Chapter Notes

Mindful Eating: A Path to a Healthy Body

Food is essential for life, as expressed by the Sanskrit saying 'annena jātāni jīvanti', meaning 'food gives life to living beings'. A healthy person is one who eats wholesome food in moderate quantities, appropriate for the season, time, and place.

What Do We Eat?

Our daily food choices show great variety. While we eat food every day, the specific items we consume can differ significantly from meal to meal and from person to person.

Food in different regions

There is a vast diversity in the types of food traditionally consumed across different states of India. This diversity is closely related to the locally grown crops in each region. India is an agricultural country with varied soil and climate types, which allows for different crops to be cultivated in different regions.

The choice of food in various regions of India is influenced by:

• The cultivation of food crops in that particular region.
• Taste preferences of the local population.
• Cultural practices.
• Traditions.

For example, states like Punjab, Karnataka, and Manipur have distinct traditional food items and beverages based on their local produce.

How have cooking practices changed over time?

Culinary practices, which are the methods and customs of cooking, have undergone significant changes over time. There is a notable difference between traditional and modern culinary approaches.

Historically, cooking often involved using a chulha (a traditional stove). Grinding of ingredients was typically done manually with a sil-batta (a grinding stone). In contrast, modern cooking often uses gas stoves, and electrical grinders are commonly used for ease of grinding.

These changes in food habits and cooking practices are largely driven by factors such as:

• Technological development.
• Improved transportation systems.
• Better communication networks.

What are the Components of Food?

Food provides us with essential components that give us energy, support growth, help repair our bodies, protect us from diseases, and maintain various bodily functions. These essential components are called nutrients. The major nutrients found in our food include carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Besides these, our body also needs dietary fibres and water.

When we miss a meal, we often feel tired and less energetic because our body requires energy from food to function.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are one of the primary sources of energy in our diet. For instance, glucose, a type of carbohydrate, provides instant energy, which is why marathon runners consume glucose water. Common sugar is also a type of carbohydrate.

Sources of carbohydrates include:

• Cereals: wheat, rice, maize
• Vegetables: potato, sweet potato
• Fruits: banana, pineapple, mango

Fats

Fats are another important food component that serves as a source of stored energy in our body. Foods like laddoos, traditionally eaten in winters, contain ingredients such as ghee and flour, which are rich in fats.

Sources of fats can be either from plants or animals:

• Plant sources: nuts (groundnuts, walnuts, coconuts, almonds), seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds), various kinds of oils.
• Animal sources: ghee, butter.

Proteins

Proteins are crucial for the growth and repair of our body, which is why they are called body-building foods. Growing children, especially, need the right amount of protein in their diet for proper growth and development. Sportspersons also require larger quantities of protein to build their muscles.

Sources of protein include both plants and animals:

• Plant sources: pulses, beans, peas, nuts, edible mushrooms.
• Animal sources: milk, paneer, egg, fish, meat.

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals are two groups of food components that are essential for protecting our body from various diseases and keeping us healthy. They are often called protective nutrients. Although required in small amounts, they play vital roles in maintaining bodily functions.

Deficiency of specific vitamins and minerals can lead to various diseases or disorders:

• Vitamin A:

  • Functions: Keeps eyes and skin healthy.
  • Sources: Papaya, carrot, mango, milk.
  • Deficiency disease/disorder: Loss of vision.
  • Symptoms: Poor vision, loss of vision in darkness (night blindness), sometimes complete loss of vision.

• Vitamin $\text{B}_1$:

  • Functions: Keeps heart healthy and supports the body to perform various functions.
  • Sources: Legumes, nuts, whole grains, seeds, milk products.
  • Deficiency disease/disorder: Beriberi.
  • Symptoms: Swelling, tingling or burning sensation in feet and hands, trouble in breathing.

• Vitamin C:

  • Functions: Helps the body to fight diseases.
  • Sources: Amla, guava, green chilli, orange, lemon.
  • Deficiency disease/disorder: Scurvy.
  • Symptoms: Bleeding gums, slow healing of wounds.
  • [!example] Historically, sailors on long voyages suffered from scurvy, which was cured by consuming lemons and oranges, rich in Vitamin C.

• Vitamin D:

  • Functions: Helps the body absorb calcium for bone and teeth health.
  • Sources: Exposure to sunlight, milk, butter, fish, eggs.
  • Deficiency disease/disorder: Rickets.
  • Symptoms: Soft and bent bones.

• Calcium:

  • Functions: Keeps bones and teeth healthy.
  • Sources: Milk/soya milk, curd, cheese, paneer.
  • Deficiency disease/disorder: Bone and tooth decay.
  • Symptoms: Weak bones, tooth decay.

• Iodine:

  • Functions: Helps to perform physical and mental activities.
  • Sources: Seaweed, water chestnut (singhada), iodised salt.
  • Deficiency disease/disorder: Goitre.
  • Symptoms: Swelling at the front of the neck.
  • [!example] In the 1960s, a high prevalence of neck swelling in the Himalayan region and Northern plains of India was linked to iodine deficiency. Supplementing common salt with iodine to create iodised salt significantly reduced these symptoms.

Dietary Fibres (Roughage)

In addition to essential nutrients, our body needs dietary fibres, also known as roughage. While roughage does not provide any nutrients, it is an essential component of our food. Its primary role is to help our body get rid of undigested food and ensure the smooth passage of stools.

Roughage is mainly provided by suitable plant products. Good sources include:

• Green leafy vegetables
• Pulses
• Nuts
• Fruits

Eating locally grown and plant-based food is not only healthy for the body but also beneficial for the environment.

Water

Water is an essential part of our diet. It plays several crucial roles in the body:

• Helps the body absorb nutrients from food.
• Removes waste from the body through sweat and urine.

Drinking sufficient water regularly is vital for maintaining good health.

How to Test Different Components of Food?

Simple tests can be performed to detect the presence of certain nutrients like starch, fat, and protein in food items.

Test for starch

To test for starch, a diluted iodine solution is used.

• Place a small piece of the food item (e.g., potato, rice, bread).
• Add $2$-$3$ drops of diluted iodine solution.
• An observation of a blue-black colour indicates the presence of starch.

Test for fats

To test for fats, the physical property of fat leaving an oily mark is utilized.

• Place a small part of the food item on a piece of paper.
• Wrap the paper around the food and press it.
• If the food item contains water, allow the paper to dry.
• If an oily patch develops on the paper, it indicates the presence of fat. Holding the paper against light will show light faintly shining through this patch.

Test for proteins

Testing for proteins involves a chemical reaction that results in a colour change.

• Prepare a paste or powder of the food item using a pestle and mortar.
• Put about half a teaspoon of the food item into a clean test tube.
• Add $2$-$3$ teaspoons of water and shake well.
• Add two drops of copper sulphate solution.
• Then, add $10$ drops of caustic soda solution.
• Shake well and leave undisturbed for a few minutes.
• A violet colour in the test tube indicates the presence of proteins in the food item.

Balanced Diet

The nutritional requirements of individuals are not uniform; they vary based on several factors:

• Age
• Gender
• Physical activity level
• Health status
• Lifestyle

A balanced diet is defined as a diet that contains all essential nutrients, roughage, and water in the right amounts for the proper growth and development of the body. It is important to ensure one's diet includes all necessary components.

Junk Foods

Some foods are characterized by high calorie content due to high sugar and fat levels, while simultaneously containing very low amounts of proteins, minerals, vitamins, and dietary fibres. These foods are called junk foods. Examples include potato wafers, candy bars, and carbonated drinks.

Frequent consumption of junk foods is detrimental to health, as it can lead to obesity and various other health problems. It is important to remember that 'Health is the Ultimate Wealth,' and maintaining a healthy body through a balanced diet and avoiding junk food is crucial for a happy life.

Millets: Nutrition-rich Cereals

Millets are highly nutritious grains such as jowar, bajra, ragi, and sanwa. These are native crops of India that can be easily cultivated in diverse climatic conditions.

Millets are small-sized grains that have been a long-standing part of the Indian diet. They have gained renewed popularity due to their numerous health benefits. They are excellent sources of:

• Vitamins
• Minerals (like iron and calcium)
• Dietary fibres

Due to their rich nutrient profile, millets are also known as nutri-cereals. They play a significant role in contributing to a balanced diet, which is essential for the normal functioning of our body.

Food Miles: From Farm to Our Plate

Food undergoes several steps and involves many people to travel from a farm to our plate. The entire distance that a food item travels, from its producer (farm) to the consumer, is known as its food miles.

Reducing food miles is important for several reasons:

• It helps to decrease transportation costs and associated pollution.
• It supports local farmers, strengthening local economies.
• It helps keep our food fresh and healthy by reducing travel time.

It is vital to recognize the time and effort put in by farmers and other community members to bring food to our tables. Therefore, food wastage should be avoided, and we should only take as much food as we can consume. Eating local food is a way to reduce food miles and support sustainable practices.