Indian Diet Plan
Eating habits in India vary enormously, according to climate, food availability, and dietary customs. So it’s more accurate to speak of Indian diets, rather than a standard Indian diet. Also, due to difficulties of food distribution across the Indian subcontinent, nutrition, protein intake and calorie consumption are uneven, and remain dependent on food sources. As a result, while obesity rates in India are very low (about 0.5 percent), and weight-related diseases are generally very low (except in some urban groups), nutritional levels in some areas can fall below recommended levels.
Nutrients in Indian Diet : As far as dietary nutrition is concerned, Indians get much of their dietary protein from fish, lamb, beans, lentils and dairy. Fat in the Indian diet comes mainly from cooking oils and fats, while common starchy carbohydrate foods include rice, and a variety of flours and breads. The Indian diet is rich in fiber, from legumes and vegetables as well as wholegrains.
Dietary Fat : Most Indian dishes are prepared using oil or fat. Each region of India has its own staple cooking oil. In the North and East there is mustard oil, while peanut oil is common to the south and the west of India. The standard fat used across India is clarified butter or “ghee”, which is made with butter from cows milk. Nuts are another important source of fat (monounsaturated) in the Indian diet.
Grains and Cereals : Cereal grains like rice, wheat and maize form an important part of the staple Indian diet. Due to differences in climate, rice is consumed more in the south of India while wheat forms an important part of the diet in the northern regions.