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PROPER DIET & LIFESTYLE IS NEEDED FOR HEALTHY LIFE

Food Habits for Office Workers

  • You have Sedentary Office jobs which means for eight or more hours a day you are very little physically active.
  • No more time to eat healthy home-made foods and get 8 hours of sleep.
  • During evening junk foods & dinner and weight gain is inevitable and after that we are spending lots of money to the gym, too sleepy in the morning, too busy in the day & have no energy left during the night.

So, it is therefore not surprising that office workers tend to have a variety of dietary problems due to poor eating habits.

Role of Diets

Food is the basic necessity of every individual. It is a fuel to run a healthy body and when you eat well you perform better. Everyone should eat a healthy balanced diet.

Why is Nutrition important?

Good Nutrition is important for both Mental & Physical Health

What are the key factors of Nutrition?

  • Healthy food choices
  • Adequate Fuelling
  • Hydration

What is the best Diet?

A well-balanced diet which includes –

  • Carbohydrates -55-60%,
  • Proteins – 15- 20% and
  • Fats– 20 to 25%.
  • Along with Vitamins, Minerals & Fibres

What are Carbohydrates rich foods?

A high carbohydrate diet of minimum 275 – 350 gms/day which includes foods like

  • Pasta,
  • Bread,
  • Crackers,
  • Fruits,
  • Vegetables,
  • Baked Potato,
  • Peas,
  • Banana,
  • Beans,
  • Low Fat Milk.
  • Yogurt,
  • Juices and
  • Sprouts.

What are high protein foods?

Sources of High Protein Foods:

  • Lean meats,
  • Dairy Products,
  • Nuts,
  • Beans,
  • Cheese,
  • Fish and
  • Egg whites,
  • Tofu,
  • Panner,
  • Spinach Etc.

Vitamins and Minerals:

  • Calcium rich diet is needed to build strong bones.

Calcium rich food–

  • Milks,
    • Dark Green Vegetables,
    • Dried legumes.
  • Iron deficiency leads to weakness so iron rich foods like:
    • lean meats,
    • eggs,
    • legumes,
    • whole grains,
    • leafy veggies are the good choices.
  • Vitamin C increases the body’s ability to absorb iron so vitamin C rich foods like citrus fruits like guava, amla and oranges etc are beneficial.

Hydration:

We should aim to drink at least 8-10 Glasses of water every day i.e approx. 2.5 Lt/d.

Tips of Healthy Diet

  • Eat Variety of foods from all food group like Whole grains, legumes & Pulses, Fruits & Veggies, Milk & Products and fats and oils.
  • Eat small and frequent meals instead of one large meals
  • Eat natural Foods. Avoid excess Salt and Sugar
  • Healthier fat choices are nuts, seeds, olive oils, canola oils, fish and avocadoes and low fat dairy.
  • Limit Saturated fats to less than 10% of total calories and avoid trans fats.
  • High Quality Complex Carbohydrates means Whole grains
  • Lean Proteins means lean fish & Chicken
  • Include Plenty Of Fruits and Vegetables
  • Plenty of Fluids like coconut water, Butter milk, Sattu Water,  Soups, shikanji, Milk etc
  • Avoid deep frying
  • Reduce stress level
  • Avoid alcohol (Not more than twice a week)
  • Say no to Smoking
  • Avoid excess Tea & Coffee switch to green tea or Black or Herbal Tea
  • Include milk & Products like curd, Yogurt etc
  • Avoid Sweets and snacks, cakes, pastries

Avoid Fad Diets

  • Human beings love quick fixes and eternally seeking a magic potion to lose weight. Fad diets which are either lacking in one or more micronutrients or food groups and are so low in energy that make you feel weak. And most importantly once you stop eating these diet you will regain all the weight you lost.
  • Diet pills are expensive & cause harmful side effects like insomnia, diarrhoea, dehydration, palpitations, anxiety and depressions.

BONUS

  • Be Active- Combine low fat, high fibre diet with regular exercise to achieve the best results.
  • Never Skip Breakfast as people who eat breakfast perform better at work, et less tired during long working day.

FOODS TO AVOID FOR DIABETIC PATIENT:

  • Soft Drinks, Cakes & Chocolates
  • Red- Meat, Organ Meats, EggYolk
  • Butter, Desi Ghee, Margarine, Dalda
  • Whole Milk & Products Like Paneer, Khoya
  • Sweets, Jellies, Jams, Jaggery, Honey, Sugar
  • Icecream, Pastries, Puddings
  • Pickles, Chips, Chutneys, Sauces
  • Fruit Juices, Soft Drinks, Cold Drinks
  • All Fried Foods Like Puri, Parantha, Fries
  • White Flour & Products
  • Fast, Junk Foods & Spicy Foods
  • Preserved & Canned Foods & Juices
  • Excess quantity of Dry Fruits
  • Fruits- Mangoes, Pineapple, Lithchi, Grapes
  • Wood Apple, Custard Apple, Chikoo,
  • Bananas, Peaches, Raisins, Dates etc
  • Veg- Potato, Yam, Colocasia, Sweet Potato,Beet Root
  • Extra Salt & Salty Foods
  • Excess Tea, Coffee
  • Alcohol & Smoking

Foods that Diabetic patient should eat?

  • Whole Grain Cereals Like Brown Rice, Oats, Brown Bread
  • Steamed or Lightly Cooked Green Veggies  Like Beans, Broccoli, Capsicum, Carrots, Tomatoes & Leafy Vegetables
  • Fruits- (100 Gm)- Apple, Pears, Papayas, Gauva, Jamun, Watermelon, Orange, Mousami
  • Salads with Olive Oil Dressing
  • Low Fat Yogurt, Butter Milk
  • Lean Fish, Chicken, Egg Whites
  • Soyabean, Legumes, Sprouts
  • Green/Black/ Ginger Tea
  • Light Stews, Soups Without Cornflour & Butter
  • Walnuts & Almonds (Few)
  • Chia & Flax Seeds
  • Tender Coconut Water, Sattu Pani
  • Garlic, Turmeric, Cinnamon, Tulsi, Methi etc

Dietary Instruction for RENAL Patient

FOOD TO BE AVOIDED BY RENAL PATIENTS:

  • High Potassium containing food,
  • List of high K⁺ containing vegetables which need to avoid:
  • All Leafy vegetables except Mint Leaves                      
  • Amla   
  • Arbi,
  • Potato                                                     
  • Sweet Potato,
  • Brinjal
  • Kathal,
  • Sem
  • Pani Phal,
  • Tomato
  • Fruit Juices,
  • Vegetable soup,
  • Chicken soup,
  • Coconut water.
  • Beverages like Coffee, Tea, Carbonated drinks etc 
  • All Citrus fruits such as Orange, Sweet Lime etc.

HEALTHY DIET FOR RENAL PATIENTS:

  • CEREALS: All cereals including Rice flakes, Barley, Semolina (Sooji), Sabudana etc.
  • FRUITS: Apple, Guava, Papaya, Pineapple,  Pears, Black berry (Jamun) (Thrice in a week)
  • VEG.: – Bitter gourd, Raw Papaya, Radish, Cauliflower, Parwal, Jhinga, Nenua, Bottle gourd etc.
  • PULSES:  Arhar and Moong Dal
  • METHOD OF COOKING (Leaching Process)
  • High Potassium containing food need to be leach before cooking:  
  • For Leafy vegetables: Cut the vegetables into small pieces, soaked them in warm water for half an hour, discard away the water then again wash with cold water and then cook the vegetables.
  • Same process of leaching will be for Pulses but need to cook without salt. After cooking removes extra water and then add salt as per taste.
  • High Phosphorous containing food:
  • Extra milk and milk products.
  • All dry fruits especially almond.
  • Spices: Coriander powder, Cumin seeds, Fenugreek seeds, Poppy seeds in limited amount.
  • Coriander Leaves, Carrot, Paniphal
  • Red meat, egg yolk, chicken soup
  • Carbonated drinks
  • Preservative containing food such as jam jelly, sauces etc
  • Ready to eat foods or instant food. 
  • Jaggery
  • High Protein containing food:
  • Peas, Beans, Rajma, Chana, soyabean, Sattu, Besan etc
  • Extra salt and Baking Powder

By

Dt. Saroj Srivastava
Consultant Dietitian
Orchid Medical Centre, Ranchi

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