An experienced clinical dietician, nutrition specialist and a Reebok Certified Fitness Consultant, Sheela Tanna has counselled at various health camps.

She deals with lifestyle disease management like diabetes, blood pressure, cardio vascular diseases, obesity, PCOD etc. Her special interests include child nutrition, menopause management, arthitis, hair and skin care.

Sheela answered Sify readers’ queries related to diet and nutrition in an exlusive chat. Read the transcript below

Why is Protien a vital element is our diet and from where do we get it ?
proten is building block of our body.. We need it on regular basis for wear and tear of tissues.. Natural diet like dals, pulses,lean meat has enough protein..No need to buy supplements.

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With an ever-increasing number of Indians suffering from heart diseases, a drastic change in lifestyle and eating habits is the need of the hour to tackle the alarming situation with a special focus on youth, say doctors.

Cardiovascular diseases would be the largest cause of death and disability in India by 2020 as per a World Health Organisation (WHO) report.

“The average age of people with heart ailments is coming down. We are getting patients as young as 20 years,” Neeraj Bhalla, senior consultant and director of the heart centre at BLK Super Specialty Hospital, said ahead of World Heart Day that is observed on September 29.

“In the next five to 10 years around 20 percent of the Indian population would be affected,” he added.

Atul Mathur, director of Invasive Cardiology at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, said that patients under the age of 40 have increased from 10 percent a decade ago to 30 percent today.

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Bread and rolls are the No. 1 source of salt in the American diet, accounting for more than twice as much sodium as salty junk food like potato chips.

That surprising finding comes in a government report released Tuesday that includes a list of the top 10 sources of sodium. Salty snacks actually came in at the bottom of the list compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

`Potato chips, pretzels, and popcorn – which we think of as the saltiest foods in our diet – are only No. 10,` said CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden.

Breads and rolls aren`t really saltier than many of the other foods, but people tend to eat a lot of them, said Mary Cogswell, a CDC senior scientist who co-authored the report.

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A new study has suggested that beef can play a role in a cholesterol-lowering diet, despite commonly held beliefs.

The study found that diets including lean beef every day are as effective in lowering total and LDL `bad` cholesterol as the `gold standard` of heart-healthy diets (DASH, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).

Heart healthy foods

The Beef in an Optimal Lean Diet (BOLD) clinical study, conducted by The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) researchers, evaluated adults with moderately elevated cholesterol levels, measuring the impact of diets including varying amounts of lean beef on total and LDL cholesterol levels.

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DASH stands for “dietary approaches to stop hypertension”.  Diet plays a major part in controlling high blood pressure and as an adjunct to medications itself. Antihypertensive become more effective when taken along with a low salt high fiber diet.

Previously, importance was given only to reducing salt intake. But the DASH studies suggested that not only reducing salt, but including foods high in potassium, calcium and magnesium will help reduce high blood pressure.

Accordingly this is what the DASH diet recommends (for a 2000kcal/day diet)

• Reduce sodium chloride or table salt to 6gms a day. This is equal to a teaspoon of salt added in daily cooking. This also means you have to avoid salted snacks, pickles, canned/processed/packeted/ready to eat foods that contain salt as preservative, bakery items, pappads, fast foods. Since restaurant foods are generally very salty it makes sense to not eat out frequently.
• The higher the potassium intake, lower the blood pressure. This is where vegans score over non vegetarians. Because all fruits and vegetables without exception contain potassium. You need to eat at least 2 or 3 cups of vegetables cooked or raw and 4 to 5 fruits in a day to get the benefit of this diet. Cereals and legumes, milk/yoghurt also contain potassium.
• Good intake of magnesium helps keep hypertension under check.  This is easily got in Indian diets from eating whole grains and products, and seeds and nuts.  Tofu, fat free milk, green vegetables and legumes also contain magnesium.  Unsalted nuts in small amounts, up to 2 tablespoon full, make a good snack.

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