The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted various aspects of our lives taking a toll on physical health and mental well-being for many. April 7th, celebrated as World Health Day, is a good time to get back on the health bandwagon. To help you with this, India’s leading nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar has some powerful tips for you. In her audiobook, “Secrets of Good Health with Rujuta Diwekar'' available on Audible, she guides her listeners to follow a path of sustainable and healthy living with simple advice delivered in conversational Hinglish.
1. Kickstart your day with fruit and soaked dry fruits: To stay energized through the day, it is important to start your day right. Rujuta recommends that you begin your day with either a fruit or soaked almonds or soaked raisin with 2 saffron strands for improved health in the long run!
2. Never set a weight loss goal: She stresses that one of the most useless things in life is to set a weight loss goal. Instead one should aim to reduce stress, ignorance and lack of education about health and fitness. Rujuta says body weight is not an indicator of fatness or fitness, it only shows what’s the relationship between Earth’s gravitational force with your body mass! So if we want to be healthy and beautiful it’s necessary to understand that good health has nothing to do with body weight, rather one should commit to healthy habits like exercise, good sleep and eating right!
3. Eat food that’s produced locally: Rujuta suggests that you always opt for local food, which is available close to you; at least within 100 kms and choose food that is ecological and economical. She emphasizes on eating seasonal food; For example during summer - watery fruits including watermelon or grains like ragi, and more. Her war cry? “Traditional food khaiye, cultural food khaiye.”
4. Ghee for a healthy me: Rujuta forever busts the “ghee will make me fat” myth! She says a teaspoon of ghee in every meal including lunch, dinner and breakfast. helps in providing fat-soluble vitamins like Vitamin D, A, E, K to the body! Ghee to dissolve fat? Wow!
5. Keep those gadgets away and reduce your screen time: An ongoing issue, especially during the pandemic, screen time is something that we all need to be mindful of. Rujuta urges listeners to keep mobile phones or any other gadgets away while having a meal.
6. Exercise for good health and mood: Like food, exercise is important too. Rujuta says, “If you have a body, you have to exercise.” As per Rujuta, exercise has four pillars: Strength, Stamina, Stability and Stretching. She further adds “At least 30 min of exercise or 3 hours a week is necessary for everybody.” Always remember to do a warm-up followed by a high-intensity workout and then other exercises and end with a cool down. “No drug is as powerful as exercise”.
7. Eat well and good sleep for full recovery: Rujuta’s mantra for good health is to follow exercise with recovery. A good night’s sleep ensures that your body recovers. Her tips for sound sleep include Eating wholesome food, like a banana, between 4 PM-6 PM, reducing stress, and having dinner by 8 PM for a peaceful sleep. As per Rujuta, rice (local and hand pounded/single polished rice) and anti-inflammatory drinks like turmeric milk (with 2 cashews, a pinch of jaifal and 2-3 kesar strands) are also recommended for a sound sleep