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Foods for a Healthy Desi Heart

Getting healthy and maintaining a healthy heart is very important for Desi people. Especially, those living in Western countries. We look at how to make some changes to your food which can help you develop a healthier lifestyle.

use healthier oils for cooking such as Rapeseed oil

South Asian health related to diet is frequently in the news. The obesity epidemic is on the increase and now even making its way to India, where reports of obesity in the upper classes is becoming a problem due to higher consumption of junk food compared to lower social classes.
In the UK, communities from South Asia are already on the high risk list for heart disease, mainly due to diets containing high fat and sugar content.
For British Asians the issue is still a key one mainly due to families not changing habits in cooking or eating fat and sugar rich foods without a concern for their health.
Newer food habits amongst British Asians are also having an impact with high proportions of fast food such as pizzas, burgers, kebabs, heavily fried foods and chips being consumed regularly and more frequently. Many young people are very overweight in their youth, heading for problems later on in life.
Research by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has found that people of South Asian origin or descent are likely to develop coronary heart disease much more than their white counterparts. Factors that influence cardiovascular disease in South Asians include raised cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes and obesity.

In a report called ‘Ethnic Differences in Cardiovascular Disease’ produced in 2010 by the BHF, it states that Chronic Heart Disease (CHD) is highest in Indian and Pakistani men; Black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi men have a higher prevalence of Diabetes and in 2004, Indian men had the highest BMI waist-hip ratio of 0.95 and over, compared to all other men in England.
Asian food is a very healthy food providing care is taken when cooking, using healthy ingredients and avoiding eating too much or large portions.
Foods which contain fat are made up of a mix of saturated fats, mono-unsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.
The healthier fats are mono-unsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.
Fat is a key issue for change.

Foods which are high in overall fat content are more than 20g of fat per 100g and those low in overall fat content will be 3g of fat or less per 100g.

Sugar in diets is another problem. Foods which are high in sugar are more than 15g of total sugars per 100g and those low in sugar are 5g of total sugars or less per 100g.
Basically, for a healthy Desi heart it is about control and making simple changes which can have a dramatic effect on the diet and health.
The figures for the UK say, the average man should eat no more than 30g of saturated fat a day and the average woman should eat no more than 20g of saturated fat a day. It is likely, Asian diets exceed these figures especially in foods cooked with no measure of fat content. Especially, foods cooked in restaurants and fast food outlets, who frequently tend to cook for more taste than health.
So, let’s look at foods, their content and ways of cooking that can make a difference to your diet, health and reduce the chances of you being an obesity statistic.
COOKING HABITS
Healthy Oils – use healthier oils for cooking such as Rapeseed oil to cook South Asian dishes. It has a very mild taste and you do not notice the difference when swapping it with butter or ghee.
Real Spices – use real spices to cook your food compared to using pre-prepared sauces which a very popular for convenience but have extra oil added to them.
Garlic and Ginger – add plenty of garlic to your cooking as it is an excellent food for assisting with good circulation and does wonders for the heart. Use ginger in your cooking which is great for health and adds a lovely flavour.
Fry Less – grill, bake, poach or steam food rather than frying or roasting, so that you won’t need to add any extra fat.
Yoghurt – use low fat yoghurt instead of cream for rich creamy dishes such as korma.
Meat – trim visible fat and take skin off meat before cooking. Use the grill or griddle pan instead of the frying pan, for whatever meat you’re cooking.
Less Oil – use less

Getting healthy and maintaining a healthy heart is very important for Desi people. Especially, those living in Western countries. We look at how to make some changes to your food which can help you develop a healthier lifestyle.