Poor substitutes?

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Max India approves JV with UK-based firm

: at Artemis Health Institute.

Users have their own rationale. Stylist Smriti Dasgupta used sugar substitutes for close to three years to shed her extra kilos before moving on to Stevia leaves. “Anything that is not natural is harmful,” she believes.

Brands are also tapping into this health phonemenon — certainly not a segment they could have ignored. “Biscuits usually consumed as healthy in-between fillers have an extremely high ‘stomach share’ at 16%,” says Anu Narasimhan, category director, Health & Wellness, Britannia Industries. Britannia offers NutriChoice SugarOut — an option sweetened with Sucralose. PepsiCo has instant snacks cooked in rice bran oil to reduce the saturated fat content by 40%. And it’ll soon launch a snack made of wholegrain and vegetables. Skimmed milk, curd, low-fat cheese, oil-free preparations... you can find them all on the shelves. However, don’t go overboard with your health regimen. Fat provides nine calories per gram, more than twice the number provided by carbohydrates or protein. “A totally fat-free diet is unhealthy because the body needs fat to process biochemical reactions. All hormones are also cholesterol based and its recommended dietary allowance is 300 mg,” says Datta adding that essential fatty acids are important for controlling inflammation, blood clotting, and brain development.

If it’s difficult for you to keep a constant tab on what you eat, just follow the broad rule: 60% of your calories should come from carbohydrates, 20% from proteins, and the rest from fat. However, be careful about the nature of fat you consume. Trans fat is a complete no-no. An ideal ratio of consumption would be 1:1.2:0.8 for polyunsaturated (safflower, sunflower, mustard oils), monounsaturated (olive, canola, and peanut oil) and saturated fat (milk fat, butter, ghee, cream).