Dietary Gyan

Yusuf Rassiwala introduces his
niece, Sakina Hashmi

There are dieticians and there are dieticians. Their sole objective in life, it would seem, is to make your life miserable. They’d try to force-feed you with the most yucky, unpalatable and revolting food imaginable and then ask you to pay.
Today we met an exception in the person of Yusuf Rassiwala’s niece, Sakina Hashmi.
“You may eat what you please, but in moderation,” she exhorted. “Food is one of the most personal things in life with which we are emotionally connected. It is unfair for anybody to interfere with it. But do exercise balance. Don’t overdo anything.”
Another nugget of wisdom from the sprightly 25-year-old: “There are no quick-fix solutions for weight loss. You’d have taken say, 20 years to be of a certain weight and if someone promises to wipe it all off in 10 days, how is it possible? Yes, you might lose extra kilos on a crash diet, but it cannot be permanent. Besides, it can be counter-productive.”
Sakina, who holds a Master's degree in human nutrition from McGill University, Canada is in Mumbai on a short vacation from Bhopal. On her first visit to the Garden today,

Sakina's interaction with Club members today

she was naturally inhibited in front of so many elders. Yusuf R assured us she is a natural jokester, but that did not help. All it took to break down her shyness was a pointed question on whether eggs were good for health or not. Thereafter, she was on a flow, brimming with confidence and conviction. Here are some priceless takeaways from our half-our tete-a-tete with the charming young lady this morning:
(a) Health is 80% diet-reliant. Workouts, etc. can help, but only up to 20%.
(b) Soak vegetables and fruits in salt water overnight to reduce pesticide contamination.
(c) Peel soaked almonds for effective results. Better still, mix with walnut, flaxseed, etc.
(d) Don’t go by western dietary fads. Our lifestyle is different from theirs.
(e) Milk is good and so is curd/ yoghurt – unless you are lactose intolerant.
(f) Chicken/ fowl is better than red meat but limit it to once a week.
(g) Times are changing. We are getting increasingly inactive. And stress can be a killer.
We have requested Sakina to formally address the Club in a seminar on Saturday, April 20 in the China Hut. Let’s hope it works out.

Bihari Milwani:
The best dietary gyan is Big Laaf. Sakina should highlight this.

Karun Sharma:
Sakina was excellent in taking questions. In addition to compiling vital points in the blog, the Saturday seminar could be an extremely useful session.