Waves of change

The waves of change happening currently in the food industry can be alarming as well as exciting. In the western world, the staple food for most is meat, potatoes, white bread, white pasta, bad fats, processed foods, fried foods and sugary foods. These foods are pumped with steroids and hormones to making the product look juicier and larger than natural leading to weight gain, mental disorders, and rise of elevated lipids sugar, blood pressure, constipation, acidity, gout, and cancer. Unfortunately, a lot of these foods have crept into diets all around the world causing havoc and confusion in the mental and physical health of mankind. Size 'XL' has become the norm and people have stopped 'excelling' in life. The words of Hippocrates, the father of medicine, "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food" are nothing but that - words.

At the end of my weight loss journey, I came across the concept of veganism and I delved into research about what it proposes. I came across Mahatma Gandhi's experiments with food. The base of his entire life was ahimsa and for some time, he stopped all animal products. And so, I became vegan as an act against cruelty towards animals.

What I observed is that I had lost my weight, but I still had digestive issues. Being vegan helped resolve these issues but I missed dairy and so I started searching for different alternatives. The more I read, the more I realised that cutting out animal products helps you shed the unwanted pounds, improves your cholesterol levels and helps prevent inflammation and boosts immunity. It was so confusing because milk is a staple food across the world. I also realised that milk per se wasn't bad; it was the quality of milk that we were drinking which was not suitable for good health. And that's when I started prescribing better quality alternatives to any of my clients that faced any of these issues. Let me run you through some of the easily available ones:

Almond milk

Almond milk is made from ground almonds and filtered water. Please buy the right one as some may contain sugar, starches and thickeners to improve its consistency and shelf life. But you can easily make it at home. People who are allergic to almonds or nuts should avoid almond milk. It's also free of saturated fat, and it's naturally lactose-free.

A2 milk

The Indian cows originally produced only A2 beta-casein milk that is similar to breast milk and goats' milk. The Indian population could happily have this nutrient-dense milk without any side-effects so it's no surprise that Indian's have always sworn milk as a superfood. A2 milk is comfortable to ingest by the body and has no allergic reactions for all as compared with milk from high-yielding exotic varieties like Holstein cows which produce A1 beta-casein protein milk.

Coconut milk

Coconut milk comes from the white flesh of mature brown coconuts. The milk has a thick consistency and a rich, creamy texture. It has been used as food and medicine since the dawn of time. Ayurveda has long advocated its therapeutic and cosmetic properties.

Soya milk

Soya milk is made from soybeans and filtered water. Like other plant-based milk alternatives, it may contain sugar and thickeners to improve consistency and shelf life so make sure to read the label before buying. Because it comes from plants, soy milk is naturally free of cholesterol and low in saturated fat. It also contains no lactose.