Health is very important to us and we try to find out various tips by doing some research. Many people are trying to boost their immunity levels by taking care of their overall well-being. With work from home culture this pandemic, we are having an erratic pattern this year with all the workaround. We tend to skip lunch and breakfast. This further leads to increased cravings for unhealthy food. Work from home and online schooling needs special attention when it comes to diet.

At Medicircle, we are presenting the Ask The Expert Series for health awareness to understand facts and find solutions related to them. We have come up with a series of Sehat Ki Baat, Karishma Ke Saath. Let’s interact with Expert Karishma Shah about diet tips for work from home culture. 

Karishma Shah is a Renowned Nutritionist and Plant Diet based Food Coach. She is also a Weight Loss Expert, Diabetes and PCOS Educator & Certified in Psychology of Eating

Importance of Physical activity in work from culture 

Karishma Shah informs, “There has been a sudden shift from physical activity to mental activity. We are not indulging in physical activity now as we are confined to home. Initially, there was a lot of physical activity in the form of commuting to school and the office. Our workload is still the same in spite of this. Everything right from work to school is virtual and we are communicating through the internet. We cannot deny the fact that we have removed the emotional and mental aspects from work. We are focusing more on the mental aspect. We are definitely saving time when working from home.” 

Unhealthy foods cause many problems 

Karishma says, “To improve your focus levels and vitality, it is important to focus on food. It is important not to keep long gaps between lunch and dinner. This can cause many troubles like: 

Gastric issues such as acidity

Increasing the meal gap time causes acidity. The bile and acid produced in the gastric system can cause discomfort.

Decrease in metabolism rate 

It is important to fuel your body in the right way with correct intervals. You need to fuel your body so that it does not slow down. 

Bloating 

Bloating is a common condition these days. This happens due to water retention. Our body is made up of 70 % water. If you are dehydrated and not consume water at regular intervals, then there are higher chances of bloating which will lead to unusual and unhealthy cravings. The body will hold on to water and move into starvation mode. This is due to delay and gaps in food and water.” 

Eat easy snacks at home

Karishma states, “Eat home-cooked snacks at home. Prepare home-cooked snacks and avoid outside snacks. Do not eat processed and packaged foods like instant noodles, chips, cold drinks. Consuming these foods can cause an increase in empty calories and a reduction in nutrients. In this case, you are devoting yourself to important macronutrients and micronutrients. Eat real food with denser nutrients that give real energy. So, do not consume packaged food that has preservatives and empty calories. They are not rich in nutrients and energy. This causes a lack of energy. Eat food rich in nutrients and energy.”

Home Cooked snacks tricks 

Karishma says, “Some options for home-cooked snacks are as follows: 

Eat home-cooked warm snacks like poha, upma, ildlis.  Consume smoothies with one banana, oats, nuts, plant-based milk, dates= Power smoothie  Healthy milkshake with fruits for children  Home-cooked hot piping vegetables fried food for monsoon with tea  Nuts and seeds in form of energy balls and dates  Herbal teas and kadhas like ginger tea 

Home-cooked fresh warm food is good for the body and well assimilated by the body. Eat snacks in moderate quantities and in moderate limits. 

(Edited by Dr.Rati Parwani)