Nutrition and Dietiecs

Healthy eating means consuming the right portions (Quantity) of foods from all food groups to lead a healthy life. We need a wide range of nutrients to lead a healthy and an active life style. The requirement of nutrient keeps changing in different phase of life. For e.g. Infancy would require breastfeed for 6 month followed by good weaning, whereas a preschooler a balanced diet ,more of proteins containing the essential food groups and nutrients - vitamin A, C, calcium, iron and zinc.
A Healthy good diet should be fitting in your nutritional lifestyle and not lifestyle fitting in diet, if later is followed compliance would be only for a short span.

Even when you're eating healthy foods and staying active, it's still possible for you to consume more nutrients than your body needs. Excess nutrients can come from dietary supplements containing high amounts of vitamins and minerals or simply from eating more calories daily than your body uses. If you are eating excess calories than you are able to burn the side effect is overweight or obesity . Obesity is a key to non-communicable diseases like Hypertension. DM , CVD , etc
"Excesses of all nutrients, from water, to iron, to water-soluble B vitamins, can potentially cause toxicities, if you take vitamins and minerals in amounts above the established upper limits of the Recommended Dietary allowances (RDI) may harm tissues where the vitamin is stored in their body. That’s why you shouldn’t take more than the recommended amount.
"Certain water-soluble vitamins in excess can cause problems, such as too much vitamin B6 can cause nerve problems, too much niacin can cause flushing, and excess vitamin C can cause kidney stones.
"Too much vitamin A, D, or K can lead to increased levels that are unhealthy and can cause health consequences, too much vitamin A can lead to birth defects, and too high levels of vitamin E may increase the risk of hemorrhaging. Excess vitamin K can lessen or reverse the effect of blood thinner medicines and prevent normal blood clotting. Excess of vitamin D can increase blood level of calcium and eventually cause calcium deposits in soft tissues.

A minimum intake of 20-35 g of fiber is conducive for long-term good health .WHO Committee on chronic degenerative diseases recommended a daily intake of 30 g dietary fiber. An intake in excess of 60 g of fiber over a day can reduce the absorption of nutrients and may cause irritation in the bowel and also lead to diarrhoea. The intake of 40 g/ 2000 kcal may be rationalized in different groups based on recommended energy intake.

A healthy body has a healthy mind. Not only does a good diet keeps you rejuvenated throughout but also helps in maintaining your body weight. Few simple steps of working towards weight loss can be :
• Eat 5 – 6 Small frequent meals
• Snack Smart (Handful nuts, fruits , Roasted Grams , granola bars, soups, bhel , dhokla, khandvi, idli , boiled egg, Fruit smoothies made with low cal dairy / sugar, sprouts ,etc)
• Remember Funda of 5 (Daily intake 5 fruits and vegetables)
• Pack homemade food, avoid junk and high calorie, high on oil canteen food.
• Moderation in sugar (2tsp / Day) and oil (3 - 4tsp/day) consumption, Use combination of oils
• Use toned or double toned milk and its products
• Never skip meals specially Breakfast and eat early dinner by 8:00 - 8:30pm, Remember the saying eat Breakfast like a king, Lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper
• Maintain the equilibrium: Eating the same number of calories as you would burn to maintain a healthy diet
• Controlling salt/sodium consumption and ensuring that you use iodized salt.
• Drink enough water
A combination of physical activity of atleast a 30 minute walk per day with a moderation in calorie intake would do wonders. Drastic weight loss programs can be rarely sustain.

vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D promotes the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the gastrointestinal tract. A deficiency of vitamin D makes it difficult to maintain proper calcium and phosphorus levels in bones, which can cause rickets.
Other factors that may cause rickets among children are :
• Lack of vitamin D during pregnancy
• Geographical locations: where there is less sunshine
• Premature birth
• Children who are exclusively feed on breast milk, should receive Vitamin D drops

Diet in pregnancy needs to be carefully planned under the supervision of a gynecologist and dietician. What you will eat will ultimately benefit your baby therefore experts’ advice to consume nutritious meals for an overall development of fetus. Typically, you will need to consume an extra 300 calories a day, additional 15gms of protein , 1000mg of calcium , 30mg of iron. Your prenatal diet should primarily consist of:
• Fruits and vegetables
• Lean proteins
• Whole grains
• Dairy products
• Fish
• Coconut water 

Like in pregnancy it is equally important to eat a healthy diet during lactation, nutrition demand during lactation is higher than pregnancy but All mothers are eager to get back into shape post pregnancy. The solution for this is not start dieting immediately but to follow a steady diet which will take care of your metabolism and at the same time provide essential nutrients to your body and help you secrete more breast milk.
To support lactation and maintain maternal reserves, most mothers will need to eat about 500 additional kilocalories every day (an increase of 20 percent to 25 percent over the usual intake before pregnancy). Well-nourished mothers who gain enough weight during pregnancy need less because they can use body fat and other stores accumulated during pregnancy. Lactation also increases the mother’s need for water, so it is important that she drink enough to satisfy her thirst.
A mother who is eager to get back in shape just need to reduce the intake of fats and sugars in her diet, but focus on other nutrients .