By : Komal Thakur (B.Pharm, Diploma in Naturopathy, Specialist in Clinical Dietetics)

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Your food BFFs

How careful are we while choosing the people we get close to? I would say that we all are extremely mindful of whom we allow in our life, right? You are a product of five of the closest people, your company reflects on your personality very evidently. If you want to be successful, choose to interact with people who constantly push you to aim higher. If you want to be a kind human, befriend a humanitarian. If you want to be good in music, well listen to great musicians and learn from them. If you want to achieve your fitness goals, befriend a health enthusiast who will constantly remind you of your goals and also help you strive to work harder. If we pay so much attention to who we include in our lives, can you fathom the extent of attention we should pay to the things we decide to consume and impact our health?

Do we pay so much attention to what we eat, or do we just let the taste buds decide what enters our body? You become what you eat. Each word of this short sentence is true. You are a product of what you decide to consume, obviously. Health is as simple as that. You want to be lean, eat lean food. You want to gain weight, consume the fats. You want to gain more muscle, well consume more protein. Plain and simple, however we take our health for granted and not focus on getting the right nutrition from what we consume. Let’s simply talk today about simple foods. How can you add certain foods in your life and enrich your health? No big words, no big promises, but let’s talk about simple foods that deliver what they claim to. The foods that should become your BFFs right away.

Lemon

: Simplest form of vitamin C and anti-oxidants. There are loads of expensive vitamin C supplements available in the market which don’t deliver half of what a single lemon can give you. It’s great for the immune system, it prevents asthma, antioxidants prevent cancer, it also helps in iron absorption. What else can you get from a small fruit like Lemon. The best way to consume it by squeezing it into a glass of water when you wake up and drinking it first thing in the morning.

Banana

- Widely available and most inexpensive fruit. Take my word, banana is a super food. One banana a day can keep your potassium deficiency at bay. Banana provides you with instant boost of energy any time you consume it. Banana is great for your gut health. Contrary to popular belief it also aids in weight loss. Banana has these happy calories that are good for your health. Banana also helps in reviving your mood, making you positive and happy.

Ginger

: This has to be my most favorite kitchen ingredient. It’s a powerhouse on its own. What can ginger not do?! It’s a miraculous root. It’s anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-bacterial; all in one kind of deal. Its best for your gut health, it calms your nerves, it eases your pain, especially muscle pain and also period pain, it also lowers blood sugar. It is excellent in management of arthritis. It immediately relieves you of sore throat and cold and flu. Don’t make it work so hard!

Green tea

: No need to go fancy here, just plain regular green tea should do the job. I don’t even need to state the advantages, there are plenty of them all over the internet. I want to bust the myths however, it will not help you reduce any weight so let that not be your expectation out of it. It certainly boosts your metabolism and it’s a proven anti-oxidant. Best time to drink it is before bedtime, just before going to sleep.

Curd

: Regular Indian homemade curd over Greek curd any day. It’s certainly a superfood, it takes care of your gut health like it’s nobody’s business. It has good amounts of calcium, super high in protein, good carbohydrates and healthy fat. It’s full of good bacteria that will take your digestive system to the next level. It’s so versatile that you can add it to almost anything. You can add it to your meal prep, you can eat it with your flat breaks and rice, you can make dips out of it, you can make smoothies and shakes and now even frozen yogurt. Where does it stop?

GRD protein powder

: Hell no, this is not to promote this but it’s tried and tested. If you have to include a multi-purpose, multi-functional supplement that will take care of all your daily protein and nutrient requirement, look no further. What’s best is that it comes in sugar free variants. I can just consume it without giving a second thought. It takes care of my health inside out. It helps my skin and my hair stay healthy, which is a difficult task to achieve with any other product. It’s a must have in your daily list of BFFs food category.

Water

: Last but not the least the most important thing to consume is water. Your body is 70% water so you can figure this out yourself. Water clears your system from the inside. It gets rid of all the toxins present in your body, helps maintain the gut, keeps you constantly energetic, makes your skin clear, keeps you full and hydrated, I can go on and on but I don’t need to. Make sure that you consume at least 2 liters every day, consciously.  If you cannot reach 2 liters you can start with one and see how you feel and am sure you will be automatically motivated to drink enough water. What benefits you best is drinking 2 glasses of lukewarm water once you wake up and also drinking a glass of water before going to bed. You should avoid drinking water immediately before and after meals, there should be at least a 15 minute gap. Please don’t drink water with your meal, it should be listed as a crime already. You end up harming your digestion.

Well that reminds me to drink water right away!