DECCAN HERALD

Saturday 15 May 2010

IF IT IS RAW, IT IS SURE TO ROCK.

Sumana Bharadwaj

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Most methods of cooking destroy most

nutrients and live enzymes in food. Sumana Bharadwaj offers tips on
smart eating

FIBRE-RICH Seasonal and local fruits and vegetables, nuts

and sprouts provide all the nutrients that one requires in the
right proportions.
Whatsoever was the father of a disease, a faulty diet
was the mother. — Chinese proverb.

True, food can make or break you. When such is

the significance of your daily diet, it becomes
equally important to understand what good food
is. What is good food? Simple question. But there
are no simple answers, right?

This is where nutritionist and founder of The

Health Awareness Centre at Mumbai, Dr Vijaya
Venkat’s ‘criteria for food selection’ can help, by

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offering a clear idea of how to choose the right
foods. It is not a prescription for a diet. There is
no need to count calories or convert your kitchen
into a lab, measuring food or breaking it down
into its constituents.

Eating is a simple and pleasurable activity, and

we don’t need to change that. The criteria for
food selection provides information and leaves
the choice to us. It helps us differentiate between
eating for taste and eating for health. Dr
Venkat’s principles are based on natural laws
governing the body. She says we should respect
the body’s intelligence to maintain homeostasis.
All we need to do is understand how the body
works, respect its intelligence, listen to its
feedback and eat accordingly. According to the
criteria for food selection, for any substance to
be classified as food, it should contain a broad
range of nutrients in an utilisable form, it should
be digested quickly and efficiently, it should not
burden our body with toxins, it must be capable
of producing mental clarity, and it should not
pollute the earth.

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Once we learn how to classify food according to
these criteria, we learn the answers to questions
like when to eat, how much to eat and how to
eat.

- Eat species-specific foods.

Humans are programmed to eat fruits,

vegetables, nuts and sprouts. Fruits can be
digested in 20-30 minutes, they leave no toxic
residue, they provide instant energy without
going down the insulin receptor pathway and are
perfect cleansers for the body.

-Eat according to the circadian rhythm of the

body.

The human body works on a 24-hour cycle of

elimination, tissue-building and repair. The first
eight-hour cycle is the elimination period for the
body (as is evidenced by the kind of enzymes
produced in the body during this period). So, eat
foods that aid the body in the cleansing

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processes. Fruits are the best cleansers. The next
eight-hour cycle is the body/ tissue building
cycle. So, eat foods that help tissue-building.
Raw vegetables, sprouts and nuts are the body-
builders. The third cycle is the repair cycle,
when the digestive system needs a rest. So, what
do you do during this period? Do not eat, rest
instead. Resting is equally important for
complete wellness.

-Eat foods that are easily digestible.

Raw foods like (local and seasonal) fruits and

vegetables, nuts and sprouts are the best
examples of ‘live foods’ and are the only foods
that can be best absorbed by the body. They
provide all the nutrients needed by the body in
the right proportions and in the form that can be
easily assimilated. They can be consumed in the
form of salads and juices. If switching to raw
foods right away is hard, at least use cooking
methods like steaming, which will help to retain
nutrients. Any method of cooking where the
temperature rises to above 113 degrees destroys

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most nutrients and live enzymes in the food.

-Eat foods that leave an alkaline residue.

All foods — post-digestion — leave a residue

called metabolic ash. This ash has to be alkaline
for the body can get rid of it easily. An acidic
residue is harder for the body to eliminate. The
body draws on its mineral stores to get rid of the
acidic residues. All fruits and raw vegetables
and sprouts leave an alkaline residue, while
meat, dairy products, oils, grains and cereals
leave an acidic residue. Blood ph is 7.365, which
is slightly alkaline and maintaining this
alkalinity is the secret to a disease-free body.
Illness strikes when the blood pH turns acidic
with the consumption of wrong foods.

- Eat food in the right combination to aid easy

digestion.

Fruits, both fresh and dry, are to be eaten by

themselves and on an empty stomach since they
require very little digestion time. Combining

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fruits with cooked meals or vegetables makes
the fruit stay in the stomach longer and ferment,
causing acidity. Nuts and vegetables can be
combined. Eat a single grain in a meal since
combining grains is very taxing on the digestive
system.

Say no to...

-Avoid any food that comes with a label. nAvoid

refined and processed foods and foods with any
kind of chemical additives.

-Mineral supplements are to be avoided since the

body absorbs nutrients only in the organic form
— fruits, nuts, vegetables and sprouts.

-Consumption of table salt, white sugar and oil

has to be minimised or even better, completely
avoided. Instead use healthier alternatives such
as rock salt and black salt, and natural
sweeteners like honey and jaggery. Cold-
pressed oil is better than commercially available
oil.

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