by Dipak Kurmi
(The writer can be contacted at dipakkurmiglpltd@gmail.com.)
TThe Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) would certainly disagree.
with the notion that “the secret to success in life is to eat what you want and let the food fight it inside.” ICMR’s focus is not on the success of life but on promoting health through proper nutrition and protecting against deceptive practices in the food industry, such as the incorrect use of the term “organic.” For a product to be truly “organic,” it must be free of artificial preservatives and made from organically grown ingredients. To ensure authenticity, look for the “Jaivik Bharat” certification logo.
Whenever possible, it is wise to avoid relying on packaged foods. Instead, start with the basics by buying fresh ingredients and preparing nutritious home-cooked meals. This approach not only rejuvenates you, your family and friends, but also helps prevent obesity, laziness and illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and clogged arteries. Opt for steaming over frying and roasting instead of grilling. Combine these healthy eating habits with regular, moderate exercise – yoga is a popular choice around the world – as well as walking, jogging or simply doing household chores. This routine can help you maintain a trim waistline as you approach middle age and slow muscle loss in your senior years.
In an effort to promote nutritional awareness in India, the National Institute of Nutrition, part of the ICMR and located in Hyderabad, has been releasing the “Dietary Guidelines for Indians” (DGI) since 1998. The most recent edition was published later this month, after its significant break from the previous version in 2011. This raises the question: how have India’s health metrics improved during this period?
The encouraging news is that there was a significant reduction in chronic energy deficiency among adults from 2016 to 2021 (with post-2011 data not provided). Specifically, the number of men affected decreased by 31% and the number of women decreased by 19% from the troubled baseline, where approximately one quarter of adults were affected.
The reduction in abdominal obesity is even more encouraging, with 14% fewer men and 11% fewer women compared to previous alarming rates—over half of men and two-thirds of women. This raises the question: why the difference between genders? Perhaps more men visited the ICMR website and followed the 2011 guidelines, which were available for download and desktop storage. However, the current guidelines are only available online and span 148 pages, making them somewhat challenging to navigate.
The ICMR recognizes that cultural habits influence diet. Take the widespread addiction to salt and sugar, for example. Although everyday foods already contain enough sodium (the main component of salt), it is common to add more for flavor. The importance of salt in Indian culture is highlighted by the fact that it was taxed during colonial times, while gold was not. Mahatma Gandhi famously started his civil disobedience movement in 1930 by making salt at Dandi in Gujarat, directly challenging the colonial tax on salt. This cultural affinity with salt continues today. The ICMR highlights the increasing consumption of packaged fast foods, snacks and sugary drinks, which often contain too much salt and sugar, which is harmful to health. While sugar provides energy, so do grains, millets, pulses, nuts, dairy products, meat, eggs, and fish, which naturally provide a lot of energy.
It is essential to maintain a delicate balance between the macrominerals sodium and potassium. Sodium is abundant in grains, pulses, vegetables, and milk, and potassium is abundant in beans, lentils, bananas, and nuts. Minerals, in general, are vital nutrients that nourish the body. Dried fish is the richest source of calcium, with milk products offering half as much, followed by seafood and green leafy vegetables. Iron is highest in dried fish, followed by green leafy vegetables, pulses and nuts. For magnesium, the best sources are nuts, followed by millet, pulses and meat.
56.4 percent of the burden of disease (both mortality and morbidity) results from unhealthy diets and lack of exercise. Maintaining a balanced diet is essential, especially for children. Unfortunately, poor dietary habits established early in life lead to a lifelong burden of disease. An alarming 40 percent of children between the ages of one and four are anaemic, and 14 to 32 percent lack essential micronutrients such as zinc, folate, iron and vitamins. Among children between five and nine years of age, 24 percent are anemic and micronutrient-deficient, a condition that persists in 28 percent of those between 10 and 19 years of age. This shows that early nutritional deficiencies can impose a substantial, permanent impairment of nearly 40 percent of the future workforce. a social cost to the economy and a cause of great personal distress for the people involved.
Like its predecessors, the latest edition of the DGI carefully tailors nutritional guidance to different demographic groups, including infants, children, young adults, women, pregnant and lactating women, men and the elderly. Detailed meal plans are provided for each group, with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. On the cover page itself are eggs and meat, called “meat foods” according to vegetarian terminology. Although vegans abstain from all animal products, including eggs and milk, egg-vegetarians enjoy them. ICMR recommends eating two to three well-balanced meals daily, adjusted for age and body composition, with adequate intervals between meals to facilitate optimal nutrient absorption by the body’s fluids and organs.
The consumption of tea and coffee during meals is discouraged, a suggestion that may be disappointing in cultures where tea is the cornerstone of conviviality and bonding.
Ultimately, the crucial question remains: How many Indians have the means to give a balanced diet?
Is it lack of nutritional knowledge or economic constraints that cause many families to eat unhealthy diets? The Union government allocates Rs 2 trillion for a non-variable, cereal-based free food program for low-income families. Aligning these leaflets with the balanced diet recommendations from the ICMR is a step in the right direction. Alternatively, an even more efficient approach could involve calculating the cost of those meals and transferring the funds directly into the bank accounts of the 110 million beneficiaries.
