No food is off limits! Intuitive eating is simple with no complicated rules

Mindful eating involves developing an awareness of internal hunger and satiety cues and making conscious food choices

Health News: Diets for weight loss usually involve restriction. The 5:2 diet relies on restricting calories, and the ketogenic diet relies on restricting particular types of food.

Research suggests, however, that restrictive dieting can lead to a higher body mass index (BMI) over time and a greater future likelihood of being overweight. There is also evidence suggesting food restriction can lead to a preoccupation with food, guilt about eating, and higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress. So, if diets don’t always help you lose weight and could contribute to psychological problems, what other solutions are there? Recently, there has been an increasing focus on the concept of “intuitive eating”.

Intuitive eating was popularised by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, who published a book on the subject and developed a website dedicated to the topic. The goal of eating intuitively is to listen to your body and allow it to guide you about when and how much to eat, rather than being influenced by your environment, emotions or the rules prescribed by diets. The concept is similar to mindful eating, and the terms are often used interchangeably.

Mindful eating involves developing an awareness of internal hunger and satiety cues and making conscious food choices. It emphasises the importance of paying attention to the emotional and physical sensations experienced while eating.

Unlike many other diets, intuitive eating encourages you to eat what you want – no food is off limits. While some may expect that this could lead to adherents to the diet eating more high-fat or high-sugar food, research suggests that this is not the case. In fact, advocates of intuitive eating suggest that the more you restrict yourself, the more likely you are to binge later. ..

Poor diet leads to hundreds of deaths in India every year: Lancet study

The study estimates that one in five deaths globally — equivalent to 11 million deaths — are associated with poor diet.

Poor diet leads to hundreds of deaths in India annually, according to a Lancet study which found that globally one in five people die due to the lack of optimal amounts of food and nutrients on their plates. The report, which tracked trends in consumption of 15 dietary factors from 1990 to 2017 in 195 countries, showed that almost every region of the world could benefit from rebalancing their diets.

The study estimates that one in five deaths globally — equivalent to 11 million deaths — are associated with poor diet, and diet contributes to a range of chronic diseases in people around the world. In 2017, more deaths were caused by diets with too low amounts of foods such as whole grains, fruit, nuts and seeds than by diets with high levels of foods like trans fats, sugary drinks, and high levels of red and processed meats.

Low intake of whole grains — below 125 grammes per day — was the leading dietary risk factor for death and disease in India, the US, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Russia, Egypt, Germany, Iran, and Turkey. In Bangladesh, low intake of fruits — below 250 grammes per day — was the leading dietary risk.

In 2017, the countries with the lowest rates of diet-related deaths were Israel, France, Spain, Japan, and Andorra. India ranked 118th with 310 deaths per 100,000 people. The UK ranked 23rd (127 deaths per 100,000), and the US ranked 43rd (171 deaths per 100,000) after Rwanda and Nigeria (41st and 42nd)…

Health Tips : Kitchen is the best hospital, food the best medicine

“Finding a cure is always less lucrative than finding a treatment.” As science and technology grow at an exponential pace, it is pretty obvious that drugs and treatments will remain heavily incentivised.

BS | It is an unfortunate reality that our pharmaceutical companies have been prioritising expensive drugs over cure. At a time when medical expenditure is becoming a major worry and is found to have a significant influence on social security costs, it will be worthwhile to reconsider our approach towards what we “eat”. Instead of paying attention to our diet when we are sick, let’s analyse the power of foods and their impact on our health.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) or lifestyle diseases have been rising at an alarming pace across the globe. Cardiovascular diseases like stroke, heart diseases, respiratory disorders and diabetes account for 80 per cent of these NCDs. Till a few years back, these lifestyle disorders more prevalent in the aging population and affluent societies. However, in low and middle income countries like India, where malnutrition is still not a completely solved problem, there has been a sharp increase in lifestyle disorders. The increase of these disorders among the younger population adds to the complexity.

An unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and excessive consumption of alcohol and tobacco have been observed to be the major contributing factors for most of these diseases. The good news is that 80 per cent of these NCDs can be prevented with slight modifications in lifestyles. There is evidence that adapting healthy dietary changes, physical activity and abstaining from alcohol and tobacco can help achieve the desired results.

Diet plays a major role in adapting a positive lifestyle. A person who is conscious about what goes in his diet could have a better control on overall quality of life. It is important to understand the value of our everyday diet in order to take the best decisions for our own well-being. You are what you eat.

Keep Reading…