7 Signs You Need To Change Your Diet

If you have faltered in your diet, since the lockdown began earlier this year, we don’t blame you. It’s not easy being confined in the home and dealing with all the anxiety that the pandemic brought in its trail. Where else would you find comfort if not in food, which means chips, biscuits, pizzas and pastas and a lot of other calorie-laden food became your content ally. Besides these stress-eating sessions, we have also been baking banana breads and other sinfully tasty and fattening desserts at home. It wouldn’t be surprising if your body has started giving you hints that you need to revamp your diet. Sometimes, these signs may be subtle enough to escape notice. So Ryan Fernando, the award-winning celebrity and sports nutrition coach; Chief Nutritionist at Qua Nutrition Signature Clinics, lists down the tell-tale signs that you are eating a poor diet.

Bad breath

'Everyone wears a mask. You can now smell your breath. A bad breadth is indicative of a poor gut not to mention poor dental hygiene. Drink Peppermint tea once a day and chamomile tea at night. Add Probiotic or fermented types of food. Personally I do a probiotic supplement for a period of 3 weeks. Brush after each meal. Chew gum!'

Bloating

'Expansion of your waist line around your belly button by 3 inches or more in a day is a clear sign of GAS accumulation in your belly. When we eat the wrong foods its fermentation by our gut bacteria results in copious amounts of gas. Avoiding Sugar and processed foods is the first thing. You may need to get a food sensitivity test to learn how to avoid the foods that are poison to your gut. Jeera (cumin seeds), Ajwain (carom seeds) and Saunf (fennel seeds) – 3 grams each mixed together and eaten after each meal should help.'

Dull skin

'Skin is representative of the food and water we consume. Good food equals to great skin. When your skin is looking tired you know you are not eating right. High-antioxidant foods which are rich in colour in nature are a permanent FIX. Purple foods like Indian blueberry (jamun), purple cabbage along with pomegranate are my elixirs for reversing skin ageing. I use a Collagen supplement that reduces fine line wrinkles in 6 weeks on my celebrity clients.'

Hair fall

'If you are seeing more than 50 hairs per day in the drain or on your brush you may want to ask yourself how was your diet 3-6 months ago. I recently had so many recovering patients from COVID. 3 -5 months later they had massive hair loss. Hair is one component in the human body that does sacrifice itself during times of crisis (poor diet, sickness, stress). To have great hair I do not recommend quick diets. Instead I recommend a year long diet strategy that is loaded with the right nuts, citrus fruits and dietary protein that is anywhere from 1 to 1.2 gms per kg of a persons body weight. Any lesser and your hair will be thinner. For lustrous hair add omega 3 in the diet through chia seeds, flaxseeds and the occasional Omega 3 Supplement.'

Blocked nose or sinusitis

'If you constantly have a blocked nose or have to blow your nose early morning or sneeze like crazy 30 times when you wake up, then you know you are eating the wrong foods. Mucous is the body’s way of telling you 'I don’t like what you fed me yesterday'. Get a gluten and Lactose DNA test in 2021, it will be the new diet tweak.'

Fatigue

'Feeling tired as soon as you wake up? Test your thyroid, also get an ultrasound for a PCOD ( polycystic ovarian Syndrome), check your Vitamin B12 and D as these two nutrition molecules are linked to energy levels and good oxygenation in the blood. Low b12 equals to low haemoglobin which causes your brain to slow down due to lesser delivery of oxygen. Increasing Iron Rich veggies is one way. A simple multivitamin for 15 days in a month may help.'

Sleep

'You either sleep too much or too little. Either way food has a way of making your sleep just right. Eating the wrong foods can cause the brain to malfunction in the sleep cycle. Foods like pineapple, tart cherry, walnuts and chamomile tea are melatonin boosting. Think of melatonin as the sleep inducing hormone. Every person should discover their scientific capacity for eating. EAT with a plan. We all eat out of love and culture. In 2021 add a little science to it by asking your nutritionist to hand hold you on a nutrition plan.'