By Indian
standards, I am a pure meat eater. But my portions are smaller than most of the
Western world. I read and write a lot about food and this has got me into researching
about Vegetarianism. The Academy of Nutrition and
Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada
have stated that at all stages of life, a properly planned vegetarian diet is
"healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provides health benefits in the
prevention and treatment of certain diseases". Large-scale studies have shown that mortality from ischemic heart disease is significantly lower among vegetarians, 30% men and 20% among women than in non-vegetarians. Vegetarian diets offer lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol and animal protein, and higher levels of carbohydrates, fibre, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals.
31% of Indians are vegetarians, while another 9% consumes eggs. Even the ones who do consume meat, do so very infrequently sometimes for cultural and mostly for economical reasons. When I see so many Indians and even vegetarians die of heart attacks it makes me wonder, what we are doing wrong. By 2030, India will have the largest number of diabetics in the world. I have been one for the last 20 years and it scares me.
This may seem like a rather controversial topic. But, it being so close to my heart, I could not avoid researching and sharing my views. The Western world is talking about avoiding processed food. Avoid GM foods. Avoid processed flour and eat whole grains. Avoid carbonated drinks and fast foods. Eat organic as pesticide use in their world is very high. Eat home-made meals, cooked from scratch using fresh ingredients. Eat freshly cooked foods. Wait a minute, aren’t we Indians already doing that?? For generations we have been eating home cooked meals, by our mother and grandmothers, freshly cooked before meal time, comprising of whole grain roti(bread), no GM allowed in India, most ingredients locally bought, no sodas or fast foods and lower use of pesticides. Of course, there has been a lot of westernization and some of the bad habits have influenced us. But, that will take a while to show effect on our new generation. But, we need to look at our parents and our generation too who have not been brought up on chips and coke.
31% of Indians are vegetarians, while another 9% consumes eggs. Even the ones who do consume meat, do so very infrequently sometimes for cultural and mostly for economical reasons. When I see so many Indians and even vegetarians die of heart attacks it makes me wonder, what we are doing wrong. By 2030, India will have the largest number of diabetics in the world. I have been one for the last 20 years and it scares me.
This may seem like a rather controversial topic. But, it being so close to my heart, I could not avoid researching and sharing my views. The Western world is talking about avoiding processed food. Avoid GM foods. Avoid processed flour and eat whole grains. Avoid carbonated drinks and fast foods. Eat organic as pesticide use in their world is very high. Eat home-made meals, cooked from scratch using fresh ingredients. Eat freshly cooked foods. Wait a minute, aren’t we Indians already doing that?? For generations we have been eating home cooked meals, by our mother and grandmothers, freshly cooked before meal time, comprising of whole grain roti(bread), no GM allowed in India, most ingredients locally bought, no sodas or fast foods and lower use of pesticides. Of course, there has been a lot of westernization and some of the bad habits have influenced us. But, that will take a while to show effect on our new generation. But, we need to look at our parents and our generation too who have not been brought up on chips and coke.
The problem here is
the high consumption of carbohydrates. The main staple of the Indian diet is carbohydrates
(roti and rice). We eat the vegetables along with the roti and not the other
way round. In other cuisines the starch is only a side dish. Indian meal has a large
serving of rice and along with it is the veggie made with a whole lot of spices
meant to be eaten in a smaller portion. Sometimes there is dal and pickle. A
spoonful of pickle replaces a bowl of the vegetable you could have eaten.
Dal and beans have protein but carbs too and they are eaten in small portions
too. Traditionally an average meal would be 3 rotis, 1c rice, bean/dal, veggie, yogurt, pickle, salt, added sugar, ghee etc.
7” roti = 23 gms carbs. 3 rotis = 70gms.
1 cup of rice = 44 gms of carbs.
½ cup of beans or thick dal = 15 gms
Non starchy veggies = 0 gms,
Starchy Veggies = 15/20 gms,
½ cup of yogurt = 8gms
One meal counts to approximately 147 -150 gms.
An average recommended carbohydrate is: Women : 45-60 grams of carbohydrate per meal (3-4 carb choices/meal) Men: 60-75 grams per meal (4 to 5 carb choices/meal). This varies with activity, total protein and calorie intake. There are good carbs and bad carbs but, the bottom line is that you need to control your carbohydrate intake and also choose good, fibre rich carbs. What we need to watch is that even beans, pulses, carrots, peas etc. have carbs. They are the fibre and protein rich carbohydrates and are a better choice than the refined flours. Nevertheless, they need to be counted.
Why talk only about carbs? Carbs are not the only culprit but they are the main one. Yes! Excessive carbs are converted into cholesterol and triglycerides, they increase your LDL cholesterol and therefore translate into heart disease and diabetes too. In my next article I will discuss the details of this claim and suggest the food choices keeping in mind nutrition for vegetarian diet.
7” roti = 23 gms carbs. 3 rotis = 70gms.
1 cup of rice = 44 gms of carbs.
½ cup of beans or thick dal = 15 gms
Non starchy veggies = 0 gms,
Starchy Veggies = 15/20 gms,
½ cup of yogurt = 8gms
One meal counts to approximately 147 -150 gms.
An average recommended carbohydrate is: Women : 45-60 grams of carbohydrate per meal (3-4 carb choices/meal) Men: 60-75 grams per meal (4 to 5 carb choices/meal). This varies with activity, total protein and calorie intake. There are good carbs and bad carbs but, the bottom line is that you need to control your carbohydrate intake and also choose good, fibre rich carbs. What we need to watch is that even beans, pulses, carrots, peas etc. have carbs. They are the fibre and protein rich carbohydrates and are a better choice than the refined flours. Nevertheless, they need to be counted.
Why talk only about carbs? Carbs are not the only culprit but they are the main one. Yes! Excessive carbs are converted into cholesterol and triglycerides, they increase your LDL cholesterol and therefore translate into heart disease and diabetes too. In my next article I will discuss the details of this claim and suggest the food choices keeping in mind nutrition for vegetarian diet.
Sonal, your articles are getting more and more researched and that makes reading fun. Food is an extremely controversial topic and I hope you will welcome the discussion from your readers :)
ReplyDeleteOf course Shweta, feel free to express your opinions.
DeleteInteresting perspective but what is the practical answer? First, can you cite actual research showing carb consumption leads to these problems? Next if it is true: the cost of carbs is FAR lower than the cost of fresh veggies. Sacks of dried beans and rice cost far less per calorie and they can be stored for long periods. Fighting the economics of food, from what I've seen, is a generally losing battle.
ReplyDeleteThe Economics of eating healthy vegetarian meals is a whole different topic for a blog. This article is solely from the perspective of Indian food habits as they are heavy on carbs. Read my latest article about what you should eat for a balanced vegetarian meal: http://sonalfood.blogspot.in/2014/03/balanced-vegetarin-diet.html. One of the research about the link between Carbs and Cholesterol is here:http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/news/20100802/low-carb-diets-improve-cholesterol-long-term
ReplyDeleteInteresting point of view by Dave. I agree with him that fighting the economics is a losing battle and history in India shows just that. In fact the whole human race converted from hunter food gatherers to farmers once easier/mass food production (farming) was invented. For someone keen, a very good perspective is provided by Jared Diamond in his book "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" on how and why the transition occurred. Hunters were natural eaters of food suggested by Sonal I guess, but as hunting became more difficult with depleting resources, convenience and economics took over. I am sure the poor in India probably would never even think of the above topic, and its more applicable and relevant for the well-to-dos, who are a minority in India.
ReplyDeleteGood references Samit. I agree that a minority in India has the luxury of selecting healthy options. But vegetarian food is cheaper as compared to meats, in India. This may not be true in some western countries.
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