FOOD/ NUTRITION SPECIAL............ Perfect chemistry!

Perfect chemistry!

There are a whole lot of foods that contribute to our nutritional intake, each of which are good sources of one nutrient or the other. However, certain foods if combined can boost nutrient content in our body. Here are some of the must have combinations in your diet. Vitamin C and Iron Adding some lime juice to your salad greens or having an orange with your breakfast cereal will increase your body’s ability to break down and absorb iron. This is because of the Vitamin C in the lemon and orange. Our body is designed in a way that it absorbs only 30% or less of the iron we eat. Adding citrus fruits to meals boosts the ability of the body to absorb iron. Having tea or coffee with your meal has the opposite effect. The tannins in tea can bind the iron in your food and throw it out of the body (especially the iron obtained from vegetarian source). Fibre and water We all know that fibre must be included in our diets to help clean out the toxins from our system. But just eating fibre without drinking enough water makes the fibre completely useless. In order to work, fibre has to absorb water and swell and only then can it clear the waste. What happens if your fibre intake is high and you are not drinking at least 1.5 litres of water a day? You will end up with gas, feel bloated and sometimes constipated... the fibre will have a reverse effect. Vitamin D and Calcium You can eat all the calcium supplements you want and include all the calcium-rich foods in your diet, however, if your body is lacking Vitamin D, most of this calcium is wasted as vitamin D is required to deposit calcium in the bones and teeth. Add foods like mushrooms, eggs, fortified milk and fortified cereals that are rich in Vitamin D to your diet. Protein pack Most non-vegetarians believe that they will not get good quality protein from vegetarian food. This is untrue. A combination of cereals and pulses (your standard dal with roti or rice with dal) provide the body with all the protein it requires. Pulses lack amino acid methionine while cereals lack amino acid lysine, both of which are supplied by the other, so a combination of the two supplies you with the amino acids needed to build and repair body tissues. The perfect combination would be a 2:1 proportion — two rotis and a bowlof dal or simply a dosa/idli. If you eat smaller amounts of proteins at regular intervals during the day, it is better absorbed than a large quantity in a single meal. Fat and salad Raw salads do not provide the nutrients of steamed or cooked salads. Steaming carrots actually releases the carotene and makes it available to the body. Similarly adding a little fat to your salad in the form of olive oil or simply sauteéing the vegetables in your salad makes the body absorb fat-soluble Vitamin A better from your yellow and orange coloured vegetables. Eating should not be about calories alone. Watching what you eat is great for health but try to look at the bigger picture and include foods that benefit you. Try out different cooking methods and unusual food combinations which will not only keep things interesting but also keep you fit and strong. Samreedhi Goel DNA120804