How healthy is Indian food? - Times of India (2024)

With delectable flavours and fragrant spices, Indian cuisine is certainly popular around the world. In addition to its wide variety of rich flavours, a traditional Indian diet also boasts of a wide variety of nutrients in a balanced quantity.
We love our dal-chawal, roti-subzi, idli-sambhar, macch-bhaat. Not only is Indian fooddiverse but also changes every 10 kilometres.

Enriched with different varieties of dals, subzis, rotis,rice and an infinite category of fruits, Indian cuisine is colourful in every aspect.
According to our ancient Indian science, Ayurveda, Indian food is complete and enough for our bodies. The dependence on foreign foods is not required as our legumes, beans, grains, fruits and vegetables provide us with ample amount of fiber, fat, carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins and minerals.
Despite the fact that we are predominantly a vegetarian nation, our foods are sufficient enough to make us nutritionally efficient. Even though we may be obsessed with our rice and roti, our traditional Indian diet composes of healthy ingredients. However, on the flip side, obesity and diabetes still continue to be a significant public health concern for India. The country is considered to be the Diabetes capital of the world and we are seeing people report problems such as heart diseases, weight gain, high cholesterol levels over the years. PCOS, PCOD, infertility are on the rise too. A detailed study done by the medical journal, The Lancet mentioned that Indians tend to consume more of carbohydrates, sugar, less of protein and plant protein than what is recommended for a sample adult population base, despite having access to diversified dietary sources.

The burden of diseases and the health risks it brings forward to makes one certainly question- is our Indian diet really that healthy as compared to the Western ones?
So, what really hurts our nutrient quotient, our grandmother’s recipes or new modern living techniques? Let us find:
The staple Indian diet consists of roti, rice, dal, chutney, pickle, beans and legumes along with meat or chicken or fish. These can vary from region to region with addition of several other components, but listing them here will be an impossible task.

Let’s look at the nutrient quotient of some of these everyday food items we consume:
- Roti: 85 calories per roti with a 6'' diameter. Fat content - 0.5gms.
- Dal (urad) with tadka: 154 calories per 150gms. Fat content - 6gms
- Rajma/chana/lobhia: 153 calories per 150gms. Fat content - 5gms
- Average mixed vegetable: 142 calories per 150gms. Fat content - 15gms (based on oil usage)
- Average chicken curry: 300 calories per 100gms. Fat content - 15 to 35gms (based on oil and types of cut - skinless, lean etc)
- Plain dosa: 125 calories per medium dosa. Fat content - 3gms
- Idlis: 132 calorier for two. Fat content: 3gms
- Curd rice: 190 calories per 100gms. Fat content: 7gms
- Coconut rice: 368 calories per 100gms. Fat content: 15gms
By now, it is clear enough that an average day’s diet is mostly balanced with proper amount of carbs, fats, fiber and proteins. Curd, beans, lentils, chicken, fish or meat not only provide essential amino acids, but are also good sources of healthy fats and is low in calories. Therefore, it is safe to say that a typical Indian meal comprises of good carbs, healthy natural protein and resistant starch which is beneficial in weight loss.
While we know how healthy Indian food is, where we often go wrong with is our over-indulgence in fried Indian snacks. These are usually consumed after 6 pm and result in bulging tummies and high fat percentages. This is the first step towards all kinds of lifestyle issues like diabetes, thyroid, obesity, pcod etc.
Some basic tweaks in your everyday diet can help you keep problems at bay.
1.Controlling your portion size: Every extra roti on your plate adds an extra 80-90 calories. Similarly, an additional serving of rice adds 100 calories.
2.Refrain from fried food: Since we often hog on fried snacks, opting for boiled, steamed, pressure-cooked, sautéed or broiled food. The method of cooking really helps preserve the nutrient quotient of food.
3.Reducing salt intake: As Indians, we tend to eat dinner post 8 pm. Sodium retains water in the body and hence leads to you feeling groggy in the morning. Since our salt consumption is high through the day, start reducing your intake by half teaspoon.
4.Cutting back on artificial sugar: Sticking to natural sugars like honey, cinnamon, fruit sugar is a better idea if you want to keep your body measures in check.
5.Spices: Indian cuisine is rich in whole spices. Let your food be cooked with whole spices like kadi patta, cardamom and cinnamon. Rather than using more fat to flavour your food, use spices.
6.Relying on grains: Don’t only limit yourself to atta rotis, you can try different varieties like bajra, jowar, makki, or dry dals to make delicious rotis.
7. Make use of desi superfoods: Do not let the staples fool you. Some of the best traditional spices- such as turmeric and black pepper are now gaining popularity in the west for their multiple health benefits and rightfully so. Make sure you include these superfoods in abundance. Turmeric and black pepper, consumed together are said to boost your immunity, increase absorption, keep the mind and body healthy.