Some good information about Diet and Health

So many people have numerous doubts and misconceptions regarding diet. I will clarify few of the common ones here. General diet composition should be Carbs 45-65% Proteins 10-35% Fats 20-35% +1. Sugar+ Excessive consumption of sugar can have several harmful effects , one major being obesity, which itself is a significant risk factor for many diseases including cancer, heart diseases, etc. But there is no direct relation of sugar with cancer. More imp is to keep total added sugar consumption less than 10% of the total calories (1gm carbs = 4 cal) ,i.e., 25-30 gms of added sugar per day per person. This DOES NOT includes sugar from fruits and other natural food sources. Daily limit can be lesser for those having Diabetes or any other relevant medical condition. +2. Refined Sugar+ Another common doubt is about Refined sugar. Refined sugar, jaggery, gur, honey, etc – all provide almost same amount of calories. The difference is that refined sugar doesn’t has any other nutrients at all, but things like jaggery & honey have some minerals and vitamins but they are in very minimal quantities and not significant enough. So if you consume jiggery more than 25-30 gms /day, it will be equally harmful and if you consume in limits, you don’t get much extra nutrients. I am sharing a link for nutrients in 100 gms of jaggery and you can see what you get in 25 gms of jaggery. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-det... +3. Fats+ Fats are very important for our body. Removing fats from diet will harm your body. Keep consumption of saturated fats to less than 10% of total calories (1gm fats = 9 cal.). Total calories from fats should be within 20-35%. It is advisable to keep changing cooking oils regularly. Limit the use of refined oils. Ghee can be used but again limiting the quantity is most important. +4. Milk+ Milk is good food item which has almost everything except Vitamin C. Anyone can have milk if not lactose intolerant / allergic to milk. But milk is generally over- hyped. No other animal drink milk of another animal except humans and they all live well, in fact, better than humans. You can definitely have milk if you like & it suits you. It is a good source of proteins, calcium, Vitamin D and many other nutrients. +5. Cereals+ Wheat is NOT bad unless you have gluten allergy. It is always best to have whole grains. Avoid/ limit consumption of refined flour (maida). Wheat and rice are good sources of proteins and various other nutrients. Chana can be added to wheat for making bread/ roti /chapattis for added benefits. In winters, millets like bajra, ragi , etc can be used. Again keep using different varieties of the cereals and millets. +6. Immunity+ Lots of things are sold in the name of immunity boosting but there is no evidence. There are many spices, most importantly Turmeric/haldi which have proven some good results in immunity and many other ways and more studies are being done. But one thing that will surely help in improving immunity is a good overall lifestyle, which includes balanced healthy diet, regular exercises and reducing stress. +7. Salt+ Salt intake should be less than 5 gms per day which is about 1 tsp. +8. Veg/Non veg+ Vegetarian diet does not prevent cancer as such but a good healthy balanced diet containing varieties of fruits and vegetables and antioxidants , and limiting/avoiding foods with high glycemic index help in reducing risk of many cancers. Also, as per many studies, eating processed meat or red meat is associated with increase in cancer risk, particularly colorectal cancer. +9. Variety of fruits and vegetables+ including the green vegetables are rich sources of various vitamins and minerals. The coloured ones including greens are full of antioxidants. Greens specially have high iron content too. It’s very important to have* mix of variety* and preferably eat the seasonal fruits & vegetables. All these are general guidelines and +may need some modifications if you have any specific condition or allergy or intolerance+. P.S. - Always consult your doctor before making any significant changes in your diet, particularly if undergoing any treatment.