Eating in the Age of Dieting by Rujuta Diwekar comprises four chapters each discussing a specific aspect of diet and food.
‘Section One: Food is a blessing’ is about the importance of maintaining good health, weight loss, and its impact, food myths and diet trends.
‘Section Two: Food is local, seasonal, traditional’ delves into the delicious delicacies people consume at festivals and when celebrating special seasons. It also discusses superfoods that are consumed daily or the ones people seldom take. In ‘Section Three: Food is medicine’, Diwekar shares foods that must be taken to control common health conditions. She explains easy tips to regain health. In ‘Section Four: Food is for everyone’, she explains the health benefits of performing yoga and healthy diets for kids and women.
Usually, the books that discuss health, diet, and the body, remain to be too monotonous when it comes to its content. Diwekar, however, treads on a different path. She stirs motivation among the readers by sharing insights of how to consume foods at home without hassle. This will motivate the readers to take up a healthy habit of dieting and controlling food intake.
“Health is not just about the absence of disease, but rather the presence of enthusiasm and aspiration, an ability to learn at every stage in life. It encourages one to be on – and stay on – a path of happiness and fulfilment.” Diwekar uses these in-depth words to begin the first chapter ‘Basics of Good Health’ that opens section one of the book. Indeed, it is enthusiasm and an interest in making one’s life meaningful that leads towards the purist of a healthy diet regiment.
When discussing seasonal foods, Diwekar explains in detail foods to consume during winter, summer, monsoon. She adds that sugarcane, ber, tamarind, amla, and til gul are to be consumed in winter and explains the basics for doing so. She talks about gajar ka halwa and why its consumption is important during the winters. Diwekar adds a personal touch to the dietary routine for winters by sharing the diets necessary for healthy hair, skin, and nails. She recommends using dry coconut, gul/gur, dry ginger, sesame, rajgeera. Consuming vegetables, grains, millets, pulses, filtered mustard/coconut oils during monsoon must be encouraged. When discussing superfoods, Diwekar suggests consuming bananas, jackfruit, sitaphal, moringa, pulses, sweet potato, etc. An explanation with each item makes the narrative interesting and the readers get to know the reason and the rationale for consuming them.
Section Three: Food is medicine will be of interest to many – especially the senior citizens. It discusses which foods to be consumed to control specific ailments such thyroid issues, period pains, diabetes, cholesterol, cancer, cough and flu, indigestion and how to increase immunity. Simple tips and practical guidelines make this chapter easy to understand. Diwekar also explains in detail various exercises and yoga techniques with pictures for easy reference.
To give the book a more personalized touch, Diwekar adds interesting one-liner statements at the beginning of each section. These include: “to lose weight, eat local and not low-cal”; “a good diet is like true love, it sets you free”; “cooking is meditation with your eyes open”; “spend more time in farms to spend less money on pharms” among others. Diwekar also explains the three pillars of good health: food, exercise, and sleep. She explains the various qualities of a good doctor, dietitian, and trainer so the readers can identify each in their lives and take benefit from them.
The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist. He can be reached at [email protected] and Tweets at @omariftikhar