Eating cruciferous vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and sprouts three or more times per day can prevent hardening of neck arteries in elderly women and also decrease the risk of heart diseases, a study has found. Researchers observed a 0.05 millimetre lower carotid artery wall thickness between high and low intakes of total vegetables. “That is likely significant, because a 0.1 millimetre decrease in carotid wall thickness is associated with a 10 per cent to 18 per cent decrease in risk of stroke and heart attack,” said lead author Lauren Blekkenhorst, from the University of Western Australia.

In addition, each 10 grams per day higher in cruciferous vegetable intake was associated with 0.8 per cent lower average carotid artery wall thickness. “After adjusting for lifestyle, cardiovascular disease risk factors (including medication use) as well as other vegetable types and dietary factors, our results continued to show a protective association between cruciferous vegetables and carotid artery wall thickness.” For the study, detailed in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the team distributed food frequency questionnaires to 954 Australian women aged 70 and older.

The women noted their vegetable intake in a range from “never eating vegetables” to “three or more times per day”. Vegetable types included cruciferous, allium (for example, onions, garlic, leeks and shallots), yellow/orange/red, leafy green and legumes. Sonograms were used to measure carotid artery wall thickness and entire carotid trees were examined to determine carotid plaque severity. However, due to the observational nature of this study a causal relationship cannot be established. “Still, dietary guidelines should highlight the importance of increasing consumption of cruciferous vegetables for protection from vascular disease,” Blekkenhorst said.

Junk food advertisements are shown more frequently on TV at during children’s peak viewing times, according to a study. The research also showed that children were exposed to twice as much unhealthy food advertising as healthy food advertising. Researchers from University of Adelaide in Australia found that children would view more than 800 junk food ads each year, if they watched 80 minutes of television per day. By building a TV monitoring system, believed to be the first of its kind in the world, researchers were able to capture an entire year’s worth of television and ads from one free-to-air commercial TV network in South Australia.

“This is the most robust data we’ve seen anywhere. It is the largest dataset ever used by health researchers for examining food advertising in Australia, and probably the world,” said Lisa Smithers, associate professor at University of Adelaide. “Most research in this area is based on only a few days of data, and there are no Australian studies taking seasonality into account,” said Smithers, who led the study published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. Thirty thousand hours of television containing more than 500 hours of food advertisements – almost 100,000 food ads – were logged during 2016.

Snack foods, crumbed or battered meats, takeaway or fast food and sugary drinks were among the most frequently advertised foods. During children’s peak viewing times, the frequency and duration of “discretionary” (ie junk) food advertising was 2.3 times higher each hour than for healthy foods. Across the year, discretionary food advertising peaked at 71 per cent of all food advertising in January, dropping to a low of 41 per cent in August. There is also no process for routine, independent monitoring of children’s exposure to food advertising, researchers said.

I've always been one of those people who needs something sweet as a late afternoon snack (if not right after lunch). Okay, who am I kidding? I absolutely love dessert and, if and when I can, I choose to even start my day with a Nutella sandwich. This is the truth. But unfortunately, the truth is also that if I ate dessert the way I actually want to, i.e. post every single meal, I would - a) be severely overweight b) probably have various health issues as a result. And so, I don't. Eat dessert after every meal that is. However, that doesn't mean that my need for eating something sweet just disappears and promises to never come back. My cravings and sweet tooth remain intact but I have found a way to deal with them, and if I dare say, trick them.

Instead of eating dessert that is full of sugar and would in turn only lead me to craving more sugar and dessert, I found myself some alternatives. They're sweet, delicious and minus the guilt of an actual dessert.

So, craving dessert? Here's what you can eat instead.

1. Try A Pineapple and Yogurt Parfait

Hear the word parfait and you're imagining an indulgent, creamy, sugary dessert. Well, try a healthier, lower calorie version, that really is quite delicious too. Build your own pineapple parfait by layering a bowl or tall glass with low-fat, high protein yogurt. You could try this one. Next, add some seeds or nuts of your choice. Slice some pineapple and add it right on top. The sweetness of the pineapple and the creaminess of the yogurt will satisfy you and leave you thinking a little less of that chocolate cake you've been dreaming of.

2. Try A Healthier Version Of Chocolate Cake

No, I'm not going to ask you to whip something up in your own kitchen. Thankfully, we live in a time where healthier versions of a lot of our favourite foods are available. For a chocolate enthusiast like me, life would have been impossible had there not been. So after some research and continued trial and error, I found a high-protein, low-calorie brownie that satisfies my sugar craving and satiates my appetite. It's ready to eat and if you're anything like me and rooting for a summer body at the moment, let me tell you that they will not leave you feeling guilty.

3. Keep Your Peanut Butter Close

Calling anything with the word 'butter' in it a diet food of sorts might sound counterintuitive, but believe me, in this case, it's not. Peanut butter has the enviable combination of high fiber and protein that fills you up and keeps you feeling full for longer, so you eat less overall. You know what that means? It means your need for getting dessert after a meal will also be lesser, if only you eat a spoon of some delicious peanut butter instead. If you're looking to even ditch some of the sugar calories that regular peanut butter has, you could try this unsweetened one.

We have been fooled by many newspaper ads which show how many pieces of bread equals one roti or vice versa. This is a marketing gimmick that many bread companies are employing to replace one of our staples in India. But if we fall for it, we are doing more harm than good.

As tempting as it may look, brown bread, multigrain bread or any other largely manufactured bread only fills up our tummy with sugar, butter or transfat and refined flour. Even though the packet talks about the wholeness of the product, the truth is that they are the actual villains in your weight management story.

Who decided that brown or multigrain or white bread is good for you? The advertisers did, and did a good job at it because we now prefer eating bread over our beloved roti. Bread with sabzi, anyone?

Company-produced breads are often loaded with an extreme of everything- colour additives, trans fats, egg stabilizers, soda, yeast. The bread which promises to be brown or multigrain or oats or dalia has colour added and maybe a tablespoon of the ingredients they are trying to sell to you.

Secondly, breads are highly processed with preservatives, making them last longer on supermarket shelves. Rotis become stale because of the fresh flour used to prepare them. Moreover, since breads contain preservatives, they are unaffected by anything for a longer period of time.

Thirdly, breads only fill up your tummy. There is no evidence of large scale manufactured bread providing you nutrition or helping you lose weight in a healthy manner.

Roti is a wholesome meal in itself. Our parents, our grandparents and so on, have grown up eating this and have better immunity, hair, skin, strength and energy than us. Ever wondered why? Because they didn’t include processed foods like breads in their daily meals. Rotis have enough sodium, potassium, carbs, fiber, proteins to keep you healthy. A parantha will provide more satisfaction and nutrition than your brown bread or multigrain sandwich with veggies.

Worried about calories? One roti contains 110 calories. Two slices of bread contain a minimum of 132 unhealthy calories, in which our body converts the refined flour and sugar of the bread into fat.

Still think that replacing roti with bread is healthy for you?

Ever wondered what is so special about the way yogis eat? Here’s revealing some of the top secrets of yogis that can help attain a balance between the mind, body and soul…

An Alkaline start

There is a build-up of toxins and acids in our bodies overnight, hence a ritual of lemon water on an empty stomach is very dear to yoga. It is extremely alkaline, detoxifies and wakes ups all the organs much better than coffee does. Add pink Himalayan salt to it and you amplify its detoxifying power.

Sattvic eating

In ancient texts, there is no mention of carbs, proteins and fats. Food is divided into Sattvic, Rajasic and Tamasic. Sattvic diet is one that leads to clarity of mind and physical health. It is plant-based, light, extremely alkaline and eco-friendly – like fresh fruits, green leafy vegetables, nuts and grains. Rajasic is more stimulating, heat producing, rich and acidic, which includes meat, eggs, pickles, tea/coffee. Tamasic diet leads to dullness and lethargy. It’s acidic, putrid and reheated. It includes alcohol, sugary foods and beverages. Yogis only follow the Sattvic way of eating.

Plant-based

Everything in yoga is related to prana (life force). Food which has prana gives us physical and emotional strength. Cooked food is of less importance – heat destroys its fibre, nutrients and enzymes to quite an extent. So are canned, frozen, microwaved, or highly processed foods. Raw food, as intended by nature, gives us all vitamins and minerals – and in the most bio-available form. The method of sprouting is given top importance as it’s one of the best ways to consume functional “live” enzymes. Enzymes play a vital role in digestion and fighting disease.

Fasting

Yoga believes that accumulation of toxins breeds disease. Wrong eating habits, exposure to chemicals, build-up of negative emotions lead to an imbalance of mind and body. Fasting is one of the most common practices that can counter-balance this. There are various ways of fasting: water fast, fruit fast, giving up one or two meals in a day. The main reasoning behind this is to give our digestive system a break.

Smaller portions

A famous yogi once said: “The greatest enemy of health and long life is overeating.” There is a term in yoga called Mitahara, which means moderate eating, leaving one quarter of the stomach reserved for the movement of air. This eating style is easy on digestion and in quantities that can keep the body and mind clear and light.

Good fats

Yogic nutrition is incomplete without ghee, coconut oil and soaked nuts/seeds. They make food appetizing, digestible and satisfying. They help in healing the mind too. The presence of fats in the body improves memory, neural conductivity and mental well-being.

Herbs & adaptogens

Teas or concoctions of intensely flavoured and power-packed herbs like turmeric, ginger, coriander, pepper, cinnamon, and cardamom are the go-to beverages for yogis. They are anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and detoxifying in nature. Yoga also encourages use of adaptogens like Ashwagandha and Triphala. They are known to lower stress, stimulate thyroid function and protect against oxidative stress.