Sonam Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor have one person in common — Pooja Makhija, who helped them eat right. The clinical nutritionist has given the star actors very sane advice and that is to eat every two hours and eat with thought.
We chat with her about kids’ nutrition, especially for those who are into sports. The Mumbai-based nutritionist also prods adults on eating healthy.
Good habits
Is there any parent around who is not concerned about what their child is eating, how much s/he is eating and how often? It’s natural for parents to be worried, but Pooja says, “Children are much smarter than us. If you explain to them, they understand, whether it is manners or etiquette, language or the art to cycle or swim. It’s all taught to you when you are little because you have the ability to learn. Same goes for food and nutrition. I think there has to be a strong effort to teach children the importance of eating like our ancestors, and eating home food.”
She then goes on to add that parents have to take the efforts to make home food tasty.
In her books, N for Nourish and Eat Delete Junior — Child Nutrition for Zero to Fifteen Years, the nutritionist has explained how to make junk food healthy. “You can’t tell children, ‘Eat dal, roti, subzi for breakfast, lunch and dinner.’ Even we would get tired of it. Instead why not make a burrito? Pack dal, chawal, subzi, add flavours and masalas. You just call it a burrito and the kid will eat it happily. A little innovation and a little attempt on the parents’ part will ensure that the children are eating homecooked food packed a little differently,” she adds.
We next ask her what diet should children, who are representing their school in sports, follow? Makhija makes it clear that this is a generic advice because a proper diet plan depends on the age and the gender of the child. “Generally speaking, their diet has to be very rich in proteins because their bodies undergo a lot of wear and tear. Protein helps in repairing and ensuring agility. Their electrolyte intake has to be maintained to avoid cramps and delayed soreness, which can further affect their next day’s performance. Hydration and water intake will have to be maintained too because lack of it will affect speed,” she points out.
A good balanced diet including minerals like magnesium, zinc is crucial. Of course, once in a while, children deserve treats, she says.
Keep it up
“Every person should be eating every two hours because that’s the best way to maintain stable blood sugar levels. If you eat small frequent meals, automatically you eat right, you eat with thought and you eat healthy. Remember this lesson. And, if you have taken up running or any another sport, go slow,” Makhija says.
“Many people believe that if they have run 3 or 5 km and burned calories, they can eat burgers and pizzas or muffins. That’s incorrect. If you have run for some distance, your body has experienced wear and tear. For it to repair, your body has to get the nutrition and for that you have to eat wholesome, balanced food full of good proteins, vitamins, carbs and minerals. Rest is also important. So, taking care of your body is just like taking care of your car. You can’t replace the petrol in your car with diesel just because it has run for 100-odd km, can you? If the nutrition isn’t proper, then how will your body run? If muscles don’t get their protein, calcium, if you don’t drink enough water, then you will not be able to do a good job of your run. You will feel tired or face a muscle pull,” explains Makhija.
Moving on to food, what are the options for vegetarians? From where can they get their proteins? “If you are eating a good amount of pulses and dals, sprouts and soyabeans, you will be getting your source of proteins. What you can also do is increase the quantity or quality of proteins,” she says.
The nutritionist suggests drying and powdering sprouted pulses. “It becomes like a protein powder which you can add to your chapati or subzis, so as to increase protein intake. There are also locally available pea protein and brown rice protein extracts. You could consume this in case your appetite isn’t so good. Also, good quality protein should be washed down with a good amount of water, otherwise it will increase the uric acid in the body which is not good. Whenever you increase your protein intake, always increase the hydration intake, otherwise the kidneys bear the brunt of it,” adds Makhija.
