Don'T Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight

by Rujuta Diwekar

In India, or for Indians anywhere, avoiding carbs need not be high on the agenda. Look at Indian foods: poha, upma, parathas, idlis, dosas, dhokla, rice, dal, roti, sabzi, rajma, chole, etc. Most of our carbohydrates aren’t processed, and they retain their fibre, vitamin B and minerals. Also, if you look at our cooking style, everything gets a tadka or seasoning of 1 to 2 teaspoons of oil with some seeds like mustard, jeera (which add fibre, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids), etc. The addition of a fat like oil or ghee in the tadka lowers the GI. The primary foods that we use in India, our cooking methods and our food combinations all work at reducing glycemic index and increasing fibre content of food. Now if we are also eating the Indian way, that is sitting on a mat, on the floor, using the crosslegged or sukhasan posture, saying our prayers (India is multicultural and religious, and all religions recommend prayer before eating) where we offer our food to God and consume the rest as prasad or God’s blessing, then we will remain super duper lean and fit. So eat high fibre carbohydrates as much as possible and cut the biscuits, cakes, pastries, pizzas and anything that’s low fibre. At the end of this section I have a list of carbs that you shouldn’t worry about, and a list of carbs that you should ideally eliminate or reduce from your diet.