Dear Pooja,
I am a 33-year-old single woman and lean on the heavier side. I’ve tried numerous diets but the effects taper off after a while. I have heard a lot about gluten and how a gluten-free diet is supposed to work wonders. Could you tell me the advantages of going gluten-free? Are gluten-free foods expensive and available easily in the city? Thank you.

Gluten-free does not only work wonders but it is the only way one can eat and prevent intestinal damage and other autoimmune diseases – but that is only for those with celiac disease or severe gluten intolerance! For those with these conditions eating gluten can be lethal and can cause severe damage to their intestines thus they are forced to follow a gluten-free diet – no other choice. Ask them how difficult it is to eat regular meals at home or at restaurants and how careful they have to be scrutinizing each product label for even minor traces of gluten in it, which can cause them deadly damage.

In the health and diet industry anything can become a rage or trend. Few prominent people follow it and say they do and lo behold half the world is trying it out. Living off gluten is not easy – imagine your daily diet without access to wheat, barley, rye, barley roti, parathas, biscuits, breads, pasta, noodles, couscous, semolina, spelt even ready to eat soups, processed cheese, mayonnaise, ketchup, salad dressing, non-dairy creamers, canned baked beans, icecreams, flavoured coffees, breaded foods, cereals, malt vinegar, beer, vodka and the list can go on. Are you prepared to let go of all these foods just so that your body can let go of some weight? Even if you can for while – any results you get will only be for the time you will stay off them – once you start eating gluten all the effects will be difficult to maintain and all the weight lost will be reversed.

Losing weight is not about deletion, it’s about sustenance. Eat all foods but learn the key in terms of quantities and methods of preparations. Start what you can always maintain (lifestyle) so that the effects you get can also always be maintained and you never have to do another weight loss battle again.

Here you go – 5 unhealthy foods that need to kick the curb and be eliminated from your daily diet, RIGHT NOW –

1. DIET SODA When it comes to the calorie count, the diet version may turn out to be a better option than drinking sugar loaded aerated drinks. But artificial sugars and caffeine isn’t something we must consume regularly or get addicted to just because it is zero in calories and does not hinder our weight loss efforts. It does a lot of harm to your body in several other ways.

Swap with: Plain soda Still keeping the carbonated fizz and the zero calorie lure alive, a can of plain soda deletes the negatives of caffeine and aspartame. You tives of caffeine and aspartam could add a bit of flavour to i by squeezing lime or adding some chopped fruits like berries, oranges, melons, mint or celery leaves.

2. MAYONNAISE If you are happily throwing in mayonnaise into your salads and sandwiches thinking it brings in taste and variety, you may as well be clogging your arteries with sticky lard.

Swap with: Hung curd Take some fresh homemade yogurt or the tetra pack slim curd and drain out the excess water through a muslin cloth. Now, flavour this as per taste to make spreads you can add ground or fresh basil and sun dried tomatoes, garlic and onion, roasted peppers and olive, coriander and mint or any of your favorite combo.

3. FLAVOURED YOGURT Something that is actually very healthy can be easily turned into an absolutely unhealthy food item simply by adding loads of sugar, cream and artificial flavours. Yes, I am talking about yogurt. Why turn this healthy probiotic snack (which it is originally famous for) into a dessert item? If you are using flavoured yogurt as an alternative to ice-creams and pastries, it is definitely a wiser option but if it’s stocked in the fridge as a healthy, low calorie, portable snack, get rid of it rightaway.
Swap with: Plain yogurt Flavour it yourself with some chopped fresh fruits like berries, grapes, peach, cherries or any fruit you like. You can even stir it well (it turns creamy) and freeze for a while to get store-like frozen yogurt, but with higher nutrition quotient!
4. MARGARINE Marketed as a healthier option to butter, margarine is anything but that. It is loaded with partially hydrogenated fat which increases the LDL (bad) cholesterol and thus increases the risk of heart diseases and inflammation, a known trigger to premature aging.
Swap with: Fresh mint-coriander mint-coriand chutney Packed with antioxidants like vitamin C, E and low in calories to al calories to almost negligible, this spread will add more taste and health to any sandwich as compared to margarine. To add more proteins to this spread, you can add to it some chana or nuts like peanuts or pine nuts. or nuts like peanuts or pine nuts.

5. PICKLES They add a dash of spice and flavour to your daily meals, thus helping break monotony of everyday cooking styles. But remember, that along with its ichness in taste, pickles are a high source of oil and sodium. The additional oil (since cooked meals have already exhausted your daily oil quota) plays havoc with our lipid profile and ts a load on the heart, and the puts a load on the heart, and the excess sodium (since our meals already take care of our daily salt requirements) spoils the electrolyte balance and thus affects blood pressure.

Swap with: Fresh, homemade oil-free pickles Vegetables such as cucumber, carrots, cauliflower, chillies and onions can be made into water, vinegar or brine based `pickles’. These pickles do not last for months together (since they lack the oil as a preservative) and thus should be consumed soon. They can be refrigerated for longer shelf life, but it’s advisable to make smaller quantities and finish them faster. Do note that brine is high in sodium, so do not consume it daily.