mag

THE
ON SUNDAY dna.sunday Mumbai, June 20, 2010 11

perspective Anonymous
We think fast food is equivalent to
pornography, nutritionally speaking.

French fries
French fries have a
very high calorie
count and contain
trans fats, the artery-
clogging fat that rais-
es the amount of bad
cholesterol and the
chances of heart dis-
ease, diabetes, stroke
and cancer. Worse, those
calories and fats contain
1

Calories: 410
Carbohydrate
(CHO) (gms): 25
Protein (gms): 2
THE TEN DEADLIEST
FAST FOOD MEALS
Cheese pizza
A slice of cheese
pizza might give
some proteins and
could stem hunger
pangs, but don’t forget
how unhealthy it is. The
pizza, without the
cheese is itself high on
fat, sodium and calories.
Add on the cheese and
6

Calories: 300
CHO (gms): 38
Protein (gms): 1
2
Eat
thus
very little nutritional Fat (gms): 30 the fat and calories mul-
Fat (gms): 10
value. tiply.
Dr Richa Anand

Flavoured Vada pav Make careful menu selections: Pay

drinks
In Mumbai, these are
always a temptation, 2 item in Mumbai, but
what with the con-
stant humidity. One can
find them everywhere, in
roadside stalls and also
as powders, ready to be
mixed with water. But
flavoured drinks contain
Vada pav may be the
most popular fast food
definitely not the
most healthy. It may
make for a filling meal,
but it comes with a high
calorie count, and lots of
Calories: 200 carbohydrates and fat.
CHO (gms): 25 With a calorie count of
il
Protein (gms): n 280 gms and carbohy-
careful attention to the descriptions of
the items on the menu. Anything labelled
deep-fried, pan-fried, basted, batter-
7 dipped, breaded, creamy, crispy, scal-
loped, Alfredo, au gratin or in cream
sauce means high on calories, fats and
sodium, and thus unhealthy.
Avoid aerated drinks. With the ex-
treme heat, aerated drinks might be a
Calories: 280 great draw but they are a huge source of
CHO (gms): 42 calories. Just a regular cola could pack in
Protein (gms): 3 425 calories. Instead, try unsweetened

a lot of calories, with no
nutritional value.
Doughnut
The good thing about
the doughnut is its
satiety value — its
Eats,
il drates worth 42 gms, it is
Fat (gms): n definitely not a good idea.
Veg chowmein
For people looking
for a quick meal, a
3 plateful of vegetable
iced teas or lemonade, if not fresh fruit
Fat (gms): 10
juices with no additional sweeteners.
“Undress” your food. Dressings and
sauces are generally to be avoided as they
are high on fat and salt. So when you are
ordering, avoid cream and fat packed sal-
ad dressings, spreads, cheese, sour cream
and so on. For instance, when you ask for
8 a grilled chicken sandwich, insist that it
should not have any mayonnaise. Ask for

ability to give you a
sense of well-being and
satisfaction. But it’s
nothing more than
refined sugar and flour,
artificial flavours
and partially hydro-
genated oil loaded with
trans fats.
bloats,
chowmein may seem the ketchup and mustard separately. You
very healthy. But as the can add them yourself, thereby control-
list above shows that is ling the calorie intake.
far from the truth. The
Calories: 385 vegetables are a plus Calories: 295
CHO (gms): 36 point and it does make CHO (gms): 38
0
Protein (gms): 1 Protein (gms): 5
for a filling meal. But
the grease and the white
Fat (gms): 20 flour are big minuses. Fat (gms): 12

Gulab jamun
Gulab jamuns are
equally deadly. They
are loaded with calo-
ries, sugar, and fat,
and possess very little
nutritional value. And
what really compounds
the problem with gulab
4

Calories: 318
& dies
That’s the modern world’s junk food eater.
Chicken burger
The chicken burger
does not rank high
on the list because it
does provide a decent
protein count and also
because it has a high
satiety value. But it is
still a dangerous meal
9

jamuns is that they lack
satiety value. One is
rarely enough, some-
times not even two.
Spring roll
There might be
some positives.
This food item
contains veg-
etables and
there are some pro-
teins too. But then there
is the deep frying and the
large amounts of calories
and fat. Just two pieces of
spring rolls contain 350
gms of calories.
CHO (gms): 40 How hard can it be to eat healthy in because of its high calo-
rie count, and the high
Protein (gms): 2
Fat (gms): 15 today’s world? With temptation lurking in carbohydrate and fat
load.
every corner, very, very hard, finds Lhendup
G Bhutia, who brings you the lowdown on Vada sambar
the Deadliest Top Ten fast food meals First the positives:
5 the dal-vegetable mix
in the sambar is 10
healthy. The vadas
contains dal too. But
there is no getting away
from the oil the vada
Calories: 350 soaks up during deep
CHO (gms): 30 frying. Also, the fat,
calories and carbohy-
Protein (gms): 6 drates don’t make this a
Fat (gms): 20 healthy item.
Calories: 375
Place special orders. Most restau-
rants have healthier options and are hap-
py to accommodate your requests. Many
food items would be healthy if it weren’t
CHO (gms): 40
for the way they were prepared. You can
thus ask for your main dishes to be
7
Protein (gms): 1 served without the sauces. If you are or-
Fat (gms): 15 dering a salad, ask for the vinegar, olive
oil and dressings to be brought separate-
ly and not stirred into the bowl. Then
spoon small amounts of these into your
salad. Items which are fried or cooked in
oil or butter can easily be broiled or
steamed instead.
Order small portions. Avoid any
item with descriptons such as jumbo,
grande, supreme, supersize and so on.
Choose smaller portion sizes and order
for a side salad instead of fries. Most
servings in restaurants are enough for
Calories: 415 two meals. So either divide the portion
with a dining partner or take half of it
CHO (gms): 42 home.
2
Protein (gms): 1 Share. Sharing entrees, appetizers
Fat (gms): 20 and desserts with dining partners is a
great idea. It allows you to sample some-
thing that you really want to have with-
out really overindulging.
Watch the salt. Sodium is a major
contributor to high blood pressure and it

Whole wheat
chicken sandwich
It is a healthy food item
because of its protein con-
tent and high satiety value.
The fibre in the whole wheat
bread adds to the goodness
of the sandwich.
THE GOOD FAST FOOD
Idli sambar
The idli sambar is another
healthy option. The idlis are
steamed, the satiety value is
high and the calorie count is
relatively low. The dal-veg-
etable mix of the sambar
adds to the benefits.
Plain popcorn
Popcorn contains very few
calories and negligible fat.
It also gives a high satiety
value. However, make
sure you refrain from
ordering the cheese or
caramel variety.
Plain lassi
A glassful of plain protein-
laden lassi is very good for
you. It might contain a
little fat, but has a high
satiety value.
Sukha bhel
The sukha bhel is not only
cheap and easily available, it
is also healthy. It doesn’t
contain too many calories
and the vegetables in it are
nourishing. There is also
very little fat.
tends to be high in fast food items. The
least you can do is to avoid adding some
more salt to them.
Avoid buffets. Buffets promote
overeating. You are likely to overindulge
either because it is too much of a tempta-
tion or because you want to get your
money’s worth. If you do land up at a buf-
fet, wait for at least 20 minutes after the
first round to make sure you’re still hun-
gry enough to take a second helping.
Eat mindfully. Always avoid eating
on the run and chew your food thorough-
ly. Stop eating before you feel full because
it take the body time to register the fact
that you have eaten. You also digest bet-
ter with mindful eating.
Remember the big picture. Look at
the total picture of your day’s calorie in-
take before making choices. Have a snack
before going out to dine. An apple or a
soup can take the edge off one’s hunger.
Or if it is your birthday and you want to
celebrate by ordering your favourite
meal, make sure your earlier meals in the
day were extra healthy.
Dr Richa Anand, chief dietician at
Hiranandani Hospital, spoke with
Lhendup G Bhutia

Junking junk food did not come easy to Lhendup G Bhutia. But after two weeks of sticking to a healthy diet he discovered that he actually prefers roti to pizza

M
y first visit to Dr Richa Anand two be a Masala Dosa or a few Samosas, again swallowed my order for a coke before it
The doctor told me that I will

This is
weeks ago felt like a confession. I
told her how I had sinned over the
last seven years, eating almost anything that
caught my fancy, anytime. But she didn’t tell
me ‘all will be well’ or ‘god will forgive’.
She told me instead that I will die of a
heart attack before I reach 40. Her message
sounded even more ominous when I stepped
washed down with a soft drink. Unwinding
after work means a couple of beers, accom-
panied of course by a plateful of French fries.
At about midnight, I sit down for a sumptu-
ous dinner, usually a generous helping of
non-vegetarian biryani.
According to Dr Richa Anand, I consume
at least 3,000 calories a day while an average
die of a heart attack before I
reach 40. Her message sounded
even more ominous when I
stepped outside her cabin and
found myself staring at the OT
reached my lips. That night I dreamt of flying
on a huge KFC fried chicken wing. So the fol-
lowing day, I decided it was best to avoid all
contact with junk food.
But then, as they say “shit happens”. One
day I open the newspaper and out falls the
menu of a popular pizza joint. I succumbed.
The next 30 minutes, as I sat waiting for the

how I
outside her cabin and found myself staring at
the Operation Theatre (OT). I decided then
that I did not ever want to be in there with a
bad heart.
Allow me to describe my sins first. I have
been living away from home for the last sev-
en years, and in those years I have never paid
heed to ‘healthy eating’. Every meal is eaten
Indian male engaged in desk work needs only
about 1,800 calories. So I swept my kitchen
clean of mayonnaise bottles, cold cuts, and
cream biscuits.
I eat small meals through the day at regu-
lar intervals. Breakfast is now muesli or oats
at 10 am, followed by a fruit at noon. Lunch at
2pm is either a bowl of vegetable salad and
chapattis and vegetables. The only SOS al-
lowed at night is a fruit or a cup of milk.
It isn’t easy I admit. Temptations abound.
The neighbourhood vada pav wala, the Mc-
Donald’s near the railway station, my friends
pizza, were probably the most difficult mo-
ments of my life. I was waiting to sin.
Strangely enough, when I bit into the piz-
za, it didn’t taste all that great. I realised that
my mind was playing games with me: I
craved only as long as I thought I was denied.
All I needed to do then was to condition my
thinking. In a few days time, I didn’t even

did it
out and whenever convenient.
At breakfast, I gorge on half a loaf of
white bread, two eggs, biscuits and tea.
Lunch is usually a spicy Chinese takeaway
lunch like a Chicken Schezwan Rice washed
down with soft drinks. Evening snacks could
grilled chicken sandwiches or chapattis, dal,
vegetables and boiled chicken. Snacks at 4
pm are either idli sambhar or dhoklas. I also
don’t hang out with friends over a few beers.
Instead I hang out over soup! Dinner is now
sharp at 10 pm, and it is always light, three
guzzling beer while I drink soup, the pungent
fumes thrown out by the neighbour’s kitchen
exhaust fan — everything seems to conspire
to break my resolve.
The first day went according to plan. The
second day I almost gave in to temptation but
have to do that. I had begun to enjoy my diet!
It is two weeks since I went off junk eating.
Except for that one occasion, I have remained
clean. So what if I my friends take a few shots
at me for not being ‘man’ enough to drink. I
have come to enjoy soup. b_lhendup@dnaindia.net