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1. I know I need to eat every 2-3 hours but I am not hungry so why should I eat?

Eating every 2-3 hours will keep your metabolism elevated which is the key to any weight management program. If you wait to eat when you are hungry then you will surely eat twice as much as you should. Also eating every 2-3 hours will help keep blood sugar levels stable which is important with diabetes on the rise.

2. I have read that olive oil is the healthiest oil and am now cooking only in that. Is that good?

All oils, with the exception of palm oils, are healthy in small amounts. Olive oil has a very low smoke point which does not make it an ideal oil for cooking. When oil starts to smoke up it is no longer healthy and is actually potentially carcinogenic, ie cancer-causing. Cook in all other oils, vegetable, soybean, rice bran, sunflower; keep olive oil in its raw form. Add olive oil to salads, on top of hummus, or at the end in cooked pasta to keep it from clumping together.

3. I always have a headache and feel very tired, especially at around 4 pm. However I eat well and it is mostly homemade food. What could be going wrong?

These are potential signs of dehydration. Ensure you drink enough water so that your urine is a pale yellow color. If you live in a hot and humid city, like Mumbai, and spend a lot of time in an air-conditioned room, then more fluid will be “sucked out” of your body.

4. I am a pure vegetarian and have recently started weight training with a trainer at my gym. I keep complaining that my muscles are sore even after 2 days of rest. My trainer has recommended I take a protein supplement however I have heard these contain steroids and are harmful.

Pure whey or soy protein powder supplements are safe if you are buying a good brand. Some brands I like are, ON, SSN, VPX, which are available at most supplement stores. Protein is the main building block of muscles. In a vegetarian diet there is very little protein so a supplement will do you a lot of good. Just ensure you meet with a nutritionist so your protein needs can be calculated out to prevent an overload on your kidneys.

5. I suffer from a lot of acidity and indigestion. On my doctor’s recommendation, I have stopped all fried and spicy foods. I still have the problem though.

This could be due to any of the following three reasons or even a combination of them:

• Not enough water or fluids. Remember to drink enough water so your urine is a pale yellow color.
• Eating too fast. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to send a signal to your stomach that you are full. So if you are eating in a shorter time span than that you may overeat which will cause indigestion and gas. Ensure you eat slowly and stop when you are half full. Within 20 minutes you will be comfortably full.
• Drinking too much tea and/or coffee will also cause acidity. Try to stick to maximum two cups of tea or coffee per day – both without sugar. And try making one cup green tea or jasmine tea which are both full of antioxidants – great for your skin!
• Not eating every 2-3 hours is most often the main culprit of indigestion. Remember the first point in this post. Eating every 2-3 hours will keep your energy levels up too. When your stomach is empty for too long the acid in your stomach is left without anything to digest causing acidity and gas.

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