The dilemma in most minds today is, whether to take on the pressure of finding time for fitness routines or to remain stress-free and enjoy every moment of life, which itself is quite unpredictable. Being fit is a matter of maintaining energy balance in the body between the food we consume and use up for our daily activities. Fat is naturally present in our body as a source of concentrated energy, to fall back on as required for work, play or rest. In addition, it insulates our organs from shocks and traumas experienced from time to time, that may occur within or outside the body, protecting it from damage. Food and fitness are thus, both important constituents of good health, one without the other creating imbalances within the body to derail the feeling of wellbeing.
Food
Food is naturally available to us in diverse forms for our growth, development and maintenance consumed raw, cooked or processed. History tells us we are what we eat, the proof of which is in our ancient texts that were followed meticulously in household food preparation and service. All food was prepared by grandmothers, mothers after bath and while reciting prayers, then fed fresh to all with love, care and gratitude. Family members were seated and eating started only after a prayer was offered to convert it into prasaad as it were, followed by thanksgiving after the meal. This ensured discipline and holistic health of all, who consumed it happily with love and blessings.
The priorities in food preparation and service were cleanliness, love, care and gratitude that vibrated in the environment. Eating outside the home was taboo, and home food was carried to schools, work, and even during travel, that was really time consuming and tedious as compared to the speed and comforts offered today.
Eating habits are closely linked to tradition and culture and generally deep rooted, changing only gradually to some extent by environmental influences and awareness. Over the centuries however, these have gradually changed and people now prefer to eat out rather than cook at home. Every residential colony is today, near restaurants and food courts with outlets advertising authentic Indian food. Food has become more global being dependent on convenience and delivery systems, resulting in nutritional imbalances, seen as more illnesses, chronic and rare diseases.
Today, we do not know what we are eating, who has made our food whether with thoughts of profit, jealousy, revenge or illness passed on in packaged forms, instead of the love and blessings that accompanied our food as children, wherever we went. However, food and allied industries are here to stay, food standards following every possible food in packaged form, to attract the viewers through social media. Phenomenal amounts are spent on advertisements and influencers, trusted blindly by consumers both literate and illiterate.
Chefs too, have started advertising themselves and tempting customers by adding appearances to foods rich in ingredients like cheese, cream, butter, cocoa, caffeine, alcohol and more. Smaller portions are dressed in ways that attract the senses, the very cause of overweight and obesity leading to risk factors for chronic and rare diseases. The impact of eating less more frequently while on the go, has shifted the focus from food to comfort and convenience rather than mindful eating. This shift has created the need for dieting and professionals, to monitor illnesses rather than maintain health.
Today, any number of diets are being followed by anxious consumers who wish to become slim, more active and fit, over-performing and healthy, forgetting the capacity of the body to naturally correct imbalances within, and restore itself to health. All diets today advocate reducing sugar, salt, fat or oil consumption while cooking is done by cooks or caregivers even in homes, habitual to cooking and eating in ways suited to their own needs. Let’s consider the three ingredients and their impacts on wellbeing.
Sugar - Grocery stores offer sugar in many forms unrefined or refined as jaggery powder, brown sugar, fruit sugars, white crystals and more, loose or packaged. Even a product like a candy or a throat lozenge has many types of sugars present in them. ‘Ricola’ a Swiss herbal product using 13 herbs shows the nutritional composition that a single 4.2g lozenge contains through its label. It provides 17 kcal, 4.1g carbs of which 3.2g is sugar. Packaged and processed products may similarly have sugars in natural or added forms, that if not taken into account can add excess calories to diets, leading to weight problems and predisposing to illnesses.
Professionals across the board advise not to add sugar to foods but use natural forms through use of fresh or dried fruits and vegetables, like dates, sugarcane, beetroot, sweet potato, honey and so on. Some ‘negative’ effects that refined sugars can have on health have been collated from extensive studies, peer reviewed and published in journals, and presented as follows:
Infants - The brain of babies may get affected in their stage of growth and development leading to a disorder called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affecting behaviour patterns through life.
Adults - may show signs of memory loss, lack of focus or cognition, leading to brain dysfunctions like dementia and Alzheimers. Other organs and functions too get affected at different stages of life such as:
Eyes - trachoma.
Teeth - cavities.
Blood - diabetes.
Sleep - Insomnia.
Skin - wrinkling.
Besides the above effects, consumption of sugar is quite addictive and only helps profits of industries. It is common experience that some people have a ‘sweet tooth’ and finish meals with a dessert or devour snacks on the go. Has anyone stopped at one small square of chocolate, a single scoop of icecream or 1 cup of tea or coffee? The American cup or mug sizes are proof of the addiction to sweet beverages. It is alarming to see that even children don’t take fresh milk or water without addition of sweeteners, flavours or colours. It is thus important to stress that there is no substitute for plain water for maintaining the body’s hydration, and awareness about packaged foods should really be spread like wild fire.
Salt - The importance of salt was highlighted by the fact that, in ancient times it was used as currency, now we know why? Gandhiji’s salt marches are proof of its importance to independence, freedom, sustainability and wellbeing. The salt used in cooking is chemically sodium chloride (NaCl), and being hygroscopic retains water in the body affecting blood pressure and consequently affecting organs and their functions.
There are many forms of salts that constitute the electrolyte balance in and around cells, tissues and organs that help to regulate the flow of fluids across membranes in the body. It is required to have the different salts in the right proportions for normal functioning. Salt is essential for muscle and nerve functions so when sodium levels are reduced those of potassium rise which is good for a healthy person. In cases of diabetes, heart and renal afflictions however, excess potassium levels can lead to hyperkalemia, lowering pulse rate, heart beat and causing muscle weakness.
Medical professionals advise salt to be reduced in diets for patients suffering from high blood pressure or hypertension which if unchecked, can damage other organs like kidneys, that are under strain to eliminate the extra water in circulation. Those suffering from low BP are advised to take normal salt in diets to restore blood flow to the heart and other organs.
It is common practice in ‘emergencies’ to give patients drips of glucose and salts when they arrive with giddiness or in an unconscious state, even before their blood and other fluids are tested. This is because a lot depends on the hydration level of the body and the proportion of its electrolytes as needed for proper functioning. What is important to understand is, that any salt absorbed splits into its ionic forms (Na+ and Cl-) before it can move in or out of cells. Some ions also act as triggers for the formation of enzymes, hormones and other compounds and therefore the balance of negative and positive ions is necessary. Ratios have been established for calcium and phosphorus, sodium and potassium, acids and alkalis and so on. When the balance is altered disease results.
Fat or oil - The choices of fats and oils available in markets today are so many that it leaves the consumer confused. What is important to know is, that fats and oils are all concentrated sources of energy but vary in their fatty acid contents, some considered essential to health others not, since the body can make them. The mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids are usually good fats whereas transfats formed when oils are reheated several times and used or oils hydrogenated to solidify them. The latter can get deposited in arteries or membranes to form harmful blockages to normal blood flow. Consequently diseases get precipitated requiring medical attention and can also prove fatal in some cases.
The food we are consuming today has often been called ‘junk’ food but we simply can’t stop eating or feeding it even in the home, for its convenience as ‘ready to cook’ in minutes or eat as bought. In addition post pandemic, food delivery systems have become the norm and even freshly prepared foods are now ordered through apps post or prepaid, cooked and delivered. Such foods may cause belching, bloating, flatulence leading to general abdominal discomfort, which can be avoided by reducing oily foods, bottled drinks, chewing gums, and addictions of other kinds.
What is Fitness?
One can define fitness as a state of wellbeing of the body, mind and spirit, that makes one feel contented and happy with ourselves and others. A condition that makes us feel refreshed on waking, energised for work, take well-considered decisions, remain emotionally undisturbed in success or failure and spirited. This translates into being relaxed in the face of challenges, being easy rather than busy at all times, while giving a helping hand to those who need it.
In addition to food and diets various other factors are responsible for feeling fit and healthy. While we don’t need professionals to tell us this, it is just that we are not aware of these at all times and so need reminders periodically. Some factors that affect fitness are discussed briefly.
Environment - This includes tradition, culture, region, season, home care, work and so on, which constitute our living environs, all impacting physical and physiological activity patterns with their mental and emotional effects on moods and behaviour.
In India, making eco-conscious choices is very deep rooted through our spiritual and religious history linked inextricably to sustainability and eco-friendliness. To contribute to environmental destruction goes against our dharma or basic tenets of responsibility. Our elders nurtured us to believe in ahimsa or nonviolence; the sanctity of mother nature; compassion and the all pervasiveness of the Divine in creation. Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati in. her discourses briefly sums these beliefs as follows.
Ahimsa - To pollute our rivers air, soil and groundwater depriving future generations of clean water, air and food is ‘violence’. Ahimsa means to support eco-friendly, sustainable green commerce by living simple lives.
Nature as Divine - We refer to water as ‘Jal Devta’, air as ‘Vayu Dev’ and offer the five elements to the Divine in religious rituals or ‘pujas’. Just as we would never offer water from a toilet, or air from an exhaust pipe or food or flowers grown in toxic soil, we cannot offer water from rivers into which sewage, or industrial wastes are dumped.
Compassion - ‘Daya’ is fundamental to our ‘dharma’ or beliefs. Through simple choices about eating and wearing we cause suffering to other creatures, the meat and fashion industries being the largest contributors to environmental pollution and destruction, leading to climate change. To be vegetarian exemplifies compassion.
According to Yale University, plant based diets produce 75% less heat-trapping gas, water pollution and land use than meat diets. As Paulo Coelho has said …the planet is, was and always will be stronger than us.
The Himalayan Nettle grows wild, its greens being used locally in vegetable and tea preparation, known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. Other local berries and vegetables too contribute to immunity and overall health in every region of the country.
It is heartening to know that universities and institutions in India are now taking sustainable, saleable and wearable fashion to the world by researching and developing textiles and apparel using plant sources. The focus is on processing right from making yarn from the tough fibres in the plant to spinning it into fabrics and then creating apparel using hemp, flowers and textile wastes. This sustains the environment, every part of the plant being used, while reducing pollution of fast dwindling natural resources. The following case study will prove the point.
The Department of Fashion Design, Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun, has been training design students to become conscious, creators, practitioners and propagators of sustainable fashion. A project involving the use of the Himalayan Stinging Nettle fibre to create fine yarn offering antimicrobial properties, hand spun into all-season fashion garments was showcased recently. Apparel displayed were suited to executive, casual and street wear. The yarns were dyed using natural pigments and fabrics woven mixed with organic cotton and bamboo. Sanjanaa Jon, celebrated international designer in interview on FM has amply applauded the decadal efforts of the institution and proposed to showcase chosen items at the International Innovator’s Award in California, USA due in October, 2024.
The project already enjoys 13 Govt of India and UK design patents inspired by the states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Research projects have been acknowledged internationally in various fora in New York, Kuala Lumpur and Gautemala. (Courtesy: Dr. Jyoti Chhabra, Professor and Head, Department of Fashion Design of the University). Having written the case, I wondered how and why my thoughts had drifted to fashion from ‘Food and Fitness’ and then realised that the case makes us aware of the inborn creativity in us, which when manifested using tools available lead to satisfaction, contentment and joy. These result in emotional and mental fitness and health leaving little room for anxiety, stress and other afflictions that affect quality of life. What we wear increases self esteem and confidence, making us shine in ways unprecedented, while fitting into national schemes of cleanliness, sustainability, natural resource conservation, and more.
Exercise - Coming back to physical fitness, movement or activity of the body’s various parts, helps to maintain energy balance needed for the body and its processes to function normally. This happens partly automatically and partly in response to body signals, which too, get regulated with practice to maintain it at all levels. Standards for sedentary, moderate and heavy activity have been laid down as guidelines for all age groups in every country . The NIN/ICMR have revised these in India post pandemic, which brought all activity under scrutiny with work from home (WFH) routines.
Sedentary - Examples of workers in this group are barber, tailor, teacher, shoemaker, executives, computer operator spending approximately 30 kcals per kg Ideal Body Weight (IBW).
Moderate - Activities include fishing, handicraft work, masonry, carpentry, driving, studying, attendants or other requiring 35 kcals per IBW.
Heavy - This includes work of stone cutting, blacksmith, athletes and competitive sports, requiring a normal energy expenditure of 40 kcals per IBW.
Energy costs of some physical activities have been presented by the authors in a booklet “Obesity” compiled for the Voluntary Health Association of India, as part of their Healthwise Series translated into regional languages. (Mohini Sethi, Puja Kapur. VHAI Press. 2003. New Delhi).
Strength training is important to maintain bone density as well as muscle mass, which normally reduces by 8-16% from the age of 40-60 years. With ageing, balanced workouts allowing adequate rest periods for recovery are required to prevent injuries. (Vaibhav Doga. Head of Sports Science and Rehabilitation at a Mumbai Hospital).
It is however important to recover from muscle inflammation after a workout by:
Cooling down - It is essential to allow the body to cool down by 5-10 minutes of walking or gentle stretching. This gradually reduces the heart rate and prevents blood from collecting in the muscles.
Hydrating - This is essential for muscle recovery to replace fluids lost during workouts or active sporting activities since, dehydration can increase inflammation and soreness.
Eating - Consume a balanced meal or snack containing carbohydrate, protein and healthy fats within 2 hours after a workout. This helps to replenish glycogen stores, build muscle mass and provide antioxidants that reduce inflammation.
Stretching - Performing gentle stretches to relax and lengthen muscle fibres, holding each stretch for 15-30 seconds and repeating each a few times maintains posture.
Foam rolling - Roll gently over sore areas with controlled pressure avoid joints and bones. This helps to release muscle tension and reduce soreness.
Resting - This is important to recover completely, allowing at least 48 hours before another stressful session involving the same muscle groups. Over straining can lead to prolonged muscle inflammation and injuries.
Regular exercise helps in weight management, reducing the risk of ailments and fostering mental, emotional and social wellbeing, by alleviating stress and improving sleep. (Dr.P. Venkata Krishnan, Senior Consultant at a Gurgaon hospital.)
Today, France has declared a ‘sleep crisis’ due to tech exposure, that has prompted Sweden to say ‘No screens for toddlers’. In fact, the country’s Public Health Agency has offered guidelines for implementation for different age groups as:
2-5 years - limit exposure to 1hour a day.
6-12 years - 1-2 hours daily
13-18 years - 2-3 hours everyday.
At present, this amounts to 6-1/2 hours outside of school where screens or computers are used for teaching and learning. This does not leave time for social work, physical activities or adequate sleep. More than 50% of 15-year olds were reported suffering from inadequate sleep, consequently affecting their focus and performance in class.
Weight management
Both dietary and exercise management are means to maintaining ideal body weight for age and height as per average standards laid down. When it deviates on either side of the pendulum it causes a state of malnutrition, seen as under or over-nutrition. Managing body weight within normal limits is therefore crucial for preventing risk factors indicating imbalances, if not corrected early leaves one in a state of oscillating health.
Weight Management is an effort to regulate body weight and bring it within the recommended levels for height, age and activity factors. When energy intake through food consumption equals its output, the body is said to be in energy balance with no weight change. But, when the body gets into a state of positive energy balance, the unused calories get converted into fat and stored in adipose cells, leading to weight gain. This also takes place when intake remains constant but energy expenditure is reduced through inactivity. If weight gain is excessive, the condition is termed as obesity, derived from the Latin obesitis, which means ‘to overeat’.
Over weight - There is a fine line between being normal and overweight, therefore averages do not apply in all cases, as used to set standards. Some subjective and objective signs usually signal the latter, that tend to alter the shape of the body. Objective methods of assessment involve using scales to weigh oneself or simple anthropometric measures used on a regular basis, adjusting diets and exercise routines to maintain weight. Some physical signs of overweight are:
Pot belly - This is usually seen in males over 30 years of age occurring when one is eating more calories than required, that convert into fat and get deposited in the abdominal area, giving the body an apple shape. This is a subjective sign of weight increase, and must be nipped in the bud as soon as noticed.
Pear shaped body - This occurs with deposition of fat around the hips, common in women.
In the case of children measurements using a simple tape for mid upper-arm circumference, waist circumference, waist hip ratio, weight for height, skin-fold thickness etc have been standardised for reference. (NIN-ICMR).
Every country has laid down norms in terms of energy consumption and activity requirements as per stage of growth, physiology and environmental factors. Indians are genetically predisposed to developing visceral obesity seen as abdominal obesity or fat accumulation in and around the liver, kidneys and heart. If a person is only slightly overweight they may have more fat deposited in and around their vital organs than under the skin, compared to some western countries. This highlights the link between fatty liver, heart disease and blockages. (Dr. Manish Bansal, director, Clinical and Preventive Cardiology, Cardiac Care, Medanta Hospital Gurgaon.)
Traditionally, heart attacks were associated with older age groups, now seen in the 30s and 40s, a phenomenal rise among young active adults, pollution being one of the reasons. (Dr. Niranjan Hiremath, Apollo Aortic Program, 2024).
Causes - Many causes for overweight have been established such as :
Reduced physical activity - This has become a present day malaise particularly post pandemic, due to sedentary lifestyles brought about by comfort, convenience and plenty.
High stress levels - These have increased due to over-thinking, excessive desires, high expectations, competition, climate changes leading to natural and man-made disasters.
Genetic predisposition - Apart from wealth or poverty, we inherit the genes that translate into our habits and behaviours that affect the body, in terms of health and wellbeing.
Unhealthy dietary habits - These run in families where children are not nurtured with love and care by working parents, circumstances, disasters, accidents and left to take on habits inculcated by caretakers in their formative years.
Lifestyle behaviours - The first five years of life determine a person’s behaviour patterns throughout life, since children learn best by imitating what they see, hear, feel and so on even before they learn to speak, walk or talk.
Any or all these, if not corrected can become addictive with time, leading to chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart and other afflictions. Non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) is unrelated to alcohol intake, often linked to poor diet, over weight and metabolic syndromes. It is a silent killer its symptoms often remaining unnoticed, occurring only in advanced to serious stages. They can be seen through tests for elevated cholesterol levels and insulin resistance that are the key contributors to plaque build-up in the arteries eventually leading to heart attacks. Fatty liver causes metabolic derangements creating an internal environment susceptible to heart attacks at any age.
Today, we are seeing young highly active hard working people, irrespective of origin, economic status, in urban or rural settings, falling prey to chronic and rare diseases for which there are no easy cures. Recent NNMB reports reveal that urban environments are more prone to diseases than rural due to over crowding, lesser green spaces, road development, traffic, other infrastructures and so on. The gap is however closing in, as rural populations migrate to urban areas for work and travel, leading to the epidemic proportions to which diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart afflictions and others are reaching.
It is sad to see so many people living at 50% of their full health potential, as they are not really sick but not well either, in spite of access to knowledge of nutrition and professionals in every field. One needs to understand that the same foods that help to rebuild damaged tissues can also enhance wellness, by increasing the energy levels of glands, organs, tissues, nerves, joints and blood vessels.
Preventing risks of chronicity - Risks can be prevented by a disciplined routine that adopts :
A healthy diet - Centuries ago, Hippocrates was the first physician to influence healthcare from a nutritional angle, relevant even today though largely forgotten. He used observation, analysis and practical methods like diet and lifestyle changes to promote healing following a commitment to ethics in the physician-patient relationship.
Moderate exercise of at least 30 minutes a day. Children particularly, need to spend at least one hour in active outdoor sports preferably in the sun. Walking, running or step climbing allow bio-mechanical forces to act on joints and uplift health, by allowing the nutrients consumed, to to be absorbed and used efficiently to maintain health.
Adequate sleep - Sleep regularity is a must for regenerating the functionality of the body and maintaining it in proper rhythm. Standards have been laid down although sleep patterns vary for each individual. The best guidelines have been set for us through the saying early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy and wise. In general, 6-8 hours of sound sleep at night are recommended daily, to allow best use of foods consumed to re-energise, build and repair the body and its immunity. It is the best time for utilising nutrients ingested as they are assimilated efficiently, particularly calcium so that teeth, bones, muscles, heart and nerves function optimally.
Avoidance of addictive behaviour - Behaviours that interfere with the health of our gut and other organs can damage health slowly and unknowingly. Some are aggression in any form, right from the thought level such as negative feelings or emotions, eating junk foods unmindfully like oily food, carbonated beverages, chewing gums, highly processed foods, smoking, alcohol that are addictive and impact social, mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health.
Cleanliness - Drives initiated by the government in the form of ‘Swachh Bharat’ are being put in place to avoid infection, pollution, insanitary conditions in educational institutions as preventive measures against infections.
Through FSSAI’s and UGC’s ‘Eat Right Campus’ initiative, canteens are now being monitored for certification on the basis of standards for hygiene, sanitation, waste disposal and nutritious food practices. FSSAI have been reaching out to students through social media to avoid eating junk foods where offered, and make healthier choices while eating out.
Regular health checkups - These have today become routine, for medics to be able to detect illnesses through tests of various kinds using latest technology.
With so much information available it is left to each one of us to decide our health needs, keeping in mind the degree to which we wish to learn from science, technology or nature. In our journey through life, the goal should be to live through challenges and embrace opportunities as they present themselves. As John de Pavlo has said: Slowdown and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you. Remember that change and uncertainty are the only constants on our journey of life, and happiness a by-product which we are all seeking.