if you want to enjoy this season without compromising your health. Try to avoid eating from dirty environments as a precaution. Contact Siddhi Deshpande Takalkar,nutritionist in Pune, for tips on monsoon diet or diet tips in general.

5 Healthy & Refreshing Summer Drinks

Summer comes with a lot of heat, sweat and dehydration. Extreme heat can make you feel weak and it is very important for you to stay hydrated. There are many fruits that are beneficial for your health during the summer time. These fruits help you cool down and help your body to stay hydrated and fight against the scorching sun. Like these fruits there are also some healthy and refreshing drinks suggested by the nutritionist at Nutriworks, best diet consultant in Pune, that help you stay cool this summer. Try these recipes suggested as diet tips for summer:

Aam Panna:

This drink is must have in every Maharashtrian’s house. Made with King of fruits raw mango, cumin seeds, jaggery, salt and some water. Aam Panna has a lot of health benefits, like it prevents iron loss from your body, cures digestive disorders, rich in nutrients like vitamins A and B, calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, and iron. Enjoy this delicious drink this summer.

Sugarcane juice:

This sweet delicacy is everyone’s favorite especially in summers. Sugarcane juice is not only full of flavors but has extremely healthy. Sugarcane juice helps your body get instantly energized, it also works for betterment of your skin, it fights cavities in your teeth and gets rid of bad breath. Sugarcane also helps your wounds heal faster. The best part about sugarcane juice is it helps you reduce weight.

Watermelon juice:

Watermelon itself has extreme health benefits and watermelon juice is basically juiced watermelon with a dash of lemon, salt and sugar. It has amazing health benefits like it helps you maintain your blood pressure level, helps in digestion, keeps you hydrated, helps you rejuvenate your skin.

Lemonade:

This very simple juice also known as nimbu paani, this is the simplest drink you can make and enjoy in summer. This simple drink not only hydrating in nature but has health benefits, it helps you control your blood sugar level, has cancer fighting qualities, extremely useful in clearing skin acne.

Buttermilk(Chaas):

Buttermilk has benefits like it helps in digestion, keeps you hydrated, detoxifies your body, rich in calcium, reduces blood pressure, fights constipation is no secret to anybody therefore enjoy buttermilk everyday this summer.

Enjoy these scrumptious and refreshing drinks this summer. For more such diet tips and tips about healthy food contact Nutriworks, best diet consultant in Pune.

5 key Factors to Help You Prevent Night Snacking

Do you find yourself sneaking at night and rummaging through the refrigerator and cabinets for snacks? Do you empty a whole bag of chips while binge watching TV shows at night? Can’t seem to stop snacking at night? Well, you are not alone. A large portion of our population is habitual of night snacking and it eventually affects their health both physically and mentally. Night snacking leads to obesity, high blood pressure, insomnia, stress and the list goes on. It is necessary to curb this habit of night snacking in order to lead a healthy lifestyle. Here are 5 key factors to help you prevent night snacking.

Recognize the cause and triggers

Analyze yourself and ponder upon the reasons why you are having an urge to snack at night. The causes may be physiological or psychological. Physiological causes might be mostly due to low blood sugar that causes you to eat untimely. Or is it due so psychological reasons that are caused due to stress, anxiety, depression and has built up a habit. People often use food as a measure to curb the emotional baggage they are carrying like anger or sadness. This leads to night snacking even when they are not hungry. Night snaking can be caused due to boredom, stress, depression, eating disorders. It is also caused due to lack of sleep where you consider your tiredness for hunger. When you snack at night, your sleep gets disturbed which makes you feel tired throughout the next day and then you binge eat because of that. This creates a loop which might lead into developing an eating disorder and other health related issues such as insomnia, anxiety etc. Hence, monitoring your behavioral patterns and identifying what triggers you to eat at night will help you break the cycle of emotional eating.

Eat at regular intervals throughout the day

When you don’t have the right amount of food and starve yourself throughout the day, you tend feel ravenous hunger at night. This leads you to consume unwanted amount of food and increases your calorie intake. To avoid this you need to eat a proportionate and filling amount of food at regular intervals so that you are satisfied and full by the end of the night. Look into it that you don’t eat too much right before bed as it also disrupts your sleep which in turn has a negative impact on your blood sugars. It reduces the satiety hormones and increases the hunger hormones. Another thing that might help you is scheduling your meals. Eating meals at scheduled time will make you habitual in a while and you will not be starving yourself.

Hydrate and Increase Protein and Fiber intake.

Protein and Fiber can help you feel full faster and for a longer period. Thus, Including protein and fibrous foods will keep you satisfied and full which will prevent you from snacking at night. This also helps in maintaining a healthy intestinal and heart health. Include small amount of nuts and fruits, legumes, whole grains, oats and foods like these. They taste good and feels good at the same time. Along with this hydrate yourself well during the day. If you feel hungry or see yourself reaching for snack, try drinking water and eating a fruit or some nuts and dry fruits. This will help eliminate your mindless snacking.

Avoid buying junk food.

What are the foods or snacks that you tend to reach at night? If your answer is junk food then you should probably avoid purchasing them. It’s not like we stop after eating 3 or 4 chips rather we end up eating the whole bag. Detect your trigger foods and completely avoid buying them .Well as they say “Out of sight is Out of mind”, Isn’t it? Junk food is kind of self-explanatory. It is named junk food for a reason. These foods have high amounts of sodium, MSG’s and other preservatives. They are linked to a number of health problems as well.

Distraction is the key

You usually eat at night out of boredom or out of habit. If you work on keeping yourself busy, you might trick your mind to not think of food all the time. As they say ‘Empty mind is a devils workshop ‘, this saying totally applies here. Distraction does not mean binge watching shows or movies. Doing that makes you crave for more junk food as Movies = Snacks is the equation followed. Instead, you need to keep yourself busy doing household chores, do some artwork which is relaxing, cultivate some good hobbies. Along with this you can start exercising your body by taking brisk walks, meditating. This will help you relieve stress and keep you mind busy. Keep your health in check and aspire to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Despite all this, do you still crave for a snack at night? Let’s be real and say it won’t be easy to mend this habit in a jiffy. Hence, it is okay to snack once in a while. Instead of consuming the junk food you can try to replace the unhealthy food with some nutritional alternatives like Nuts, berries, boiled eggs, raagi or kale baked chips, fruit bowls etc. You can have additional help from a dietician along with this. One of the best dietitian in Pune Dt.Siddhi Takalkar-Deshpande,a registered dietitian and a renowned lifestyle consultant in Pune, can assist you with your queries and problems. You can visit ‘Nutriworks’ for further assistance.

Increase Haemoglobin Naturally

Low haemoglobin called anemia is a most common condition in majority of population especially in females. Recently I volunteered a blood donation camp in which I observed many healthy people who were eager to donate blood were unfit for blood donation just because of a low haemoglobin count. Low haemoglobin levels without any underlying conditions like in pregnancy, liver or kidney diseases, absorptive disorders, thalassemia, cancers, bleeding wounds etc. can be usually due to improper eating habits, low nutritional content of foods, inadequate nutrient intake or improper cooking methods which can lead to deficiency of nutrients like iron, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin C and proteins together responsible for low levels of haemoglobin.

When you have blood haemoglobin levels below 12.5g% it is termed as anemia. Adequate haemoglobin is required for transport of oxygen to your body cells. It also transports carbon-dioxide to lungs to be exhaled. Our body uses dynamic mechanism to maintain its haemoglobin. It tries to maintain normal haemoglobin by using these stores of nutrients like iron. Once the stores are depleted, slowly the haemoglobin levels start decreasing below normal showing various symptoms. Low haemoglobin gives you general fatigue, paleness, weakness, pale skin, shortness of breath, dizziness, cold extremities (hand and feet), tingling sensation in legs, fast or irregular heartbeat, cravings to items that are not foods (mud, clay, chalk etc.), brittle nails, headaches, etc.

Donating blood for a social cause is a good initiative for which we should keep ourselves fit not only from health point of view but also to maintain your haemoglobin count. To maintain haemoglobin throughout the year we need to have a balanced diet rich in various nutrients. Haemoglobin is made up of heme and globin which requires iron, vitamin C, folic acid, vitamin B12 and proteins. To improve your haemoglobin, you need all these nutrients in your diet in correct amount. Iron deficiency anemia is most common and is seen in majority of females than males.

Improve your iron intake by increasing following iron rich foods in your diet:

Non – veg : Meat and fish
Eggs
Pulses and Beans, peas and lentils.
Nuts – Walnuts, Roasted almonds, peanuts
Seeds – Garden cress (Aliv seeds), Pumpkin, Sesame and flax seeds
Whole grains
Most dark green leafy vegetables – Spinach, Shepu, Cauliflower leaves, Broccoli, Rajgeera.
Iron fortified breakfast cereals and breads

Usually the vegetarian varieties contain non-heme iron and require vitamin C rich foods consumed along with iron rich foods for better absorption. These foods include:

Amla and Guava
Sweet lime, orange
Fermented products
Tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, peas
Green leafy vegetables

Diet should contain a considerable amount of good quality protein to improve your hemoglobin levels. They include:

Egg
Lean Chicken
Meat and Fish
Milk and milk products
Pulses
Legumes

If you have a anemia due to folic acid and vitamin b12 deficiency, you need to incorporate following foods in your diet.

Egg yolk
Curd
Spinach
Gingelly seeds
Sorrel (Ambat Chuka), Ladies finger, Cluster beans (Gavar), Tomatoes
Whole Wheat

Some Important Tips to improve your haemoglobin:

Avoid intake of tea and coffee along with meals to improve iron absorption.
Cook at least 1 to 2 dishes in cast iron pan to provide two to three times more iron content than the one cooked in any other pan.
Consume foods rich in vitamin C and iron together to improve absorption of iron.
Soak, Sprout and ferment foods to improve bioavailability of iron. It reduces amount of phytates and improves iron absorption.
Consume minimum of processed foods which lack iron. Consume plenty of natural foods to improve overall intake of nutrients.

Improve your haemoglobin levels… Maintain it all the time…

Take a balanced diet…

Maintain your nutrition and be fit for blood donation…

As one of the few Registered Dietitians in Pune, I feel that everyone should focus on staying healthy, instead of later finding ways to fight off the diseases. I have been working as a diet consultant in Pune and I find that even common illnesses take weeks and months to get better. That’s why, “prevention is better than cure!” If you are looking for a nutritionist in Pune for such preventive diets, Nutriworks is the right place for you.

Improve brainpower of your kids with these diet tips

The kind of stress and competition that our kids face is increasing and getting tougher day after day. It is important that we prepare our kids and make them strong and capable enough to face it.

One way to do that is helping them to focus, concentrate and excel at what they do by boosting their brain power. A proper diet and adequate nutrients are extremely essential in brain health. Here are some tips to make sure that your kids eat healthy-

Include whole grains

Like everything else in our body, the brain requires energy (glucose) to function well. Your child can concentrate and focus better when there is a steady and adequate supply of energy. Whole grains like wheat, brown rice, jowar, bajra, etc. help to release glucose slowly in the body, thereby ensuring a sustained supply.

Don’t forget the Proteins

Proteins are the building blocks of our body. They are essential for the formation of neurotransmitters which send messages across the brain and nervous system. According to research, the healthiest sources of proteins include lean meats, fish, poultry, dairy and plant based sources such as nuts and legumes.

Animal sources of protein are also rich in B complex vitamins such as thiamin, niacin, B6, B12 and folic acid and choline. These vitamins, especially choline has been linked with boosting memory. If you are vegetarian or vegan, look for fortified foods or opt for supplements.

Fats are good

Did you know that almost 70% of our brain is made of fat? It is but natural then that it requires fat for adequate functioning. However, the type and quantity are important. Omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA, are essential components for learning and memory. They are found in fatty fish such as salmon and sardines. Plant sources include flaxseeds, chia seeds, almonds, walnuts, etc.

Saturated fat such as ghee, coconut oil, full fat dairy products are also essential.

However, it is important to remember that trans-fat, hydrogenated fat, found in deep fried, bakery and processed foods are harmful, since they cause oxidation and damage to the cells.

Include fruits and veggies

Most Indian parents complain that their kids don’t like vegetables or they hate eating fruits. However, apart from being high in fibre, this food group contains loads of antioxidants which are beneficial for preventing oxidative stress, thereby preventing fatigue, drowsiness, irritability, etc.

Make interesting recipes and get them interested in what they are eating.

Ensure that they are hydrated well

Dehydration can cause a decrease in brain function by affecting the concentration, causing irritability and a generalised lethargy. Avoid this by making sure that they have enough fluids throughout the day. Water, smoothies, milkshakes, soups will provide adequate hydration. Of course, avoid sugary, packaged, caffeinated beverages, since they do more harm than good.

Make them go out to play

Exercise in any form helps to boost the brain function by releasing substances that boost memory, cognitive function and help to process information effectively. It also increases the heart rate, which pumps more oxygen to the brain.

So let them run, skip, hop, jump, play cricket, football-whatever they wish!

A balanced diet with ample play time and less of screen time is beneficial in improving your child’s cognitive development. ‘Practice what you preach’! Incorporating healthy habits yourself will provide a good example to your children and make the implementation easier. Happy eating!

Siddhi Takalkar is a child nutrition specialist in Pune. She is also the founder of NutriWorks and is a Registered Dietitian in Kothrud, Pune with a Masters in Nutrition and Dietetics. She has a vast experience in advising diets for various age groups. She is the best diet consultant for all your Nutritional needs.