With the passage of time Mumbai has become more polluted than ever, but I have been able to keep germs and viruses at bay with a supreme health route map. This I attribute to taking deep breaths near the open sea, turning down social and extra-curricular work opportunities, taking a break when needed and religiously getting my eight hours of sleep every night. The only downside of this feeling of well-being is that one becomes unsympathetic to sick whining people, many of whom I suspect don’t want to be well. Because if they did, all they need do is adhere to some simple commonsense lifestyle rules. Vibrant health is the natural state of being. You don’t need to be a nutritionist to experience it!

As a serious student of nutrition, which I first embraced for the sake of giving my son the best start in life, I’ve experimented with raw foods, veganism, vegetarianism and mixed fare Indian cuisine. Today choosing to eat right is not a matter of simple choice. Environmental, social, animal rights, spiritual, religious, emotional and of course nutritional issues, or a mix of all, are involved. Moreover there are research studies which indicate that certain blood groups thrive on certain foods. Then there’s adulteration and pesticide poisoning to worry about. So unfortunately eating is not a simple instinctive matter.

One night my father made my brother and I (at ages seven and eight) sleep on empty stomachs because we had complained about the dinner fare. That was the last time we did that. It’s important to accept all food as a blessing and not be pernickety about it. The other lesson we learnt that night was that a family that dines together stays united. I believe that the incident also prevented me from being picky about food, including health foods! Having no addictions contributes to one’s well-being and high energy levels. Therefore food is just fuel to keep the body running and simplicity is the operative word.

Without going into complexities such as emotional energy of the cook, using iron cookware, forswearing television dinners, masticating well, eating less, hygiene issues, balance of raw, lightly cooked and slow cooked foods, here are some of the essentials of eating for good health. Whole grains (instead of refined) with a preference for brown rice should make up 50 percent of your diet. The intake of brown rice can prevent nervous breakdown, depression, stress and fatigue. It’s advisable also to replace bread with roti or khakras of jowar, bajra, ragi or other millets; substitute refined sugar with jaggery or raw sugar, refined oil with cold-pressed or ghani oil and refined salt with rock salt.

Ideally fruits, vegetables, pulses, nuts and spices should be organically grown. Organic produce is good for the body as for the soil of our Mother Earth. Being eco-conscious is a vital consideration today especially in the light of the knowledge that the earth has been borrowed from our children. The additional money spent on organic produce is the most important investment we can make. To complete the list of dietary changes required to lead a naturally healthy life, minimise the intake of dairy produce, meat, eggs, and other addictive foods. Within this framework, we need to eat what is most tasteful to the palate. Also eating this way (and not by the book or dietician) will satiate hunger quicker and for longer periods of time.

In my considered opinion no one needs to know about vitamins, minerals, calories etc, to eat right for good health. All you need is common sense, faith in yourself, and an understanding of nature’s laws. The simplest of natural diets, coupled with activity, will supply the body with all its known and still to be discovered nutrients- the “X- factor.”

However, if supplements need to be added to basic natural diets, I would recommend the following natural foods: spirulina in powder form; tulsi, flax, alfalfa, sesame seeds, amla, kombucha, indigenous herbs like brahmi, harde, etc all preferably in organic form. Synthetic supplements make the body lazy and incapable of producing its own supplements.

The processed foods industry, advertising campaigns, faddish diets, allopaths, confusing press reports, have all been responsible for taking away the self-healing power of people. So we need to relearn how to take care of ourselves with nature as our guide. For this to happen, we need to refuse food as a means of satisfying boredom. However crucial food may be, and feeding a form of love, it is only a very small part of our lives and need never become our raison d’etre. I consider myself fortunate that by following these simple commonsense rules I enjoy good health and well-being which enables me to achieve my potential.

I cannot end without highlighting the ultimate supplement to natural diet and a prerequisite of good health and well-being: activity. In contemporary civic life, activity is not a natural consequence of life and living. We have to work at it consciously. If you aren’t playing a sport, or walking enough, nor travelling by bus and train, you need to plan for activity. We need a concentrated dose of daily activity to race the pulse and warm the heart.

Since I am lazy about unproductive activity my lymphology diploma has come in handy. Lymphasising involves exercising on a lymphasiser which is nothing but a simple trampoline. Lymphasising for at least 20-30 minutes a day has served me well to drain toxins out of my body. The double bounce of the movement/ jump is without the jarring effect of most other exercises on hard surfaces. 

I know I could “look” healthier (I often look burnt out). I know that I could eat better, live better, exercise some more, rest a bit more, focus a lot more. But since I live in the awareness of nature’s laws, the ideal of supreme health, infinite freedom and absolute independence will, no doubt, be the natural outcome.

(Kavita Mukhi is a Mumbai-based eco-nutritionist and director of Conscious Food)

Also read: Eating right to good health