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IIM Indore in association with Juggernaut Books organized a Guest Talk by Ms. Rujuta Diwekar, one of the top nutritionist of India and the author of several bestselling books on healthy living and eating, on September 26, 2016. She spoke on the topic ‘Nutrition and Indian Super Foods’.
Mr. Somil Bajpai, Officer, Industry Interface introduced the guest. Ms. Rujuta Diwekar began her talk discussing about what kind of foods are our favorite—yummy, which have therapeutic value and which help lose weight. She discussed about the top three foods of Indore which she considered as ‘Super Foods’, namely, Sabudana Khichdi, Jalebi and Bafla and noted how these delicious foods, which are considered fatty and full of cholesterol are actually very beneficial for the health. ‘If we eat anything tasty, the first thing which comes to our mind is—A moment on lips, always on hips. But Sabudana Khichdi is a food which helps the hungry people fill their stomach and the fat people lose their weight as well, when eaten with beans. It not only has weight losing properties, but it also helps in controlling PCOD, thyroid, etc.’ she said.
Discussing about the favorite breakfast meal of Indore—Poha and Jalebi, Ms. Diwekar mentioned that just like Poha, Jalebi is also a super food, as it is made up of fruit sugar, which in turn has the beneficial properties of sugarcane. ‘While in jaundice, when one’s liver is not able to detoxify, sugarcane juice proves to be very helpful. But we are nowadays very scared of sugar, considering the fact that during festivals we eat a lot of sweets and gain a lot of holiday weight. The truth is, that sugarcane has fructose, which is a healthy sugar and is extremely low on glyceride index, hence doesn’t cause weight gain’, Ms. Diwekar explained. She also said that if you ever get a craving to eat a chocolate, prefer a Jalebi instead. It would be healthy, full of fructose and would not increase weight as compared to a chocolate.
The third super food Ms. Diwekar mentioned was Bafla, Rice and Daal. She said that these three foods when eaten with ‘Ghee’ prove to be the healthiest, as ghee helps in joint lubrication, maintaining facial glow and keeping one’s cholesterol in control as well. She noted that everyone today is suffering from Irritating Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and ghee is the product which can maintain digestion as well. She concluded her talk mentioning that we should rely more on local foods and fruits and clear the misconceptions about nutrition and diet.
The talk was followed by a Q&A session, wherein the audience got an opportunity to interact with Ms. Diwekar personally and learn more about types of healthy foods. The talk was healthy, fruitful and nurturing; which helped the audiences know about the super foods and clear the myths.
About Ms. Rujuta Diwekar
Ms. Diwekar is the winner of the prestigious Nutrition Award from the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, and is sought after as one of the most qualified nutrition professionals in the country. After earning a post-graduate degree in Sports science and Nutrition’ from Mumbai University, she honed her training further through the Sports Dietitian course at the Australian Institute of Sports in Canberra in 2010. Ms. Diwekar is the author of 5 best-selling books on nutrition and exercise. In her latest book, Indian Superfoods, published by Juggernaut Books, Ms. Diwekar combines her training with the inherited wisdom of past generations and says that the secret foods for health, vitality and weight loss lie in our own kitchens and backyards. She has guided celebrities from the likes of Anil Ambani to Kareena Kapoor and has been voted as the ’50 most powerful people in India’ by People magazine.