Eating too much of a good thing is also bad
Just because nuts and fresh fruits are good for you doesn’t mean you eat a bowlful. Dieticians discuss the science of portion
It’s greed of another kind. But city dieticians are concerned that health conscious Mumbaikars are taking it too far when consuming foods they believe are good for them.”Often, when they learn something is healthy, they consume it in excess,” says Bhakti R Samant, chief dietician at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital.
Just like with tasty carbpacked snacks, healthy eats can also wreck havoc with your body if you don’t keep count. Oats, every weight-loss chaser’s favourite, is a common example. “I’ve also seen patients who ate three bowls of dalia (broken wheat) in one meal. This defeats the purpose of staying fit,” she says.
Portion size, explain experts, is gauged according to the nutrient value and calorie count each individual must meet per day. This is related to your frame, weight and activity level. To plan your meals, lifestyle nutrition consultant Tripti Gupta, offers a simple rule of thumb, “For most cereals and pulses, your source of protein, the recommended intake should be two grams per kg of body weight.Excess can lead to weight gain.”
Underestimate your physical activity and you are likely to run out of energy by the end of the day. Consulting dietician Jyoti Lalwani says, “If you are active, you will burn calories acquired from food. If not, the body will convert it into fats.”
Regardless of whether a packaging insists its content are `low fat’, overindulgence will make you put on weight.
Source: The Times of India
Published: 16 Nov 2014
Category: Features, Health alert
