Notes for Healthy Kids

by Rujuta Diwekar

Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to overcome it, is the pop version of the same thing.

the expanded and real view of food must include things like crop cycle, soil health, land use, agriculture policies, farmer welfare, local economy, global ecology, climate change, gender equality and much more. This is called the ‘Food system’ view as against the ‘Food group’ view of nutritionism.

Nutritionism tells us to eat nutrients, not food, and nutrition transition makes us feel our local produce is ‘not good enough’ and gives us ‘better alternatives’.

For centuries, men and women ate what grew around them, ate it fresh and in season, and felt grateful for what was on their plate. They believed that food was a resource that must not be wasted or abused. They shared what they had, stored what they could — grains and pulses — and fermented / pickled other perishables for future use.

ghee was and is a fat burner. It leads to better assimilation of vitamin D and all fat-soluble vitamins, is essential to maintain the diversity and number of gut-friendly bacteria, leads to a better blood sugar response, etc.

Banana is the handiest, easiest and fastest-acting medicine for hunger, btw.

Kids who eat ‘boring’ dinners, and eat them early, grow the fastest and stay the strongest.

There are many sources of calcium that kids have absolutely no problems consuming. Til chiki, besan ladoo, ragi kheer or dosa, for example, but the problem is that we have not been trained to see them as sources of calcium. Even a handful of nuts, sundals or usal or misals, idli sambar with drumsticks, etc., are good sources.

Basically, like love, you will find calcium in places where you are not looking. Two big, but unknown, sources of calcium, are: i. Ragi: known to be Hanuman’s favourite food. Hanuman is celebrated for his power and strength, and both come from good bone mineral density, specially the ability to carry heavy stuff. Remember the story of Hanuman carrying the mountain? So one can easily carry or, as is depicted, fly while carrying things heavier than one’s body weight when one is strong in bone mineral density. Chalo, make ragi a weekly habit now — laddoo, dosa, porridge, or just roll it into a roti. ii. Moringa: i am sure you have eaten sambar and found a drumstick in it. Now drumstick ka cool name is moringa, and recently, at a course i studied in Germany, it’s been identified and looked up to as ‘future food’. Future food is about foods that are resilient and will survive climate change and continue to provide taste and nourishment for the ever-increasing population on earth.

The key to calcium absorption and assimilation is activity and exercise. We should be teaching this in school — that daily outdoor playing is what builds strong bones, not calcium. Without sports, outdoor games and activity, it’s impossible for the body to get the stimuli required to build strong bones. So what is critical here is sport and games, not milk.

Unknowingly, we treat kids like consumers, always trying to make them happy, keep them entertained and, worse, seek their approval.

Gond and aliv laddoo, rajgeera chiki, kodra roti, samo chawal, kokum sherbet, amla moramba are just some of the things that quickly come to one’s mind.

Exercise / play/ sports: Promotes the growth of butyrate-producing bacteria (friendly gut bacteria) that is critical for growth, hormones, immunity, etc. Helps improve math scores and language skills (due to positive effects on learning centres in the brain). Teaches the body to absorb and assimilate protein and calcium from food; makes digestion stronger. Builds better neural pathways in the body and neurogenesis in the brain. Builds stronger bones, tendons, ligaments — less chance of breaking anything when they fall. Promotes accelerated recovery from all illnesses and traumas, be it mental or physical. Prevents depression and channelises aggression (critical during the teenage years). Keeps kids off toxic habits — drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. Teaches fair play, team work and respect for rules. Keeps kids younger, innocent and childlike. Teaches kids that losses and wins are impermanent and equips them with the ability to get over themselves.

Instils pride, self-esteem and self-discipline.

Nutritionism along with nutrition transition leads us to believe that the only way to get enough protein is to eat meat, eggs or gulp down shakes.

A restricted diet is the opposite of a healthy diet. A healthy diet is a diverse, local (familiar) diet, rich in its nutrient profile and taste; that way it aids in diversity of gut bacteria too.