By South Asia is the home of healing foods and spices; it is where turmeric, ginger, cinnamon and ghee are used in abundance. It’s also where all the major religions of the region promote spiritually uplifting practices like fasting and gratitude, and unanimously agree that gluttony is akin to sin.
After being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease which is the result of our highly processed foods and sedentary way of life, holistic health coach – Zeeshan Shah – took stock of her own diet and lifestyle and quickly realized that this was how many people in South Asia lived. Although our generation is becoming more health conscious, there are a few things we can still be more mindful of. Scroll down to read the 6 things Zeeshan thinks we should do to lead a healthier life:
Our Food Has Got More Processed Over Time
Our food has evolved with time, just as it has for most other cuisines. Unfortunately, this means it is more processed and refined. For example, we use vegetable and other highly processed oils in place of immune boosting, omega 3 rich ghee. These oils undergo chemical processing and cause inflammation in the body – inflammation is the root cause of chronic diseases such as, but not limited to, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and even autoimmune diseases.
We also tend to use a lot of boxed spices that have often been put through radiation to get rid of bacteria. However. this tends to strip the healing spices of their nutrients. Conventionally processed spices also tend to have preservatives, fillers and food colouring.
What We Can Do
Go back to using ghee and butter. Contrary to popular belief, ghee isn’t the bad guy it’s been portrayed as. I also like to use avocado oil because of its high smoke point, since a lot of our cooking involves high heat stir frying – but make sure to use oil sparingly.
When it comes to spices, use organic and non-irradiated spices to reap the benefits. Most of them like turmeric, ginger and cinnamon are anti-inflammatory and medicinal in nature.
Portion Control
There is no concept of portion control in our homes or social gatherings. We eat way more than our fill and pile our plates with food, only to have it go to waste once we are through. You see this happen often at weddings and other events. You may be familiar with the phrase “pait bhar gaya magar neeyat nahin bhari”
What We Can Do:
Listen to your body. Chew your food rather than wolf it down. When I was younger, I remember my nana (maternal grandfather) telling me to chew each mouthful at least 35 times before I swallowed it. It seemed pretty impossible to do at the time, but now that I am older, I see the wisdom in his words. It takes the brain 20 minutes to register satiation, so this in turn prevents overeating.
Sage advice: 1/3 for food, 1/3 for water and 1/3 for air
Eat More Vegetables
Now I won’t advocate going vegetarian or vegan because there is no evidence to show that meat eaters are any less healthy than vegans or vegetarians. The problem arises when we eat only meat and that too at every meal every day of the week! In most Pakistani homes, vegetables barely make an appearance and meat is centre stage. Most dishes that have vegetables, have meat in it too.
What We Can Do
In my home, I decided to implement Meatless Mondays. I didn’t give much of a choice to my family and slowly and steadily they stopped complaining. They do love their meat, but we can now go many meals without it
Be mindful of where you get your meat from too. Try to eat grass fed, pasture raised, organic meats. This may raise your grocery bill but the payoff is better health in the long run, plus it might mean you will then tend to eat less of it and focus more on vegetables.
Make a big salad at each meal and eat more fruits and vegetables in general. Try to think of meat is a condiment.
Get Consistent Physical Activity
I’ve had many clients tell me it’s tough for them to workout because they don’t have the time. The benefits of exercise are so many that one just can’t discount its importance. Unfortunately South Asian women tend to be more sedentary than their Western counterparts. Far too many women in my close circle have fallen victim to chronic illnesses lately for me to ignore this very important tool. There are so many lessons to be learnt from our parent’s generation where not enough stress was put on regular physical activity.
What We Can Do
Start by taking baby steps in the right direction and you will see yourself gain momentum over time. Find something you love. Make it fun and grab a friend to do it with. We aren’t all runners or yogi’s, so choose an activity that makes you happy and do it consistently, but you can always switch it up to keep it interesting. The idea is to move that body regularly.
Make Sleep a Priority
Sleep is the key to health and wellness? Did you know that children need anywhere from 9 to 10 hours of sleep, and adults at least 7? The benefits of getting that shuteye are more than we can imagine. When we sleep, our bodies emit hormones that repair our cells.
“Sleep affects almost every tissue in our bodies,” says Dr. Michael Twery, a sleep expert at NIH. “It affects growth and stress hormones, our immune system, appetite, breathing, blood pressure and cardiovascular health.”
We, in the South asian community, don’t place enough importance on sleep, but adequate and timely sleep is extremely important.
What We Can Do
If you are a night owl and want to get to bed earlier, focus on winding down 30 minutes earlier than usual. Do this every few nights till you have your desired bed time down. Some things to try to help you sleep are turning off your devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime, do some meditating and breathing exercises, and settle in with a good book.
Try Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is not a new concept by any means. Fasting is practiced in some form by all major world religions such as in Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, Jainism, and Hinduism.
Fasting may be linked to some amazing health benefits such as but not limited to, reversal of Type 2 diabetes, reduction in inflammation and lower risk in coronary heart disease.
What We Can Do
Fasting is commonly done as a religious duty but also try and make it a part of your routine. This can be done by fasting the traditional fast twice a week or intermittent fasting where you choose the window in which to eat.
Zeeshan Shah is a Holistic Health Coach and a passionate advocate of healthy living. She is the owner of Eat.Drink.Pure LLC. She empowers and educates people to eat cleaner so that they can live healthier, happier lives. She suffered from Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and reversed it successfully through food and lifestyle tweaks and wants to help others to take charge of their own health. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube at @eatdrinkpure. Learn more about her programs and personalised coaching on her website www.eatdrinkpure.com
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