A curry minus the botas?

It is true that one man’s food is another man’s poison. However, it is not what you eat, but rather when you eat and how you eat, that is said to give you energy and help in the weight loss process.

One evening at a social dinner, I was introduced to this book Fit For Life (by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, Angus and Robertson Publishers) by my friend in Perth. At that time, I did notice the transformation in her — she looked fit, healthy and radiated a pink glow resembling that "phoren” look. For some time I patiently tried to duck and dodge her conversation revolving around healthy eating. Imagine one Parsi telling another that under no circumstance should meat be eaten with a vegetable! That would amount to blasphemy towards this all important pleasure of life. My myths on food were shattered. She went further to add insult to injury by stating that you can have curry rice but without meat or fish. That you should not combine carbohydrate with protein. Imagine any Parsi home having dhansakh without meat or a curry minus the botas! Well at least the vegetarian section of Katy Dalal’s book Jamva Chaloji would remain unaffected, but the Rice and Parsi Wedding Feast contents would need to be removed. Goodbye to Govarsing-Ne-Gharab-No-Patio, Lasan-ne-Kothmir-Nu-Bhejoo. Goodbye to traditional recipes which are a hallmark of Parsi cuisine. On the lighter side of life, I always thought that our lives are not in the lap of God, but rather in the lap of the cook.

Having read the book I have realized that indeed the greatest gift of all is the human body and the immense intelligence that directs it. Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, the co-authors of the book, tell us that "Mechanisms for the body’s self preservation are built in at birth. Health is your birthright, and being overweight and unhealthy is not health.”

I always believed that a big hearty Aussie breakfast would give you a kick start for the day. At home in Dadar, Bombay we always had an omelette or an akoori or aleti paleti with bread and layers of butter, jam and cheese. It was instilled in us that you must eat breakfast like a king, lunch as a prince and dinner as a pauper. This would give a chance to burn the calories during the day. Fit For Life blows away this myth. Digestion of food takes more energy than running, swimming or bike riding. Remember energy is the essence of life. When you wake up in the morning you want to feel energetic all day. Eating a big breakfast will sap the energy in digestion. This now makes sense to me and I have slowly (much against my will) started following this morning routine of only eating fruits and fruit salad and fruit juice. Fruit goes to the intestine within minutes giving instant energy. I was not much of a fruit fan apart from an occasional banana. I think a lot of Parsis are banana buffs — don’t ask me why. I know for a fact that Zoroastrian Iranis consume huge quantities of fruits and nuts. This small step in changing my eating habit in the morning has made a huge impact in alleviating the discomforts associated with my long-standing constipation. This means no more milk with muesli, no more yoghurt, nor my favorite ham and eggs or egg Benedic­tine.

Talking of yoghurt or plain dahi — this was the miracle formula of our grandparents to stabilize stomach disorders. Yoghurt as health food! Fit for Life condemns yoghurt as catastrophe. The friendly bacteria you are supposedly getting when you eat yoghurt are something that your body already produces in quantities about which it knows best. Don’t have it with fruit as it will ferment and putrefy in your stomach.

Our biological body clock has three cycles — 4 a.m. to 12 noon is the elimination cycle, 12 noon to 8 p.m. is the eating and digestion cycle, 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. is the assimilation or the absorption cycle. Our traditional eating habits — including eating too much at the wrong time, not eating enough fruits and vegetables, eating wrong combinations, eating too much meats, have obstructed the all important elimination cycle resulting in excess weight and build up of toxins. Eating high water content foods like fruits and veggies help in removal of toxins and expedite the elimination cycle. The other tool that is talked of in maintaining health and vigor is the proper combination of foods. Human body is not designed to digest more than one concentrated food at a time. What happens when you combine a sirloin steak with rice or potato? Protein requires acid juice to break it down. Rice or potato requires alkaline juice. The body then has to secrete more juices which takes time and energy. And this catch 22 goes on till this undigested and putrefied food is forced into the intestines and cannot be assimilated. The net result is they neutralize each other. Does it make sense to you? Yes it does now to me.

But in saying that, I am not about to give up on my favorite sali-boti or papeta-ma-gos or sali-par-eedu or my chicken curry rice. But I have also found other simple ways to balance this intake. I conscientiously avoid potato or rice with fish or steak. Instead I have copious amounts of vegetables and salads with my meat. The other tool that is suggested for weight loss is the principle of correct fruit consumption. I had absolutely no idea and neither did my wife Phyrooza that there is a ‘when’ and ‘how’ to eat a fruit. Most of the fruits pass through the stomach within 20 minutes giving us instantaneous energy. I am used to eating fruit before breakfast, with meals and after meals. Fit For Life recommends that fruit should not be eaten with or immediately following anything. After a meal, do not eat a fruit for at least three hours. And that means no fruit even after a sandwich. We now have at least three to four servings of fruit in the morning before lunch.

People are beginning to realize the importance of good eating habits with an exercise program. I remember a simple advice by my Chinese herbalist — exercise till you get a little sweat on your forehead each day. And in his Chinese accent he would tell us to do "humping” — he meant jumping on a trampoline. Daily 30 minutes’ brisk walk would be considered a good cardio workout. While the modern day gym comes complete with various cardio machines and fitness instructors, I still remember the basic gymnasium at Dadar, back in 1967. The order of the day then was mainly weights and dumbbells. Five gardens at Dadar where I grew up provided an ideal spot for people taking their early morning walks. Amongst a variety of people from different backgrounds I could only see a sprinkle of Parsis doing the daily routine. But today I am encouraged to see many Zoroastrians doing the rounds of the gardens. This article is not meant to dispense any medical advice or diet prescription, however what has helped me may genuinely help some other person. Well, at least till such time as science and human minds concoct new nutrition guidelines!