I come from a typical middle-class Gujarati family and food has always been central to our life. Amongst my most fond memories are food-related, from the sing chana wala bhayaji coming every other day and making a paper ka Pudi of peanuts to having corn roasted on coal every monsoon to sitting with my grandmother and making white butter.
1. Tell us about your background and journey.
I come from a typical middle-class Gujarati family and food has always been central to our life. Amongst my most fond memories are food-related, from the sing chana wala bhayaji coming every other day and making a paper ka Pudi of peanuts to having corn roasted on coal every monsoon to sitting with my grandmother and making white butter.
From there to studying nutrition was a fun journey. The cherry on the cake was the opportunity to interview at Rujuta Diwekar's office after my masters and actually getting the job. It's been a decade now of learning and working directly with her and life cannot get any better!
3. How can one keep a balance between taste and health?
By eating local, seasonal & traditional. Because time tested meals are the healthiest and tastiest. After a long travel or even just a tough day at college or work, who doesn't enjoy hot khichadi with lots of ghee! Oh, my mouth is already watering!
In India, mango season is here right now and who doesn't relish it for its diverse preparations from the aamras to the aam panna to the pickles to the fruit itself. And to talk about its health benefits, it's a long list - antioxidant-rich- great for your skin & hair, high on fibre - helps improve digestion and relieves constipation and of course, great to taste- makes life good!.
4. According to you how important is it to maintain a proper diet, especially for the younger generation?
Well, it is extremely important to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle for all of us, especially the younger generation because they are the future. Also, unfortunately, there is a lot of diet confusion among the youth today because of various diet fads, media and marketing of processed and packaged foods. Here I would like to share a quick tip on 'How to identify junk food' that Rujuta had shared in our 12-week fitness project for kids and youth -
Step 1 - How to identify
a) Obvious junk food which we can clearly identify as unhealthy. E.g. fast-food chains selling pizza and burgers, packaged chips, colas, chocolates, ice-creams, pastries, doughnuts, instant noodles, ketchup, mayonnaise, etc.
b) Camouflaged junk food that pretends to be healthy but isn’t. E.g. breakfast cereals, juices (packaged, powders, etc), biscuits (even the fibre rich ones), dark chocolate, chocolate syrups, malted powders for milk, cupcakes and muffins, ready to cook food, frozen food, energy drinks, baked or multi-grain chips, jams and spreads, instant noodles (wheat, multi-grain, vegetables, oats), flavoured yoghurt and milk, etc.
Step 2 – Make a strategy for consumption
- Set a monthly limit. Ideally once a month. But if you are consuming a lot of junk food, plan to reduce by 50% each consecutive month. For example, if you eat junk food 8 times a month, then in month one, reduce it to 4, in month two, reduce it to 2 and in month three, reduce it to 1.
- As parents, never give junk food as a reward or as means of celebration (especially festivals) or to show your love. This leaves a long-lasting impact on impressionable minds.
- Always remember that your favourite superstars or cricketers who endorse these junk foods never have it themselves and only do it for money.
5. How do you keep yourself inspired and motivated?
Working with Rujuta is in itself very inspiring and motivating. And of course, getting the opportunity to work with a diverse set of people, from across the globe, is very exciting.
Each one of them is so special and great at what they do. Every day is a new day with endless learning opportunities to grow in the subject of food and nutrition and for the growth and development of one's personality.
6. What tips and advice would you give to students interested in studying nutrition?
a. Be ready to unlearn and relearn.
b. Do visit farms often to learn how food actually grows. Remember that farming teaches us - 1. Respect 2. Responsibility 3. Resilience. All 3 very important elements to lead a good and meaningful life (both professionally and personally).
And most important, c. surely read all of Rujuta's books - 1. Don't lose your mind, lose your weight 2. Women and the weight loss tamasha 3. Don't lose out, work out 4. The PCOD-thyroid book 5. Indian Superfoods 6. Pregnancy notes 7. Notes for healthy kids 8. The 12-week fitness project 9. Eating in the age of dieting.
Jinal Shah has trained under and is working with Rujuta Diwekar as a diet and exercise consultant since her graduation. She graduated from SNDT University, Mumbai, in 2012, with a Masters in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics. In her short career, she has worked with diverse clients from all walks of life, of all age groups and varying fitness levels. She specializes in planning diet and workout routines for young working professionals, helping them achieve a work-life balance. Jinal accompanies Rujuta Diwekar on her various talks and workshops across India & overseas
With two TedX talks to her credit and many talks on nutrition and fitness with educational institutions like IIT Bombay, VJTI college & Lady Irwin College, Delhi, she was recently featured on BBC World - How to stay fit in the pandemic. Jinal is a strong believer that food is the best medicine and eating local, seasonal and traditional is the secret to a happy and healthy
Interviewed By - Gagan Deep
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