Munmun Ganeriwal is an award-winning nutritionist and lifestyle consultant. She is the author of ‘Yuktahaar: The Belly And Brain Diet‘ & a gut microbiome specialist in the world who combines traditional Indian foods, ancient Indian yogic practices, and Ayurveda principles with gut microbiota study to understand and fight obesity and other diseases.
Women Fitness team got in touch with the nutritionist to answer frequently asked questions regarding Gut health on World health day (7th April). Read on what the expert has to say,
According to you what are the tips to handle a “leaky gut”
A ‘leaky gut’ is like a fire that has gone wild and uncontrolled. In those who are dealing with it, it promotes chronic inflammation causing symptoms and diseases throughout the system that can vary from weight gain to depression. The first line of action, therefore, should be to cool down the inflammatory response. Else their metabolism will continue to be slower, their ability to burn fat bleaker, and the longer they would take to feel full. Using anti-inflammatory herbs and spices, restricting certain inflammatory foods just for a few weeks and in the meanwhile, and rebuilding the gut are a few of the ways of handling it.
Importance of probiotics in diet and foods in the Indian diet that can serve the purpose
Probiotics are supplements with targeted effects. They can come in the form of drinks, pills, powders, functional foods with added probiotics like probiotic dairy, etc. In order to be a probiotic, the microbes in the food should be characterized (known). The foods we ferment in our homes like home set dahi, white butter, achaar, etc. are teeming with live, friendly bacteria, therefore healthy but none of them qualify as Probiotics. The bacteria in them are not defined qualitatively or quantitatively. The number and type of bacteria in these foods vary from home to home and have an undefined, mixed microbial content.
What are the dietary fibers that feed the good bacteria in your gut?
The dietary fibers that feed the good bacteria in our gut are called ‘Prebiotics’. The main candidates for prebiotic status are banana, lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas, rice, millets, potato, sugarcane, and barley
How much fiber women should consume in general.
Research on the ideal dosage of prebiotics needed to gain health benefits is still ongoing. However, what we do know is that following an Indian diet with routine meals like rice dal or roti saag takes care of our fibre requirements without us having to count grams or even think about it. Traditional diets of countries like India, Africa, China, and the Mediterranean have been found to be very good at providing this expected fodder to our native microbes
How can one contribute to the planet by following a healthy lifestyle?
A lifestyle can be called healthy when it takes care of not only you but also everyone around you. Eating foods that are in season, and consuming indigenous varieties and natural foods are ways that can help you stay healthy and also contribute to the well-being of the planet.
Your expert input for menopausal women to cope with an aging body, mind, and external factors like pollution?
Well, body and mind are inter-connected and external factors like pollution together with stress can create an unfavorable environment in the body for your gut microbes that can ultimately manifest as unexplained weight gain, mood swings, stubborn fat, and so on.
The 10-week diet in my book, Yuktahaar: The Belly And Brain Diet can help reset their metabolism, lose weight and restore their physical and mental health.
Healthy snack choices that are your favourite?
Fruits, nuts, artisanal cheese, roasted makhana, ‘murmura bhel’, homemade laddoos
Please elaborate on the habits we need to inculcate back into our lives on World Health Day?
- Breakfast should be a light meal. Avoid halwa puri, missal pav, chole bhature, etc for breakfast
- Lunch should be the most wholesome meal of the day. The meal options mentioned in point 1 can be had for lunch
- Dinner should be light and warm, for example, soupy khichdi, porridge, etc
- Avoid eating every 2 hours. Instead, eat only when hungry
- Wake up and consume a warm drink based on the season. For example, fennel tea during summers and ginger pepper tea during winters.