Anuradha Sridharan

I wasn't planning to write about this brand of digestive biscuits, given that I have already reviewed a few other brands (McVities, Parle Nutricrunch etc). But then I noticed a popular food blogger with a million followers, promoting Britannia Nutrichoice digestive biscuits as "healthy, high fibre, packed with whole wheat, nutritious etc". How irresponsible! The best part is that she adds honey in making a chocolate sauce and says that natural sweeteners are the best whereas the store bought chocolate sauce has added sugar. And then she proceeds to add 2 packs of Nutrichoice digestive biscuits to make a chocolate cake. What about the sugar and liquid glucose present in those biscuits, madam?

I ran a poll on Instagram a couple of days back and asked my followers to pick the product review they would be interested to read next on my blog. Guess what the majority picked - Britannia Nutrichoice Digestive biscuits, of course!

The brand focuses on "high fibre" as its core promise. But let's look at the ingredients:

Refined wheat flour,

Whole wheat flour (20%),

Edible vegetable oil (palm),

Sugar,

Wheat bran (4.7%),

Liquid Glucose,

Milk Solids,

Maltodextrin,

Raising agents [503(ii), 500(ii)],

Iodised salt,

Emulsifiers (322, 471, 472e),

Malt extract,

Dough conditioner (223)

Contains Added flavours (Nature Identical and artificial flavoring substances (vanilla))

Maida, palm oil and sugar feature in the top 4 ingredients. Though whole wheat flour is present, it is only 20%.
100 gms of these biscuits contain 14.5 gm of sugar (around 3.5 tsp of sugar) and 21 gm of unhealthy fats (around 5 tsp of fats)
The source of fibre is added wheat bran but the fibre is not substantial enough to be called as "high fibre" biscuits. 100 gms of these biscuits (around 9 biscuits) contain ONLY 6 gm of dietary fibre.There are plenty of natural sources of fibre - 1 medium sized guava contain 5gm of dietary fibre, 50 gm of roasted channa contain 8gm of dietary fibre. Why eat such junk to get our daily dose of fibre?
Though sugar is less as compared to other biscuits like Oreo/Parle-G, we need to check how much salt is added to balance the taste. Iodised salt is listed but the sodium levels are not mentioned in the nutrition facts table.
Raising agents - 503(ii) => Ammonium hydrogen carbonate, 500(ii) => sodium hydrogen carbonate or which we commonly call, baking soda. I'm sure some of you might have heard this advice from your mom/grandmom in your household many years back - "Don't eat bajji/bonda in restaurants. They add soda and it will upset your tummy." We were earlier concerned about the pinch of soda used in bajji/bonda that we used to order occasionally from a restaurant. But now, most of the bakery products and packaged foods (bread, bun, cookies, biscuits) contain baking soda and we eat them on a DAILY BASIS.
Emulsifiers used are 322 (lecithin), 471 (mono and diglycerides of fatty acids - glycerol monostearate, glycerol distearate), 472e (Diacetyltartaric and fatty acid esters of glycerol). All three of them are derived mainly from soya beans (as the pack shows vegetarian symbol). So there is a high chance that the raw material used could be genetically modified.

From my personal experience, what I have observed is that the digestive biscuits (irrespective of the brand) are quite addictive. They are being marketed as "healthy", "diabetic friendly", "wholewheat", "high fibre" etc but if we read the ingredients and nutrition facts, they are equally junk as compared to other biscuits in the market.

P.S. As I'm typing this post sitting at my in-law's place in Chennai, my daughter who was next to me noticed that I'm writing about this brand. She slowly whispered in my ears, "Paatti/Thaatha have these biscuits. I saw this pack in their biscuit box. Why don't you give your presentation to them?". I thought to myself, "Yeah, right! They are angry with me because I don't give you Horlicks, Complan, Britannia cake, cheese slices and what not. If people don't want to change their beliefs, there's no point in trying to change them."

Products that were earlier launched for diabetics are slowly making entry into the mainstream, given that most of us are becoming health conscious and want to take preventive measures against lifestyle diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, thyroid issues, high cholesterol etc. Until 4-5 years back, artificial sweeteners were exclusively consumed by people with diabetes. But now, these artificial sweeteners are positioned for health-conscious, urban population, irrespective of whether we have diabetes or not. Many brands capitalize on this "fear factor" riding on the latest health fads. "High protein" seems to be the most popular fad these days.

What used to be a health drink for diabetics is now repositioned for the general population. As mentioned in the pack, Protinex Diabetes Care is now Protinex Lite.

Ingredients:

Skimmed milk powder,

Stabilizer [gum arabic [acacia gum]]

soya protein isolate,

maltodextrin,

corn flour,

soya fibre,

maize starch,

wheat bran,

stabilizer [guar gum],

vitamins [ascorbic acid, dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate, retinyl acetate, nicotinamide, ergocalciferol, calcium pantothenae, thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, d-biotin],

minerals [magnesium oxide, ferric pyrophosphate, zinc sulphate, cupric gluconate, potassium iodate, sodium molybdate, chromic chloride, sodium selenate],

taurine

This drink contains 30% protein. More than the quantity of protein (gms) in these protein drinks, we should be concerned about the source of protein - based on the ingredients, protein is from skimmed milk powder and soya protein isolate.

As I had mentioned in my earlier post on meal replacement bar, more than 93% of soy planted in the United States is genetically modified. In India, only cotton is genetically modified as of now. Unless brands explicitly confirm that soy used is non-GMO or they mention that the source country of soy is India, I'm extremely skeptical of consuming soy products.
Given that most commercial milk is adulterated and the cows raised in large-scale dairy farms are given antibiotics, growth hormones and what not, I don't consider "dairy products" procured from a commercial large-scale industry as a reliable nutrition source for protein (or calcium). I would urge all these protein supplement brands (that use skimmed milk powder/whey protein isolate/whey protein concentrate as their protein source) to first prove that their supplements are free from antibiotics/growth hormones residues.

The second ingredient is gum arabic which is mainly used as a bulking agent. According to Noshly, a bulking agent is a filler substance that increases food bulk without increasing available energy value significantly. Gum arabic or acacia gum is a possible allergen, triggering asthma and skin rash.
There are so many unwanted ingredients such as maltodextrin, corn flour and maize starch. Many such protein drinks use maltodextrin, a starch-derived food additive that raises blood sugar levels rapidly. If we are neither extremely active nor participating in sports/athletics etc, then regular intake of maltodextrin may eventually lead to insulin resistance.

The sugar-free claim might be true, as sugar (sucrose) is not present in the ingredients list. But there are other ingredients that have a high glycemic index, which are equally detrimental to our health like sugar.

Protein is an important nutrient, no doubt. But I would rather get my dose of protein (vitamins and minerals too) from natural, plant-based sources than from such chemical concoctions.

Mother's day is nearing. And I see many "mom bloggers" and "food influencers" promoting this pack, saying how their energy levels have spiked up by consuming this drink and how they are able to multitask and handle various responsibilities. Please, what a boatload of lies! (I wanted to write a different phrase, but prefer to keep my blog space clean without any swear words). Social media la indha maadhiri promote panradhellaam periya responsibilityaa??

Fellow moms, eating simple, homecooked, real foods, being physically active, getting a good night's sleep and taking care of emotional self are the clear shot ways to boost one's energy levels. Please don't fall for such traps.

"Karma", "Fate", "Destiny" - whatever be the name, it feels like I was MEANT TO read this book. Before I write about the book, let me share a quick story of how I ended up buying it. A few weeks back, we were roaming around Brigade Road and stopped at Blossoms Book Store. I was browsing through books on the ground floor and selected a few to buy, while my husband was on the third floor, sitting and reading a book. He kept it back on the shelf and we were walking back to our car. While we were driving home, he said, "You know, I was reading this book. You might like it. I have heard the author speak at IIMB a few years back". I was curious about this book but didn't follow through. After a couple of weeks, I was around Brigade Road, attending a personal finance workshop. The core topic of the workshop was all about growth, high returns from mutual funds and how the markets have fared well in the past 2 decades etc. Though the workshop was informative, I was walking back with a lot of questions running on my mind - how can we make an assumption that the markets would give similar high returns in the next 2 decades, why aren't we factoring in other critical issues like environmental degradation, climate change etc? After having lunch at a restaurant nearby, I told my husband, "Let's go and check if the book you recommended to me is still available in Blossoms". Sure enough, it was there on the very same shelf where my husband had kept it. I didn't glance much but intuitively I felt it was the right book for me. After purchasing it, I realized it was a signed copy by the author himself. That's the beauty of a second hand book store - you might get such surprises!

Coming to the book, the author Mansoor Khan has dealt with a very important topic - that perpetual exponential growth is impossible with earth's finite resources. In the first few chapters of the book, he has explained about the industrial revolution, our extreme dependencies on oil and our constant expectations of exponential growth. The "Concept vs Reality" approach he has used to explain the context and unravel the problem was thought-provoking and easy to understand.

These two passages hit the nail on the head -

"The Earth is not a huge, inanimate hunk of mud, rock, ores, minerals etc that can spew out resources at whatever rate we wish for human purpose alone. It is not to be viewed as a storehouse of resources for us to extract, loot and dispose of........The Earth in fact is a complex organism. It is as living as each of us."

"A crazy and unreal concept of Perpetual Exponential Quantitative Growth (PEQG) of money leads to chasing and looting half the planet's energy and resources, disrupting ecosystems, fraying social structures and corrupting moral integrity."

After setting the premise of how our expectations of PEQG is unrealistic, the author talks about how we have crossed the Global Peak of oil production around 2005 and it is downhill from thereafter. Given our exponential growth and high dependency on oil, we don't have much time left until the remaining available oil is used up.

There have been quite a hue and cry over alternative energy sources in the past couple of decades, but the author has explained in detail about how each of the proposed alternative energy sources fails to meet the 5 energy rules. I admit I felt all gloomy and depressed, reading about the lack of alternatives.

But the chapter on Transition gave me hope and clarity. And I will refer to this chapter more often, as my thoughts and ideologies seem to align with the proposed solution.

"We have to now first personally believe that small is beautiful, less is good, local is important, community is strength, sharing itself is charity and diversity is paramount."

Well researched, hard-hitting, thorough analysis and at the same time, easy to understand, I highly recommend this book to all who want to understand the hard reality - that the way we are consuming planet's resources is not sustainable in the long run and we need to take corrective action NOW. Changing our light bulbs to CFL or buying "energy efficient" refrigerators won't make much of a difference.

This book is available as a free download on the author's website. Do check it out.

Before our mommy bloggers start posting that their children are the next Einstein because of consuming these brain boosters every day, let me jump ahead and post my review.

The ingredients list look similar to Cipla's Immuno boosters (review posted here). The main promise of this brain boosters is that it contains the power of real almonds and Brahmi. Look at the minuscule percentages - 5% almonds and 0.7% Brahmi extract.

Each chocolate contains 3gm of sugar and harmful hydrogenated vegetable fats.

Children can get all the required vitamins and minerals from natural foods. As parents, it is our responsibility to introduce real foods and ensure they get access to natural, home-cooked foods every day. Let's not rely on such chocolates please!
We don't need to sugar coat everything.

Brands keep discovering new ways to sell junk. Let's be conscious of our choices.

This book was recommended to me by so many people. I purchased a copy last year but didn't make the time to read it. While reading Mansoor Khan's "The third curve", I noticed that he has mentioned this book in his list of recommendations. That was the "last straw" for me to pick up this brilliant book, which I managed to finish it in 3 days.

I'm starting to believe this statement - "When the reader is ready, the book appears."

Coming to this book, Masanobu Fukuoka talks about the perils of modern agriculture and why return to "do-nothing" / natural farming is the need of the hour. Simplistic, easy to relate, hard-hitting and brilliant writing that I was totally hooked onto this book for the past 3 days. Having been reading up about food and nutrition for the past 7 years, it is a natural transition for me to invest efforts in understanding where and how our food comes from.

The author starts off with talking about his personal experiences in transitioning to natural farming, growing rice, clover and other grains in his farm. He diligently follows four principles of farming - no cultivation (no plowing of the soil), no chemical fertilizer or prepared compost, no weeding by using herbicides and no dependence on chemicals. For someone with no exposure to farming like me, the chapters that elaborate on these principles would be fascinating to read.

The second half of the book emphasizes a lot about living in harmony with nature, growing crops according to the season and eating habits that focus on eating simple, local and wholesome foods. The questions the author keeps raising throughout the book related to food, industrial growth, ambition, education, sustainability etc are so impactful that your mind expands to see new horizons.

Here are a few passages from the book that I liked:

"The consumer's willingness to pay high prices for food produced out of season has also contributed to the increased usage of artificial growing methods and chemicals"
"Until there is a reversal of the sense of values which cares more for size and appearance than for quality, there will be no solving the problem of food pollution."
"Produce grown in an unnatural way satisfies people's fleeting desires but weakens the human body and alters the body chemistry so that is dependent upon such foods."

Until a few years back, cauliflower used to be only available for 3-4 months in winter but it is now available throughout the year. There's hardly any taste whatsoever, but people continue to buy cauliflower as it is being considered a "low calorie" vegetable. The same applies to various fruits and vegetables these days.

The chapter on pricing natural foods was a revelation to me. I had always thought that growing natural foods is expensive and that's the reason for the premium pricing of organic foods. But the author provides a different view:

"Growing fruit without applying chemicals, using fertilizer or cultivating the soil involves less expense and the farmer's net profit is therefore higher."
"As for the consumer, the common belief has been that natural food should be expensive. If it is not expensive, people suspect that it is not natural food."

The lines I absolutely loved:

"If we do have a food crisis it will not be caused by the insufficiency of nature's productive power but by the extravagance of human desire."

"When a naive scientific knowledge becomes the basis of living, people come to live as if they are dependent only on starch, fats and protein, and plants on nitrogen, phosphorus and potash."

I'll stop here, as there are so many such powerful lines/phrases that I have underlined throughout the book.

If food interests you, then this is one book you shouldn't miss out.

A famous blogger who claimed that the secret of her energy was Saffola Fittify hi-protein meal shake a few weeks back now has shifted her loyalties to Horlicks Protein Plus. Earlier I used to find such promotional posts irritating but now I find them so funny and entertaining. How quickly they switch brands with no hesitation!! 😆😆😆 Do brands even have any contracts/agreements with Insta influencers? Do these contracts have a no-compete clause at all?

Anyway, let's focus on the product. I wanted to get the ingredients list but couldn't find it on Amazon or Bigbasket. I found the label on Flipkart.

When a brand claims "no added sugar", the first thing we need to do is to check the ingredients for artificial sweeteners. As you might notice, it contains Acesulfame potassium. I have written about this ingredient in Women's Horlicks review. All artificial sweeteners have harmful side effects.

This term "Contains added flavour" without any details need to be looked at as well. Why can't they explicitly state what the flavours are?

This protein shake/mix is just becoming a huge business. Let's not focus only on the protein quantity and ignore the rest of the ingredients.

I have been pondering about this topic for the past few weeks, mainly fueled by the books I have read and the people I have met over the past 2 months.

In Apr, I read this amazing book "Digital minimalism" by Cal Newport, where the chapter on solitude and contemplation left me speechless. I could relate to that chapter so much as I'm someone who keeps jumping from one thing to another all the time. There were hardly any minutes during my day where I did "NOTHING". I deprived myself of solitude through various distractions.

Cal defines solitude as

"a subjective state in which your mind is free from input from other minds."

"Being alone with our own thoughts" used to be possible every day around 12-15 years back, while we are waiting in a queue, walking to a nearby store, taking public transport or taking a leisurely stroll in a park. Many times, I have been able to get new ideas/solutions to problems I have been working on while taking a shower or while I cook.

How much time are we allocating in a day to be with our own thoughts without any devices these days?

When I decided to cut down my smartphone usage after reading Digital Minimalism, I was hoping that I would savor those "do-nothing" moments. But I took to reading big time and all the free times in between my daily responsibilities went to reading new books. Nothing wrong in reading as a habit, for it has given me opportunities to read some interesting books lately. But it is also a form of "Consumption", where we are engrossed in the opinions and thoughts of the authors ("inputs from other minds").

In "The One-Straw Revolution", Masanobu Fukuoka writes,

"Originally people would look into a starry night sky and feel awe at the vastness of the universe. Now questions of time and space are left entirely to the consideration of scientists"

How true this statement is! While in college days, I used to lie down on the terrace floor and just look at the night sky, feel the gentle summer breeze, stare at the moon and think about nothing. I haven't done this for many years now.

I'm sure it is not just our generation who has lost this habit of do-nothing. I see many family members from my previous generation who are hooked onto TV big time. The TV has to be running in the background the whole day. For some reason, it keeps them calm is what I hear. If it is the TV that ruined it for our parents, it is our smartphones, Internet, TV, iPads, books, Kindle, video games etc for our generation and our children's. Yes, it is becoming worse as days pass by.

As I was attending a session on "decoding present-day economics" yesterday, the topic of discussion was about materialistic consumption. As we were watching the documentary "The century of the self", this particular passage caught my attention.

The words of Paul Mazur, a leading Wall Street banker working for Lehman Brothers in 1927, are cited: "We must shift America from a needs- to a desires-culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been entirely consumed. [...] Man's desires must overshadow his needs..."

One of the reasons why large economies push for over-consumption in people's minds is that it helps to keep people docile and not question anything. This is such a relevant point in today's times. We slog during weekdays and indulge in mindless consumption during weekends.

Last weekend, we went to see a children's movie in a multiplex. Let me state upfront - we don't go for movies in a movie theatre often, this is a rare family outing. The overall experience left me shell shocked - a movie experience for a family of 3 costs around Rs.2000. A cup of coffee was Rs.160 which tasted yuck and so unpalatable. Both my husband and I discussed about these mall expenses and decided such movie outings are totally not worth our hard-earned money.

On the other hand, we had been to a nearby small restaurant yesterday where a small glass of coffee that costs Rs.10 tasted so good and fresh.

I'm digressing here, but as you can see, it is easy to indulge in mindless consumption these days - the ones that cost us money (materialistic) and/or time (devices, social media etc). Such consumption is only making us docile and not allowing us any time or mind space to question anything around us.

We don't ask any questions about why things are the way they are. Why do we buy so many things? Why do we spend so much during weekends? How is our consumption impacting others, other living beings and our planet? Why are we hoarding many things at our home? Why are we okay with spending for a popup "curated" meal experience that costs Rs.3000 per person per meal? Why do we buy so much junk foods? Why are we not reading food labels? Why do we support fast fashion?

I don't have answers, but what I'm realizing is that I need to invest time doing nothing. It is easier said than done, but will consciously make efforts towards it. Hopefully, I might find answers to these questions during those moments of solitude.

Sources:

https://www.businessinsider.in/Theres-A-Staggering-Conspiracy-Behind-The-Rise-Of-Consumer-Culture/articleshow/21323381.cms

I have received 3-4 DMs in the past few days asking me to prescribe diet plans for weight loss. And there's one more question which I'm often asked is "Why do you always talk about what not to eat? Why can't you write about foods to eat? Why not talk about healthy packaged foods?"

Since all these questions are related, I thought I would address them as a post.

First and foremost, let's NOT ask random strangers on social media for weight loss diet plans. I believe that diet plans SHOULD only be recommended by qualified medical professionals. These days, a person loses 5 kgs and becomes a fitness influencer. As I wrote earlier, someone who does a nutrition course in Coursera calls himself/herself a certified nutritionist. So let's be extremely cautious of such people who are sprouting on Instagram all the time and not fall for the flat-abs/skin show that they unabashedly "curate" on their feed.

Yes, we can take inspiration from people whose posts/thoughts resonate with us. But we cannot BECOME them. Let's appreciate our individuality and choose foods/diet plans based on what works for us.

Choosing what to eat is completely up to you, based on numerous factors - your genes, your native cuisine, where you live, foods that agree with your palate and tummy etc.

I try to post at least one meal pic of mine on Insta on a daily basis. My intention is to spread awareness on the importance of eating fresh, local and traditional foods. Millets, indigenous rice, local veggies and traditional recipes feature regularly in my diet. I'm a South Indian and so my weekly meal plan looks approximately like this - 80% South Indian cuisine, 10-15% North Indian cuisine and 5-10% Non-Indian (pasta, pizza, soups etc).

Choosing what to eat is quite simple, in my opinion. Eating fresh, homecooked, local, traditional and seasonal - this is the mantra I believe in.

Choosing what to NOT eat is becoming a complex task these days, given the numerous junk-masquerading-as-healthy options prevailing in the market. Also, a crucial part of eating right is NOT to add more and more new foods to our diet, but removing the wrong foods from our diet. Something I spoke about in detail in this post.

"Healthy packaged" foods is an OXYMORON. It is like finding a needle in a haystack. Having analyzed numerous packaged foods available in the Indian supermarkets, I couldn't find any so far. There are small/upcoming brands that are coming up with healthier options, but compared to food corporations, these small brands don't yet have the distribution or production capacities to meet consumer demands at scale.

There are MANY who write about what to eat, but there's hardly anyone who writes about what NOT to eat. I stopped eating all forms of packaged/junk foods for the past 5-6 years. And this ONE change has brought in a lot of positive effects on my health. And my goal is to spread this message - first eliminate all processed/packaged/junk foods from your diet, then choose foods based on what you believe is healthy.

A friend of mine messaged me about this product - milk flavouring straws for children who hate milk. One search in Insta shows me how mommy bloggers have been promoting it with such impactful videos showing kids who say no to milk and regular foods but gulping down milk with this straw. Do see a few videos for yourself. Unbelievable! Professional ad makers can go on a sabbatical !!

What irks me the most is that in all these posts, these mommy bloggers say that these straws are sweetened with stevia. Guess no one bothered to see the ingredients list.

1. The very first ingredient is sugar. Yes, over 50% of the product is sugar.
2. The selling point "colostrum" is only around 4% in powder form.
3. Maltodextrin is the second listed ingredient. Why is this artificial ingredient needed in a toddler's diet?
4. The pack says no artificial flavours but nature identical flavours are present.

Each pack comes with 30 plastic straws and servings recommended is 2. The pack costs ₹350. Though these straws are portrayed as BPA free, reusable and recyclable, how many straws will be reused? How many will be taken to proper recycling centers?

We are reaching new heights of ridiculousness day by day.

Over the past year or so, there has been a rise in the number of packaged milkshake brands that are being launched in India. At the same time, I also notice the proliferation of milkshake outlets in every nook and corner of Bangalore - Frozen Bottle, Keventers etc.

What are the factors influencing the growth of milk-based beverages market? What's the growth rate of milk production in the country? How is the local demand trending? Are people shifting from packaged fruit juices to packaged milkshakes/flavored yoghurts etc? Or is it because of flat or declining export demands? Something worth exploring.

As part of my daily news updates, I go through fnbnews to learn about new product launches. I came across this launch announcement a few days back - ITC launches dairy beverages SunFeast Wonderz milk in 4 variants.

A Bigbasket search for milkshakes shows up at least 7-8 brands of milkshakes with many variants, all of them with the usual promise of "high protein / high calcium / added vitamins & minerals". But a peek into the ingredients list and nutrition facts will clearly show how every single brand is loaded with sugar. Here's a quick comparison of the popular brands.

1. As you can see, each brand contains around 5-6 tsp of sugar per pack. Do note that the nutrition facts table shows values per 100 ml whereas the pack size is either 180ml / 200 ml. We need to be conscious of this fact.

2. The shelf life of all these packs is close to 6 months. How does milk stay fit for consumption for 6 months? Obviously, there are various additives added to increase the shelf life - emulsifiers, stabilizers etc.

3. I have only looked at the vanilla flavors of these brands. The fruit flavors have hardly any real fruit pulp but contain many synthetic food colors and artificial flavors. For example, Sunfeast Wonderz fruit n milk mango flavor emphasizes "mango pulp and bits" in the front label but if you look at the ingredients, mango pulp is ONLY 4% and mango bits are 2.5%. The yellow color comes from synthetic food colors - INS 102 and INS 110.

4. Paperboat uses this tagline "drinks and memories" but I don't remember our mothers/grandmothers adding xanthan gum/guar gum/carrageenan to our milkshakes. Let's not fall for such emotional traps (nostalgia, guilt, fear) being used extensively in marketing these days.

Most of us have a mixer/blender at home. Let's make milkshakes at home IF we want to drink them. Totally not worth buying these tetra packs of sugar, synthetic colours, artificial flavors and additives.

I have been following Luke Coutinho's works for the past couple of years. His thoughts on wellness, nutrition and fitness resonate with me so much. Needless to say, I've become a fan and look forward to his videos on FB/youtube. When he announced his new book "The magic weight loss pill", I was pretty excited and I had pre-ordered a copy.

If you have been listening to his videos regularly (like me), you would definitely hear his voice as you read this book :-)

The focus area of the book is LIFESTYLE and it is prescribed as a magic pill, not just for weight loss but for general fitness, well-being and for a healthy life. The first part of the book covers the four pillars of good health - balanced nutrition, fitness, sleep and emotional detoxification. Many examples and case studies are covered, along with ailments-specific explanations. The second part of the book talks about 62 lifestyle changes, explained in an easy-to-implement manner.

What I loved about this book is the simplicity of the writing. Many concepts like detoxification, hormonal balance, acidity, inflammation, stress response etc are explained in layman terms by demystifying the jargon. The explanation of gut health and how nutrients are absorbed from the large intestine using the fishing net example was just amazing.

Apart from the 62 lifestyle changes, there are quite a bit of takeaways that one can implement in their life, by going through the first part of the book.

A few powerful phrases that made an impact on me:

"Less is more when it comes to the consumption of protein"

"All cravings could just be an unhealthy gut communicating with your brain in the wrong language"

"If you want to eat sweets and junk food, never do so immediately after a workout"

"Using exercise to lose weight or as a remedy to eating the wrong food is the reason why weight loss continues to be the most wanted and yet most elusive goal for most people"

"If I were given a choice between artificial sweetener and white sugar, I would pick the latter because the human body is not designed to break down aspartame."

"Working out for one hour everyday and then sitting for the rest of the days makes you just 4 percent more active than someone who doesn't work out."

The only thing I wish that was different in this book is the structure or the way in which the 62 lifestyle changes are presented. It could have been grouped under the 4 pillars or in some other logical group, so it would be easy for us to relate or remember. Nevertheless, the take-aways are plenty, that this lack of structure doesn't matter much.

Do pick up this book if you are interested in nutrition, health, fitness and of course, weight loss.

Though social media usage is attributed to several issues, I must admit that I discover interesting people and their works through social media. Early 2014, a friend on FB shared a video snippet of a talk by Dr.Sivaraman and ever since I saw that video, I have become a big fan of him, read all his books and articles. His works have made a tremendous difference in my food habits since then.

A few months back, I stumbled upon a hard-hitting talk given by Aarti Rajarathnam on modern-day parenting issues. Since then, I have listened to many of her talks. So sensible, patient and relevant for today's parenting challenges. I also found out that she had written a book on the topic of parenting along with Brinda Jayaraman.

I was so happy when I realized that this book is on Kindle Unlimited.

This book dives into depth about four parenting styles, the issues both the child and parent need to handle and the impact on the personality of growing children depending on the parenting style being followed. This was an interesting chapter with relevant case studies.

The chapter on quality time is something we modern parents need to hear. This hard-hitting line sums it up - "You should never be substituted by an object or gift."

"Children know when you are not paying attention to them and it affects them deeply and often makes them feel rejected and unwanted because you make them feel that someone else or something else is more important."

Importance of social skills, respect for others, rules and boundaries are explained in detail. The reasons for a child's misbehavior could be attributed to one of the four Cs - the need to connect, to feel capable, to feel counted and to feel courageous. The explanation was just brilliant and I could relate to many scenarios.

The book keeps getting better as we progress. The chapter on "Mental toxins" was so impactful. The difference between poison and toxin felt like an aha moment to me, and I could relate to this when it comes to why parents feed junk to their kids.

"Poison is any substance that causes instant death. A toxin is a substance that causes a slower death often with subtle or no symptoms."

Mental toxins being referred here are excess use of gadgets, television, video games etc. The author has explained on the possible ill-effects of such use and how it affects the child. She has also given many guidelines on how to set rules and moderate usage, how to use technology effectively, importance of PLAY and outdoors.

There is also a chapter on various parenting myths. The one that I really loved was the difference between bribe and reward. It was mind-blowing. I have been making this mistake with D - only IF you do this, you will get this.

"The difference between a bribe and a reward is that in the bribe scenario the child is in control though you think you are and in the reward situation, you are truly in control but are able to get the desired outcome or result from the child. "If-then" rule implies a bribe and "When-then" rule implies a reward."

The final chapter on mind, body and spirit talks about many useful practices that contribute to holistic development of the child. Lots of helpful tips and guidelines here. I'm sure I need to read this book one more time to fully absorb the material.

I'd highly recommend this book to ALL parents. Please do read.

"To be in your children's memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today" - Barbara Johnson

I had already posted about the ingredients in flavored Greek yogurt. This one is the newly launched smoothie variant in a plastic bottle. The price point is Rs.70.

This 200ml strawberry flavoured pack contains a whopping 24.3 gm / 6 TSP of sugar. Yeah, 6 TSP. The total fruit content is only around 7%.

And the best part is this line "our smoothie is just like your lassi". Really? I don't remember that we add permitted enzyme, stabilizer and acidity regulator in our lassi. And definitely not 6 TSP of sugar. I'm not even looking into the protein content, given the high amounts of sugar. Will eat a bowl of dal / sundal for my protein.

Yet another junk masquerading as healthy. Would the new investor Deepika Padukone include this in her diet?

Yesterday, one of my Instagram followers had replied to my post that I should start using #anueatsclean tag. During my initial days on Instagram, I used to add this hashtag #eatclean to many posts but I no longer use it. And there is a reason behind this decision.

The term "Clean eating" has become associated with fancy super foods, imported produce, calorie counted / macros distributed plates and latest diet fads. Since I don't subscribe to any of these ideas, I decided not to tag my posts with #eatclean.

Nutrition and food has become a passionate topic for many, including yours truly. And each of us believe our ideologies strongly. Yes, these are our beliefs. I believe that avoiding packaged foods and eating fresh, local, seasonal and traditional foods is one of the important elements behind good health.

I never said in any of my posts that calorie counting is bad OR macros tracking is bad. All I say is that I don't believe in calorie counting or macros tracking. I don't believe in latest diet fads. If you believe in these, good for you. But let's accept the fact that there are also people in the world who don't believe in these latest trends. If you don't want to accept them for their different ideologies, do unfollow them, so you can be at peace. I have unfollowed many people who promote packaged, junk foods. Believe me, I'm more at peace when I scroll through my feed.

The concepts of nutrition, food chain and diets have intentionally been made so complicated that one cannot claim that a particular diet form is superior or THE BEST to solve all health issues. As individuals, we tend to BELIEVE or NAVIGATE towards a certain form of eating. It works for us and for our family. It may not be the ABSOLUTE truth but we tend to perceive it that way.

Until and unless we grow the food ourselves and embrace the garden-to-plate (farm-to-plate), we wouldn't be able to claim that this particular food is THE HEALTHIEST. The binary way of thinking will not help us to choose the right foods.

I prefer to take the point of view - "It's all relative". How healthy a certain food is as compared to something else?

To give you an example, cauliflower is being pitched as the low calorie food and it is being extensively consumed by those who are on low carb diets. But as a person who BELIEVES in eating seasonal produce, I wouldn't buy cauliflower in summers. I'm not aware of the kind of chemicals being used in order to meet the demand for cauliflowers all throughout the year. I'd rather pick summer veggies like gourds, cucumbers and ladyfingers that are in alignment with nature and so the use of chemicals would be RELATIVELY low (again, it is an assumption that I'm making).

I'm a vegetarian but I don't consume a lot of dairy products. I have read many reports on the harmful practices being followed in producing commercial dairy products. So that has made me believe that I don't want to depend on dairy for my protein needs. I BELIEVE that plant-based protein sources are relatively BETTER options and I try to buy organic as much as possible. Again, it is my assumption that there are no pesticides residue in the organic dals I'm buying.

These are examples of conscious decisions that I make based on my beliefs. As humans, it is natural that we gather evidences to support/reinforce our beliefs. In the era of social media, we tend to share these evidences and proclaim our beliefs to the world.

"We are what we eat" - you might have heard of this familiar proverb. "We are what we consume" - Our beliefs get formed based on content we consume from books, social media, videos, articles, podcasts, direct interactions with people etc. My beliefs related to food and nutrition are being formed, thanks to my family elders, Dr.Sivaraman, Rujuta Diwekar, Luke Coutinho, Dr.Khader, Healer Baskar, Semmai vanam's Senthamizhan and many others.

So long story short...I believe in eating fresh, local, seasonal and traditional foods. I don't believe in calorie counting, macros tracking or latest diet fads. My posts will reflect these beliefs. If you are offended by these, please feel free to unfollow me.

A few days back, I was explaining to a startup founder about my blog.

Me: "I help people decipher the ingredients list and nutrition facts of packaged foods, so they can make conscious food choices."

Him: "Interesting....but do you see it is making a difference?"

Me: "I hope so"

Him: "No one reads the labels. Packaged foods have become a way of life and we can't escape from it"

And the conversation continued in different directions.

It is a sad reality that most people don't read food labels. Because of this, many brands are fooling consumers in multiple ways. Be it the use of health tags, unbacked health claims, namesake mention of ingredients that are perceived to give good health etc.

Let me share yet another example of how brands exploit our attraction towards "superfoods" and target people who jump to buy anything IF oats/quinoa/kale/millets/moringa etc are mentioned in the packs.

I have already written about Saffola Fittify Gourmet Meal Shake and Meal Soup. Do take a look if you haven't yet read them.

In this post, let's look at their "gourmet" breakfast mixes.

Saffola Fittify Gourmet Quinoa upma

The pack highlights quinoa in all possible ways - how it is a superfood, natural source of protein, 9 essential amino acids etc etc. BUT look at the ingredients list and the truth reveals itself.

Roasted semolina (rava) constitutes 64%. Quinoa is ONLY 9%.

As I keep reiterating, we shouldn't blindly go with the nutrient values in gms. It is important to check for the source of the nutrient. Given that quinoa used is so less, the protein also comes from soy protein isolate (3rd ingredient).

Dehydrated veggies is around 4.2%, hardly any nutrition there.

The same story repeats in their other breakfast mixes as well.

Saffola Fittify Gourmet Quinoa poha

Rice flakes used is 58%, whereas quinoa is ONLY 7%

And the oil used is corn oil, one of the worst possible cooking oils.

Saffola Fittify Gourmet Millet upma

Semolina (rava) used is 71%, whereas mixed millets contribute ONLY 12%. It is so easy to make a millet upma WITHOUT any rava. What's the point of such ""gourmet" mixes?

Saffola Fittify Gourmet Millet poha

Rice flakes used is 67%, whereas mixed millets contribute ONLY 12%.

Clearly, this brand is so misleading. The packaging MAINLY highlights quinoa, millets and their health benefits. BUT the amounts used are so minuscule.

People who live abroad, this is the kind of "gourmet" stuff we get in India. When I talk about quinoa, oats etc, please look at the reality here in INDIA before you judge my posts. You might get the best ingredients and high quality packaged foods in the country where you live in, where there are stricter regulations and packaging norms. None of that is happening here. People are being misled by brands left, right and centre.

As I said in an earlier post, digital minimalism is an important focus area for me this year. Today, let me share how my progress has been so far and what I'm planning for July.

April this year was a more productive month for me. After reading "Digital minimalism", I had cut down my phone usage to an hour per day. Also thanks to Internet downtime for over a week in April, I was able to read quite a few books and did other offline activities that I enjoy. Then in May, I traveled to Chennai and I was there for 10 days. Feeling quite bored, I returned to my old ways. Phone usage went back to 2-3 hours a day. The same continued after I returned home.

In June, after the school reopened for my daughter, I had set a few daily habits for myself and tracked them diligently in my journal. One such daily habit was "No phone use after 8:30PM". After finishing dinner and winding up my kitchen work, I check my phone one last time around 8:30PM and set "Do not disturb" option. For most weekdays, I was able to follow this habit except for a couple of Friday and Saturday nights. Since I usually like to read a few pages before going to bed, 8:30-9:30PM is reading time, when both my daughter and I would read our respective books. Last 3 months, I managed to finish reading around 10 books and a few are in progress.

Towards the end of June, as I looked through my usage stats in Android's "Digital wellbeing" app, I realized that I have been spending more than 60% of my phone time on Instagram. Though I no longer use much of FB or Twitter, I knew my Instagram use is quite high.

As I was planning my goals for July, I decided to take a break from Instagram for the whole month. The main reason being that I wanted to avoid constant checking and mindless scrolling whenever I feel a tinge of boredom. Also, I realized I was spending more time explaining myself or defending my posts, which is totally a waste of time, especially with people who don't want to hear you out. Though I tell myself I wouldn't be bothered by such comments, I have to admit that my subconscious keeps chewing on the same.

As Mark Manson says in this article titled Outrage,

"It isn’t that our beliefs have changed, it’s thatthe way we feel about people we disagree with has changed.
In short, people have become less tolerant of opposing opinions. And their reactions to those opinions has become more emotional and outrageous."

I have uninstalled Instagram from my phone for now. The break will give me perspective on how I want to use this channel productively in a way, it adds value to myself and to others.

Speaking of Mark Manson, I highly recommend this brilliant article "The attention diet". As I'm consciously thinking of ways to optimize my time online, this article couldn't have come at a better time. I just loved the way he has compared nutritional diet (for our body) and attention diet (for our mind).

"The same way we discovered that the sedentary lifestyles of the 20th century required us to physically exert ourselves and work our bodies into healthy shape, I believe we’re on the cusp of discovering a similar necessity for our minds. We need to consciously limit our own comforts. We need to force our minds to strain themselves, to work hard for their information, to deprive our attention of the constant stimulation that it craves."

He also explains beautifully why we should embrace boredom.

"They say necessity is the mother of invention. Well, boredom is the father. Every great burst of creativity or action is inseminated with the wiles of boredom."

Do read the whole article, lots of relevant insights to note.

The much-awaited document is finally here. I went through the English version (starting Page 40) in detail. Glad to read through many of these proposed regulations but my only concern is the timing - WHEN will these be enforced. And also hoping that packaged foods industry leaders don't intervene and "adjust" the thresholds defined as per their convenience.

The part that I'm most interested in is the FRONT label highlighting the nutrition values of added sugar, sodium, saturated fats and trans-fats and the thresholds for color coding high values in RED.

Source: FSSAI Food Safety and Standards (Labeling and Display) Draft Notification

Though the threshold values seem tight enough, brands are given three years to MARK them as RED in a phased manner if they exceed the thresholds specified

For current year after these regulations come into force - only labeling in the front of the pack, NO color coding
After the 1st year, threshold values + 30% of threshold values are allowed
After the 2nd year, threshold values + 15% of threshold values are allowed
After the 3rd year, threshold values

High Sugar:

To explain this in simple terms, Let's take the example of Bournvita biscuits

Threshold value specified => For added sugar, in case the value of energy (kcal) from added sugar is more than 10 percentof the total energy (kcal) provided by the 100 g/100 ml of the product

100 gm of these biscuits contain 30 gm of sugar and provide 457 kCal of energy.

30 gm of sugar contribute 120 kCal (1gm of sugar = 4 kCal)

So the value of energy from added sugar is 26.2%, which is way above the 10% threshold.

For the current year, it won't be marked as RED

After 1st year, the criteria is 10% + 30% of 10% = 13%

Since the sugar level exceeds 13%, starting from 2nd year onwards, these biscuits should show the sugar value in RED.

High Sodium:
Based on Schedule I, I looked at the nutrition thresholds defined for sodium for a few categories
1. Processed cheese - 0.6 gm of sodium per 100 gm of product

Britannia cheese slice contains 1426 mg (1.426 gm) per 100 gm. So this would be color coded RED.

2. Ready to eat breakfast cereals - 0.35 gm of sodium per 100 gm of product

Saffola Masala oats pack doesn't even list sodium in the nutrition facts table, although salt is the third ingredient.

3. Noodles and pasta - 0.25 gm of sodium per 100 gm of product
With this threshold, our nation's beloved(?) Maggi noodles will be color coded RED (100 gm of Maggi contains 1232 mg or 1.232 gm of sodium, way above the 0.25 gm threshold)

4. Ready-to-eat soups - 0.35 gm of sodium per 100 gm of product
100 gm of Knorr vegetable soup contains 4938 mg or 4.938 gm of sodium, way above the 0.35 gm threshold.

Other important points that caught my attention:

1. E-Commerce labeling

When a food product is sold through e-commerce or any other direct selling means, the mandatory requirements of the label as given in these regulations shall be provided to the consumer through appropriate means before sale.

This is such an important regulation if and when it comes into effect. Most e-commerce players neither list the complete ingredients list nor show the screenshots of ingredients and nutrition facts from the packaging. Given that most grocery purchases are shifting online in urban areas, it is imperative that this rule is enforced strictly.

2. Specific names to be printed

In cases where edible vegetable oil or edible vegetable fat is used, the exact names need to be printed on the label (groundnut oil, mustard oil etc)

3. Declare the quantitative value present IF an ingredient is highlighted in the label

Every package of food sold as a mixture or combination shall disclose the percentage of the ingredient (including compound ingredients or categories of ingredients) used at the time of the manufacture of the food, if such ingredient– (i)is emphasized as present on the label through words or pictures or graphics; or (ii)is not within the name of the food but, is essential to characterize the food and is expected to be present in the food by consumers, if the omission of the quantitative ingredient declaration will mislead or deceive the consumer.

This is so required these days, given the predominant marketing of superfoods and other perceived "health" foods. For eg, the label says "potato crisps made with olive oil" but the percentage of olive oil used is not mentioned.

4. Nutritional information table will now contain sodium (mg). McCain Frozen snacks, kindly note this point.

5. Declare omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids content on the label

every package of edible oils, interesterified vegetable fat, both hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, edible fats, margarine and fat spreads (mixed fat spread and vegetable fat spread) shall declare the quantity of monounsaturated fatty, polyunsaturated fatty acid, omega-3 fatty acid and omega-6 fatty acid content on the label.

All packaged oils that proudly talk about omega-3 in their marketing promos, they will now need to list the exact values.

6. Allowance for variations is +/- 10% on the nutrition values on the label

7. Vegetarian food will have the following identification mark

The symbol shall consist of a green colour filled triangle inside a square with green outline

8. Names of flavoring agents need to be declared

In case of artificial flavoring substances the common name of the flavor shall be declared;

In case of natural flavoring substances or nature identical substances the class name of flavors shall be declared.

9. “Date of manufacture or packaging” and “Expiry /Use by” shall be grouped together and given at one place.

10. Front labeling guidelines

The front of the pack should contain the nutrition values of total calories, added sugar, saturated fat, transfat and sodium. Per serve contribution of energy, saturated fat, trans fat, added sugar and sodium to RDA as per format indicated

11. Any beverage provides energy less than 80 Kcal/ per serve is exempted from colour coding.

12. HFSS food products shall not be advertised to children in any form

There was just this single statement, but no details mentioned.

13. Food Service Establishments having Central license or outlets at 10 or more locations shall mention the calorific value against the food items displayed on the menu cards or boards.

We would now get to know the calorie value of that Dominos Pizza or the McDonalds burger.

14. The package, label or the advertisement of edible refined vegetable oils and fats shall not use any exaggerated expressions like “Super-Refined”, “Extra-Refined”, “Micro-Refined”, “Double refined,”, Ultra-Refined”.

Do take a look at the complete document as there is more coverage than what I have highlighted here.

The diet terms such as "vegan", "gluten free", "low carb" etc are being used liberally by food brands - be it the product name, FoP labels, advertisements, influencer marketing collateral etc.

One such brand is this newly launched "gluten free" flour by Aashirvaad at a whopping price of Rs.190 per kg.

Before we jump in and buy products labelled as "gluten free", it is important to check out the ingredients list.

Source: Screenshot taken from Amazon.in (https://www.amazon.in/Aashirvaad-Natures-Super-Foods-Gluten/dp/B07MDVWHRQ/ ) on 11th Jul 2019 12:30PM IST

This pack of Aashirvaad's gluten free flour is made with

Jowar flour

Flaked rice flour

Starch

Ragi flour

Dehydrated potato

Milk Solids

Thickener (INS 415)

Psyllium Husk powder

Emulsifier (INS 471)

Iodised salt

Yes, all the ingredients are gluten free but I don't see the need for many of them here. For eg, what do they mean by Starch? I presume it is corn starch (corn flour). Why hasn't the brand clearly stated what the source of starch is?
What's the need for milk solids?
Even if the above 2 points aren't that critical, one shouldn't ignore the two additives used

INS 415 - Xanthan gum; used as a thickener and as a substitute for gluten. Aggravates food intolerances, asthma and skin irritations
INS 471 - Mono- and di- glycerides of fatty acids - used as emulsifier (prevents ingredients from separating). Usually extracted from soy if it is plant based, which implies that there are high chances of it being GMO.

Traditional preparations such as Jowar bhakris, ragi rotis, bajra rotis, akki rotis etc are made with gluten free flours WITHOUT the need for such additives. Once we learn how to make them, they are so easy to prepare. For binding, boiled raw banana, boiled sweet potato or boiled potato can be used. They aren't absolutely necessary. Warm water is more than sufficient. There are plenty of videos/recipes available.

1 kg of organic jowar flour is Rs.66 on BigBasket. Why do we need to pay Rs.190 for this pack of gluten free flour?

It is our choice to follow the diet we are comfortable with, but let's not allow ourselves to be fooled by smart marketing.

Sources:

https://noshly.com/additive/e471/antifoaming-agent-plus/471/

https://noshly.com/additive/e415/emulsifier-plus/415/

Thanks to yet another sponsored ad, I came across this brand of cooking oil. The product name has all the right words to capture our attention - nature, fresh, heart etc. I looked into their ads on youtube. Such fear-inducing messaging and story plot being used! The background music and the voices are so depressing.

So what exactly does this heart-friendly(?) cooking oil made of?

It is a blended oil comprising of

refined rice bran oil (50% by weight)
refined rapeseed low erucic acid (canola) oil (50% by weight)

Refined oils are one of the key contributors to inflammation in the body. It is ironic that this refined blended oil brand talks about inflammation and how it affects our heart in their ads.

Canola oil is relatively new in India and is being pitched as heart-friendly oil. Where exactly this canola oil comes from?

Canola oil is first and foremost, a genetically modified product. According to this source,

Rapeseed oil is made from the rapeseed plant, specifically from the seeds of the rape or rapeseed plant, which is a member of the mustard (Brassicaceae) family. It was in the early 1970s that canola was first bred from rapeseed at the University of Manitoba in Canada by Keith Downey and Baldur R. Stefansson. In 1998, “the most disease- and drought-resistant canola variety to date” was developed using genetic modification, and this is how the majority of recent varieties are produced. Rapeseed oil and canola oil are often used interchangeably.

Wild rapeseed oil contains large amounts of erucic acid, which is known to cause health problems, so the canola plant was developed from rapeseed in order to use it to produce a food-grade canola oil with lower erucic acid levels. The name of canola oil was originally LEAR (low erucic acid rapeseed) but for marketing purposes was changed to canola oil. This word was derived from the combination of “Canada” and “ola,” meaning oil.

You can read through the same article to understand the dangers of canola oil.

Also, do note the ingredients list for the presence of two other synthetic additives:

1. Antioxidant (INS 319) - TBHQ (Tertiary Butylhydroquinone) is used to increase shelf life and prevent rancidity. This additive triggers many harmful effects - vomiting, nausea, hyperactivity, asthma, convulsions, liver enlargements, neurotoxic effects etc. The shelf life listed on the label is 9 months. Just because the brand wants to ensure the product stays on shelves longer, do we have to consume such chemicals?

2. Antifoaming agent (INS 900a) - Polydimethylsiloxane. The allowed daily intake is 0–1.5 mg/kg body weight per day.

This oil contains trans fats too. 100 gm contains < 1.5 gm of trans fats.

As I was reading through reviews on Amazon, I noticed that a few dieticians are recommending this oil. The reviews all look quite similar. Not sure how much they were paid to write such positive reviews.

People in the US are realizing the ill-effects of such refined oils and switching to healthier alternatives like coconut oil and clarified butter (ghee). But here in India, we are ditching our native, traditional oils and switching to canola oil and olive oil for Indian cooking. Enna kodumai saravanan idhu? I know I use this phrase quite a bit, but no other phrase can explain better as to what's happening currently in the food industry in India.

As I had written in my earlier article on olive oil, I prefer to use cold-pressed coconut oil, sesame oil and groundnut oil for my regular cooking needs. I use very limited oil in my cooking and I make deep-fried foods once a week.

Sources:

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/potential-tbhq-dangers#2

http://apps.who.int/food-additives-contaminants-jecfa-database/chemical.aspx?chemID=2755

Habit formation is a topic that I'm extremely fascinated about. I devour books and essays on this topic, as the concepts branch out across a wide variety of fields such as psychology, behavior, motivation, economics, decision making, sociology, anthropology, evolution etc.

Our brains like to run on autopilot and that's one of the primary reasons that we should be conscious of our habits, both conscious and unconscious ones.

James Clear in his book "Atomic Habits" states

"Habits reduce cognitive load and free up mental capacity, so you can allocate your attention to other tasks"

Habits impact our lives in many ways - be it our health, relationships, time management, sleep and even how we respond to our emotions.

There are some fantastic books on this subject. I'm almost winding up Atomic Habits. Charles Duhigg's The power of habit is another insightful read. From a technology perspective, Nir Eyal's Hooked is another favourite of mine.

The objective of this post is to talk about my "Habit Tracker". A few years back, I came across Seinfeld's "don't break the chain" strategy and got quite inspired by the idea. I have tried various mobile apps to track my daily habits. I have also tried using Evernote to track my daily habits in a note. For the last 2 months, I went back to good old paper and pen. In my journal, I have jotted down the habits for the month as rows and the days as columns. Every morning, I sit down and track whether I achieved the habits for the previous day.

The habits where my hit rate is relatively high in the past 2 months are

No screen usage after 8:30PM
Daily evening prayer at 6PM
Tea/coffee ONLY 2 times a day
Read at least 15 pages a day

Although many experts recommend that we work on only one habit at a time, I prefer trying many habits and see which ones I'm motivated to work on and which ones I avoid. One key takeaway for me is that

In order to be consistent, the habit definition needs to be clear, precise and elicit a binary response - "Have I done this habit today or not?".

In June, one of the habits I tried was "Eat 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruits a day". The concept of "servings" is a bit vague in my habit definition. For my style of cooking, it isn't easy to quantify servings size. So I decided to remove this habit in my July list.

I believe it is important for us to consciously work on our daily habits, keep iterating and learning what works and what doesn't.

In this article on why goals are overrated, Mark Manson explains the need to focus on habits

Goals are a one-time bargain. They are the spending mindset. “I will spend X amount of energy to receive Y reward.” Habits are an investing mindset. Habits require one to invest one’s efforts for a little while and then take the rewards of that effort and re-invest them in a greater effort to form even better habits.

I'd highly recommend to anyone reading this post to think about the habits you would want to inculcate and start tracking the same on a daily basis. Dreams/Goals/bucket list can give us direction but it's our daily habits that will help us make progress towards them.

Britannia Nutrichoice Digestive Biscuits Review

Protinex Lite Review

Book Review: The Third Curve by Mansoor Khan

Cipla Brain Boosters Review

Book Review: The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukouka

Horlicks Protein Plus No added sugar review

The lost practice of do-nothing

Why I write about what not to eat

Strawfit Milk Flavouring Straw with Colostrum Review

What's inside packaged milkshakes?

Book Review: The Magic Weight Loss Pill by Luke Coutinho and Anushka Shetty

Book Review: Parenting - Innocence to Inner Sense by Aarti Rajarathnam and Brinda Jayaraman

Epigamia Greek Yogurt Smoothie Review

Why I don't use the hashtag #eatclean anymore

Saffola Fittify Gourmet Breakfast Mixes Quinoa Upma / Poha

The highs and lows of embracing digital minimalism

Summary of FSSAI New Draft Regulations for Food Safety and Standards(Labelling and Display)

Aashirvaad Nature's superfoods Gluten Free Flour review

NatureFresh Acti Heart Cooking Oil Review

How I track my habits