Month: November 2022

In a perfect world, people wouldn’t need to take dietary supplements.  The common dietary supplements in our well-balanced meals give our bodies all the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients they need. On our nightstands or dinner tables, we all have bottles of dietary supplements. A healthy lifestyle that includes eating well and getting enough exercise is now the norm. People try to stay healthy by doing things they’ve heard are good for them.

What are Dietary Supplements?

When the body is lacking in a certain nutrient, it might take a dietary supplement to make up for it. These are the vitamins, multivitamins, and calcium pills. Some of these could also be iron, amino acids, or even plants. Dietary supplements usually come in the form of a pill, a tablet, a powder, or a liquid. One can consume it before or after the meal.

Nutritional supplements come in a wide range of doses and mixes. However, our bodies only need a certain amount of each nutrient to work, and it’s not always true that more is better. Some medicines can have bad side effects or become dangerous if you take too much of them. Legally marketed dietary supplements must carry a suggested daily quantity and a warning not to exceed it. This is to protect the health of customers.

Statistics on the Use of Nutritional Supplements

The market may grow because people are learning more about disorder management diets. Their purchasing power is going up, and lifestyle diseases like obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, malnutrition, etc. are becoming more common. Due to the fact that mineral dietary supplements and vitamins include micronutrients, water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins that help the body run correctly and promote mental health, combination dietary supplements had the largest market share.

The worldwide market for vitamins and minerals is estimated to reach $20.7 billion by 2021. The market in India is thought to be worth $178 million. From 2021 to 2025, the Indian vitamins, minerals, and supplements (VMS) market is expected to grow at a 4.48% annual rate. In North India, 38% of people use dietary supplements to improve the look of their hair, nails, and skin. In addition, they also take the supplements for weight loss, since they are aware of their advantages.

Multivitamins make up 22% of the market for multivitamins in India. Consumers favour multivitamins due to their all-inclusive nature. Almost all multivitamins (98%) contain many vitamins, minerals, and plant or herbal supplements. Vitamin D use has gone up because people work more and spend less time outside to consume Vitamin D. Calcium, iron, and zinc, the top three minerals, make up 38% of the market share. 58% of the people in India who buy VMS products are women.

Who Needs Dietary Supplements The Most?

Supplements and vitamins cannot replace a healthy diet. Fruits, veggies, whole grains, enough protein, and healthy fats should give you all the nutrients you need for good health. Due to  the way we live today, not everyone can eat well.

Even though we all want to eat well, not many of us consistently eat a perfectly balanced plate of food. Due to our demanding work schedule, we often fail terribly at keeping track of our nutritional supplements. Nevertheless, we can frequently give our bodies a daily boost by including certain health and dietary supplements.

People with busy schedules: People think that superfoods like Super greens, Super vegetables, and Wheatgrass are important nutritional supplements. We don’t always have time to eat fruits and vegetables when we’re busy, so these supplements are a very convenient alternative. When people don’t eat right, one of the biggest problems is that they don’t get enough good protein.

This causes a number of problems, such as less energy, less muscle mass, getting older faster, and bad hair, skin, and nails. Our bodies often want us to consume enough protein. You can avoid all of this by eating protein bars or protein isolate. They are the best choices for between-meal snacks because they are easy to carry and use.

• Disorder management diet:

The clear link between dietary risk factors and cardiometabolic diseases, cancer, and early death is a big reason why most people agree that food is important for keeping your body healthy. In the same way, people are becoming more aware that there might be a link between what people eat and mental illnesses. On the other hand, we can get vitamins and minerals from supplements in addition to the food we eat every day.

• Vegans and older people: 

Vitamin B12 is important for making red blood cells and keeping the brain healthy. Vegans might not get enough vitamin B12 because most of it comes from animal products like meat, milk, and other dairy foods. Unless you eat certain foods that are fortified with vitamin B12, vitamin B12 isn’t very common in a vegan diet.

Cereals and soy products are high in B12. Vegans may use flaky nutritional yeast in oatmeal or over salads. Vegans who don’t eat nutritional yeast or foods with added vitamins and minerals may not get enough vitamin B12. In the same way, older people may have trouble getting enough vitamin B12 from their food, which can also lead to insufficiency.

• Pregnant women: 

Folic acid is important for the healthy development of a foetus. Folic acid is found in vegetables, cereals, meat, and dairy products. The majority of grain products in the United States, including breads, cereals, flours, pastas, and rice, are fortified with folic acid. Pregnant women are prescribed common dietary supplements like folic acid, often in the form of normal prenatal vitamins, due to the necessity of this vitamin for developing fetuses. Folate deficiency is uncommon in other individuals.

• Diet for weight loss: 

A weight loss supplement is a dietary supplement that is claimed to help people lose weight without making drastic lifestyle changes. These nutritional supplements come in different forms, such as capsules, pills, liquids, powders, and bars. There are many different herb and plant extracts, fiber, caffeine, and minerals in these dietary supplements. Four groups of elements are thought to assist people in losing weight or changing the way they look. Many weight loss pills have many different ingredients.

What You Need to Know About Dietary Supplements?

You can get ideas for dietary supplements anywhere, like in ads, from people you follow on social media, or from your neighbors and friends.  To get accurate information, you must seek out a diet consultation with the best dietitian in Ahmedabad.

Not all dietary supplements pose health risks, but multivitamins are not likely to be one of them. Still, it is important to be careful when eating or drinking anything. Supplements can cause problems with other medicines or put you in danger if you have liver disease or are about to have surgery.

Also, some supplements have not been tested on pregnant women, mothers who are breastfeeding, or children, so you may need to take extra steps. Some supplements can be dangerous. For example, vitamin K can make blood thinners less effective, comfrey and kava are herbal supplements that can hurt your liver, and beta-carotene and vitamin A may make smokers more likely to get lung cancer.

There are many different kinds of supplements.  Dietary supplements, whether they come in pill, powder, or liquid form, often have the same goal: to add more nutrients and improve health. There is at least one nutrient in the food, like vitamins, minerals, herbs, botanicals, amino acids, or enzymes. You can get some of the most popular supplements in a multivitamin, but you can also buy them separately.

A healthy diet is the best way to get the nutrients you need. No matter why you take supplements, one thing is for sure: they can’t make up for a healthy diet. Nutritional supplements add the benefits of a well-balanced diet. To grow and function properly, the body needs supplements and vitamins. Most people get all the nutrients they need from a healthy, well-balanced diet, but some need a little extra help.

Before taking any dietary supplements, talk to a nutritionist in Ahmedabad like Dietitian Dhara Madlani.

Dietary supplements are important for many people because of the era we live in and the way most of us live. There are many reasons for this, such as a poor diet, pollution in the environment, stress, low-calorie diets, a lack of fresh or local vegetables, and the need to fix nutritional deficiencies. We’re all exposed to very high levels of stress, which makes it harder for the body to protect itself from damage caused by free radicals.

Taking nutritional supplements might help the body fight off common and long-lasting diseases. The way dietary supplements are taken and used depends on many factors, such as age, level of physical activity, nutritional status, health problems etc. A healthy diet should be supplemented with nutritional supplements, not replaced with them.

When choosing a supplement, the most important thing to keep in mind is to be clever. Your first step should be to search for the dietitian in near me for your diet consultation. This is because the effectiveness and safety of a supplement may depend on your health and condition.

Gluten is a protein present in wheat products that may cause stomach issues in certain individuals. When we talk about a diet that is gluten-free meaning it excludes foods containing the protein gluten, including wheat and rye products. The majority of research on gluten-free diets has included individuals with celiac disease. Other health disorders, such as non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), may also result in gluten-related difficulties.

If you have a gluten-related condition, you must fully avoid gluten. You may endure extreme pain and negative health implications if you don’t and that’s why gluten free diet is significant.

What is Gluten?

Gluten name is derived from the Latin word meaning glue. It imparts a sticky stickiness to flour when combined with water. This glue-like feature of gluten aids in the formation of a sticky network that allows the bread to rise when cooked. Additionally, it lends a chewy texture to the bread.

Gluten is a protein that occurs naturally in some grains, such as wheat, barley, and rye. Consider a pizza chef tossing and stretching a lump of dough. Without gluten, dough would readily tear.

Wheat berries, spelt, durum, emmer, semolina, farina, farro, farro, graham, khorasan wheat, einkorn, and triticale are other gluten-containing grains (a blend of wheat and rye). Even though oats are inherently gluten-free diet India, they often include gluten due to cross-contamination when farmed close or processed in the same facilities as the grains mentioned above. Gluten is also available as wheat gluten or seitan, which is a popular high-protein vegan meal.

Some individuals have unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms after consuming gluten-containing meals. Individuals diagnosed with celiac disease may have severe responses. Celiac disease is an autoimmune illness in which the body fights itself in error after being exposed to gluten.  If consuming gluten causes discomfort, a physician may suggest testing for celiac disease.

What is Gluten-free Diet?

Understanding what gluten is and its origin, it is important to know what is gluten-free diet. Gluten, a protein present in wheat and numerous other cereals, is eliminated from a gluten-free diet. It involves consuming solely gluten-free whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, meat, and eggs, as well as gluten-free processed foods, such as gluten-free bread and pasta. However, because gluten-containing whole grains provide fiber and minerals such as B vitamins, magnesium, and iron, it is essential to compensate for these deficiencies. 

In addition to fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, fish, eggs, and poultry, the following whole grains are gluten-free by nature: Quinoa, brown, black, or red rice, buckwheat, corn, etc.

It is also important not to depend on processed gluten-free meals, such as gluten-free cookies, chips, and other snack foods, which may be rich in calories, sugar, saturated fat, and salt and poor in nutrients. Frequently, these dishes are prepared using unenriched rice, tapioca, maize, or potato flours.

From 2013 to 2015, the gluten-free diet India business grew by 136%, with sales of over $12 billion in 2015. Studies indicate that those without celiac disease are the largest customers of gluten-free items. 

According to consumer studies, the top three reasons individuals choose gluten-free diets are “no reason,” “healthier alternative,” and “digestive health.” There are no special benefits associated with a gluten-free diet for people who are not gluten intolerant, particularly if processed gluten-free goods comprise the majority of the diet. 

In fact, studies conducted on people with celiac disease who adopt a gluten-free diet India shows an increased risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome. This may be partially attributable to enhanced intestinal absorption, but discussion has also focused on the poor nutritional content of processed gluten-free meals, which may include refined carbohydrates and saturated fats and have a higher glycemic index.

Can You Lose Weight with a Gluten-Free diet?

Most individuals mention gluten-free diet weight loss benefits. However, can you lose weight with gluten-free diet?

It turns out that this does not work.

There is no evidence that the benefits for gluten-free diet are associated with weight loss. As Dietician Dhara Madlani states, in some instances, a gluten-free diet India might result in weight gain. 

People with celiac disease who adopt a gluten-free diet are likely to gain weight quickly. A person with celiac disease who had weight loss and anemia is likely to go through weight gain diet on going gluten-free, owing to enhanced intestinal digestion and absorption. 

In contrast, individuals who do not have celiac disease and go gluten-free may gain weight due to gluten-free foods and an unbalanced diet.

Some individuals lose weight with gluten-free diet because they consume more fruits, vegetables, and healthful foods than they did on their prior diet. A gluten-free diet also prohibits excessive consumption of fast food, junk food, and processed foods.

Additionally, those who choose this diet tend to be more cognizant of nutrition labels and knowledgeable about the composition of their food. With ‘bad’ items eliminated from the diet and more space made for better or more nutritionally packed meals, weight reduction is possible.

However, the same weight reduction may be achieved by reducing junk food, eating a balanced diet, and paying attention to the ingredients in your food. A balanced diet may include gluten. Gluten is found in meals that are rich in vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to the body.

Why Should You Go For A Gluten-Free Diet?

Better energy levels

Gluten-sensitive people are generally exhausted. Gluten affects their intestines, which limits iron absorption. Switching to a gluten-free diet can repair your intestines, restoring nutrition absorption and vitality.

Healthier weight gain

Diarrhea, bloating, gas, and lethargy are celiac disease and gluten intolerance symptoms that may go untreated for decades. This causes deficits with weight loss diets. 

Removes bloating

Celiac illness and gluten sensitivity cause increased gas and bloating. When you transition to a gluten-free diet, you’ll immediately notice less digestive irritation and a flatter stomach.

Reduces migraines

Gluten sensitivity and celiac disease cause migraines. Studies demonstrate that becoming gluten-free helps lessen headaches.

Lactose-intolerant

Celiac illness and gluten sensitivity often cause lactose intolerance. The stomach lining generates lactase, which breaks down dairy lactose.  Gluten-free diets boost gut health and minimize or eliminate lactose intolerance symptoms.

Strengthens bones

Malabsorption causes significant calcium deficits in undiagnosed celiac disease patients. Calcium malabsorption is connected to osteoporosis and osteopenia. Researchers showed celiac patients on a gluten-free diet had better bone density.

Healthier skin

Undiagnosed celiac disease or gluten sensitivity may cause rashes like eczema and psoriasis. Gluten-free diets may enhance skin health and remove skin issues.

Decreases hair loss

Celiac illness and gluten sensitivity are connected to hair loss. Gluten-free diets may reverse hair loss, enhance hair density and texture.

Conclusion

Gluten-free diets are generally eaten by those who cannot biologically tolerate gluten. However, some individuals opt to adhere to a gluten-free diet for health reasons.

Gluten avoidance is harmless, but remember to have a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Ensure that your gluten-free options, such as buckwheat, quinoa, and brown rice, include 100 percent whole grains. Not by eliminating gluten. Weight loss occurs when you burn more calories or energy than you ingest. Consult the best nutritionist in Ahmedabad for guidance on gluten-free diets.

Diet and exercise are essential components of weight control and a healthy lifestyle. Consider booking an appointment with Dietitian Dhara Madlani, the top nutritionist in Ahmedabad, if you want more particular assistance with weight loss.

Many often, when you decide to make better eating choices, the first thing that comes to mind is that you want to add more nutritious foods into your weight management diet. But you may want to add a little something to spice up the tastes, so you may slather your meticulously crafted salad with a creamy dressing that sounds innocuous on the whole. However, you may unknowingly be adding more fat, sugar, and salt to your once-healthy dinner making them unhealthy food. Even if you purchase a salad at a restaurant, some salads contain 1,000 calories or more, despite their ostensibly being the category of foods that seem healthy.

Unfortunately, salad dressing is only the beginning of the abundance of healthily unhealthy foods that are not really nutritious. From the granola bar’s use of less-than-desirable sweets to the organic cookie that is, well, still a cookie, there are several ostensibly healthy meals that are really detrimental to your weight loss diet. We are here to assist you avoid these food traps by bringing them to your attention.

Let’s discuss the foods that seem healthy but come under Unhealthy Food

1. Breakfast Cereals

Consuming a nutritious, well-balanced breakfast is essential for maintaining excellent health and feeling motivated throughout the day. The importance of breakfast quality is such that it is worse to have unhealthy food than to consume no breakfast at all. Cereal is perhaps one of the worst morning items you can consume, despite being tasty. Not only is it often filled with added sugar, but it also has less essential elements for a nutritious breakfast.

According to Dietitian Dhara Madlani, cereal, muffins, and bagels are morning foods that might significantly affect blood sugar and insulin levels. Insulin effortlessly transports sugar into fat cells, where it is converted into body fat, or stored energy. 

There is a correlation between brain health and diets high in added sugar, such that consuming more sugar and less healthy fats may actually contribute to a decline in cognitive performance.

2. Fruit Juices

Despite the fact that fruit juice and smoothie sales have declined in recent years due to the increased awareness of the linkages between sugar and obesity and tooth disease, we continue to consume huge volumes of fruit juice and smoothies. Lack of fiber is the primary issue. Juicing releases the sugars in fruit and eliminates the insoluble fiber; blending also releases the sugars and disintegrates the insoluble fiber. 

The majority of fruit sugar is fructose, which can only be metabolized by the liver. As the top dietitian in Ahmedabad, it is advised that fructose tricks our brains into believing we are still hungry, resulting in overeating, and it is addictive, driving us to seek more. A big issue with fruit juice intake nowadays is portion management; juice is no longer seen as a healthy shot, but as a thirst-quencher.

3. Granola and Protein Bars

Granola’s reputation as a healthy food is not entirely justified. Many of the granolas available at your neighborhood grocery store are prepared with butter, vegetable oil, and white sugar. Many granolas contain upwards of 400 calories per cup before adding milk, so choose a low-sugar kind with healthful components.

Protein may be an excellent source of fuel for muscles, however the majority of protein bars are rarely nutritious. The soy, salt, artificial colors, sugar, and high fructose corn syrup included in the majority of protein bars may be detrimental to your health. The artificial sweeteners used to flavor many low-sugar meals have been linked to an increased risk of weight loss and sugar cravings.

4. Vegetable Chips

If it comes in chip form, it is most likely that it belongs to the category of unhealthy food. Similar to potato chips, many vegetable chips are deep-fried and excessively salted. Unfortunately, the ultra-thin slices of vegetables used to make the chips crispy are also insufficient to provide the nutritional benefits you would anticipate from a vegetable-based snack.

Most manufacturers utilize vegetable powders to give chips their bright hue. The bulk of your diet consists of potato starch and maize flour. They may also be excessively salted and fried to replicate the taste of authentic potato chips. A great tip for purchasing vegetarian chips is to ensure that the veggies appear first on the ingredient list. Also, if you possess a dehydrator, consider creating your own when in doubt!

5. Reduced fat peanut butter

Peanut butter is an essential ingredient for any healthy pantry. But to obtain the most nutritious value for your money, there are some jars of peanut butter that you should avoid, and as the best dietitian in Ahmedabad, I suggest that reduced-fat peanut butter is the worst you can purchase.

Peanuts naturally contain fat, which, in addition to providing health advantages, contributes to the delicious flavor of nut butter. When fat is eliminated, sugar is often added to compensate for the lost flavor. These sweeteners transform the spread from a healthy fat snack to a carbohydrate, interfering with your weight management diet.

6. Sports Drink

Sports beverages are marketed to restore glucose, fluids, and electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium) lost during severe activity and to improve endurance. There is less sugar in sports drinks than in soda and energy drinks, but they still include simple sugars. Consuming an excessive amount of these beverages, particularly while not engaging in intense activity, might raise the risk of overweight/obesity and various health issues, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and gout. Additionally, there is a risk of dental cavities.

7. Gluten-free and Baked Goods

While becoming gluten-free might be a lifeline for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, gluten-free sweets at the supermarket are not necessarily a health bargain. Many gluten-free products contain as much, if not more, sugar than their gluten-containing equivalents, and the flours used in their stead are often substantially more caloric and not lower in carbohydrates.

Although baked items have less fat than their fried equivalents, they are hardly a health bargain. Because baked products often include more salt to compensate for their lack of fat, and because they are touted as a healthy alternative, you may be tempted to consume more of them.

8. Frozen Yogurt 

Numerous frozen yogurts also incorporate flavorings and stabilizers to enhance their flavor and texture making it an unhealthy food. Depending on the kind of milk, sugars, and flavorings used in the yogurt combination, the nutritional value of frozen yogurt might vary. Adding sugar to yogurt before freezing avoids the formation of huge ice crystals and guarantees that the frozen yogurt preserves a texture comparable to ice cream. It also improves the flavor so that it is sweet and tangy rather than sour.

9. Premade Smoothies

Some of these pre-made beverages have almost the same amount of sugar and artificial sweeteners as slushies, and milkshakes. But not all protein drinks are like this; there are several protein powders from which you may manufacture protein shakes at home effortlessly and economically. These readymade smoothies may seem convenient, but they are unhealthy food that might add significant sugar and calories to your diet.

10. Diet Coke

A moderate quantity of diet soda per day, such as two cans, is unlikely to be harmful. There is no reliable evidence that the artificial sweeteners and other chemicals now used in diet coke cause cancer in the majority of individuals.

Vitamins and minerals are sometimes included in diet soda formulas. But diet coke is neither a health drink nor a weight loss diet. Although switching from normal to diet coke may save you calories, it is known it is useful for reducing obesity and associated health concerns in the long run.

Conclusion

The most essential thing to remember while searching for healthy meals is: A few healthy phrases or ingredients on the label do not provide a whole picture. It is also vital to consider your whole diet, not simply particular meals. There are significant distinctions between highly processed and minimally or unprocessed foods.

A healthy, nutrient-dense diet should be low in ultra-processed unhealthy food, but this does not imply that processed foods should be totally avoided. With the help of our diet and nutrition services in Ahmedabad, it is perfectly feasible to maintain a balanced, nutritious diet consisting mostly of whole foods while sometimes indulging in your favorite snack foods, sweets, and other highly processed items.