Realize the Full Potential of Food as a Healer, Says New Book

BY VISHNU MAKHIJANI

NEW DELHI, (IANS)- In spite of becoming more conscious about the importance of eating healthy, most people don’t realize the full potential of food as a healer and often fall prey to half-baked information on social media and other platforms and this needs to be corrected, says functional nutritionist, wellness coach and author Manjari Chandra of her new book, ‘Heal With Foods -Magical Ingredients That Will Change Your Life’ (Rupa).

“Even informed and well-read people don’t know or believe enough about the power of eating right. They might have the concept of food as medicine, but they don’t believe it is possible. So, the concept of healing with food is there but real impact is lacking,” Chandra said.

“At the same time, a lot of these people who are consciously trying to eat healthy become prey to incorrect or half-baked information that is coming from somebody who sometimes has no expertise in functional nutrition. While a perception on healthy eating may be built by Instagram or Facebook influencers, TV commercials, and other digital and print platforms, it is not always the right information. So, the idea of writing this book is to establish credible and research-based information about what is wrong with the food system, and how we can get our facts right,” Chandra added.

To this extent, the book is not about telling you to spend hours preparing some alien dishes that would take hours. It’s just about replacing some unhealthy eating habits and patterns with a few healthy ones.

For instance, “first and foremost, you must change your cooking oil… By removing refined oils and packed stuff from your kitchen, you are eliminating 95 per cent of the sources through which artificial trans fats can enter your body”, Chandra writes.”

And secondly, you need to start taking time out to prepare your food and stop ordering from restaurants as an easy way out. It is because you are inadvertently causing inflammation in the body, which is the root cause of all cardio-metabolic conditions,” she adds.

The book does not include any animal-based food. She says, “the recommendation is guided by the fact that plant-based foods are far cleaner and far more beneficial. At the same time, they have less burden on the earth’s ecological system, create fewer carbon footprints, and are more ethical.” She added, “But the best thing about plant-based foods is that they have far more healing effects than animal-based foods being rich in antioxidants,phytochemicals and plant based enzymes. Animal foods may boast of certain nutrients like proteins, vitamins, and minerals but they have very less therapeutic potential as compared to plant foods.”

“The idea is to keep cooking primarily in our kitchens and at the same time simple and natural like our grandmothers used to do. Remember they knew every spice, every millets and their sources,” Chandra elaborated.