Nutrition as Medicine: How the Right Diet Can Manage Diabetes and Hypertension - Ms Bharathi Kumar

India has witnessed a staggering rise in lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Once confined to the affluent, these diseases have spread their tentacles to the rich and the poor alike, in urban as well as rural areas.

The Indian Council of Medical Research states that more than 100 million Indians suffer from diabetes, and nearly one out of every three adults has hypertension.

Only 30% of the required population in India opt for proper dietary and lifestyle changes, while the rest prefer to take the easier route of medical treatment.

Since prevention is always better than cure, more and more people need to follow the right path in the beginning rather than waiting until the conditions worsen. The rich diversity of Indian cuisine offers immense opportunities to every Indian citizen to work towards better health.

Nexus of Nutrition and Lifestyle

Blood sugar levels rise, and the body fails to secrete the necessary insulin, or the body’s ability to use available insulin is faulty. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, insidiously and progressively damages the heart, kidneys, and blood vessels. The combination of these two health problems is very common.

The risk factors associated with these two problems are far too common, such as the overconsumption of refined carbohydrates, the overuse of salt in food, a sedentary lifestyle, and obesity. For these reasons, lifestyle and diet are the most influential factors in the control and prevention of these health problems.

Indian Dietary Landscape: Risks and Opportunities

Traditional Indian diets were mostly plant-based and included lots of whole grains, lentils, vegetables, and spices. But as lifestyles have changed, foods like polished rice, refined flour, packaged snacks, fried foods, and sugary drinks have become more common. This shift has led to more health problems.

The positive side is that Indian cooking still has many healthy ingredients, like fiber-rich millets and spices such as turmeric and fenugreek, so it is possible to return to healthier eating habits.

Practical Dietary Approaches

• Choosing the Right Carbohydrates: Rather than using refined white rice and products made from maida, use brown rice, whole wheat, and the traditional millets ragi, jowar, and bajra. These are helpful in blood sugar management because they have a low glycemic index.

• Increasing Fibre Intake: Enhancing the diet with pulses, legumes, green leafy vegetables, and seasonal fruits like guava, papaya, and apple improves digestion and satiety, and assists the management of sugar and cholesterol.

• Judicious Salt and Oil Use: In India, the problem of high blood pressure is often because of excessive salt, which is commonplace in pickles, papad, packaged snacks, and even in restaurant food.

Maintain your salt consumption below 5 grams a day and use small quantities of healthy oils like mustard, sesame, or groundnut oil to aid in the control of blood pressure.

• Choose High in Protein: Using dals, sprouts, or paneer and curd, in addition to including fish or lean meats, contributes to protein intake and aids in weight management and insulin control.

• Healthy Snacking: Fried samosas or tea-time sugary biscuits can be replaced with healthier options such as nuts, roasted chana, or fruit slices which help maintain sugar balance and provide lasting energy.

• Beneficial Indian Spices: Turmeric, cinnamon, garlic, and fenugreek seeds have proven benefits in lowering blood sugar and enhancing heart health and may be easily added to everyday recipes.

Lifestyle Integration

Good nutrition works best when you also stay active. Regular exercise, yoga, and managing stress all support healthy eating. As Indian families often eat together, making these changes as a group can help everyone stick with them.

Conclusion

Managing diabetes and hypertension is not just about medicines; it is about holistic lifestyle choices. For Indians, turning to our own traditional food wisdom, which is based on balance and diversity, offers a sustainable way forward.

By seeing food not just as a source of taste but as a form of medicine, we can take control of these conditions and improve overall health.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are of the author and not of Health Dialogues. The Editorial/Content team of Health Dialogues has not contributed to the writing/editing/packaging of this article.