Column | What's missing in Porotta-meat curry and Palappam-Beef fry combo? How to find the right balance?

During an academic trip with an elderly professor renowned for his meticulousness, I found myself seated at a fine restaurant beneath a pergola on the cobbled streets of Budapest. Coming to the end of the 4-course dinner, the professor ordered an espresso. He then looked at me expecting a parallel order. Since an espresso post-dinner was an unfamiliar choice, I opted for a cappuccino, drawing on my childhood fascination with Indian coffee with milk. To my surprise, I sensed a combination of disapproval and bewilderment in the professor's stern expression. Little did I know then that his seemingly trivial choice, in fact, represents both the art and science of culinary experience.

The artistic part of culinary is about enhancing the dining experience beyond mere palatal sensations. It is about the fine presentation of food that delights the eyes, a creative amalgamation of aromas and tastes, and a proper progression from light to heavy food that impacts the overall dining experience. Western traditions add another layer, by adding a meticulous selection of wines that blend in with each dish. While the artistic aspect has little to do with health, the science of food has a lot – a consideration we ought to integrate into our daily lives.

Unmasking Lifestyle Diseases
India is currently witnessing an alarming surge in lifestyle diseases, rightfully earning a stark title – the diabetes capital of the world. Indians are also prone to developing heart disease at least a decade earlier than Westerners. However, public awareness of lifestyle diseases often only extends to recognizing that excessive sugar and oil consumption is not good. In an age of abundant food choices, it is critical to have a scientific awareness of what forms the major components of food.

What provides calories to the body are mostly carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Of those three the last two are self-explanatory. Carbohydrates encompass sugar, starch and dietary fibers. `Sugar` is anything that gets converted into glucose in the body. Rice, potatoes, tapioca, etc., are carbohydrates primarily composed of sugars and starches. Consuming them in excess can lead to various health issues, including diabetes.

A very important but often overlooked component of carbohydrates is the dietary fibers. Dietary fibers, unlike sugar and starch, have very little calories (energy), and play a pivotal role in enhancing digestion, trapping unwanted cholesterol, and importantly reducing sugar; thus controlling obesity. We primarily derive it from vegetables and fruits. The higher the fiber content, the better. Indian Council of Medical Research recommends a minimum of 40 grams of dietary fiber a day. Most Indian socioeconomic groups consume less than the recommended; and some groups less than half the recommended, as per a position statement by the Indian Diabetic Association.

In general, our diet is overloaded with carbohydrates, especially polished rice, as shown in a study conducted among the rural south Indian population by WHO and International Diabetes Federation. White rice, various rice dishes, tapioca, and sugar drinks are essentially just carbohydrates with very little or no fiber or protein. A Lancet study published in 2023 shows that southern states of Kerala and Goa have the highest prevalence of diabetes, and multiple times higher than in less developed states like Uttar Pradesh. It is important that food must be a balanced combination of the three components, making sure that there are no excess carbohydrates, especially sugar and starch.

Examples from daily life
In Kerala, the traditional staple used to be brown rice with various vegetable curries often accompanied by fish and occasional meat dishes – a good balance of all three food components, as long as one does not consume an excess amount of rice. However, a faster-paced life, especially among the young, replaces the traditional meal with simple white rice and meat curries. That is a perfect example of a poorly balanced diet because of a high dose of carbohydrates (from rice) and saturated fat (from meat), and very little or no dietary fiber. In general, white rice contains only one-fifth of the dietary fiber found in unpolished brown rice. Additionally, when vegetable curries are substituted with meat instead of complementing them, this essential component is not provided.

Similarly, a diet based on refined flour, such as parotta paired with meat curries, exemplifies this lack of balance, particularly because it lacks dietary fiber. The parotta itself isn't the culprit; rather, it's the combination with meat curries that fails to provide balance. Such an unbalanced combination, along with increased consumption of processed ingredients and decreased physical activity, significantly raises the risk of lifestyle diseases.

Without a thorough understanding of balanced nutrition, we frequently find ourselves debating which foods are deemed "good" or "bad." Take, for example, the passionate discussion about the health aspects of vegetarian versus non-vegetarian food. It has been shown that, in general, a vegetarian diet is healthier. Interestingly, vegetarianism does not yield significant benefits unless the diet is balanced. In an important collaborative study led by Lindsay Jaacks from Emory University, which compared vegetarians in South Asia and the US, it was found that the benefits of vegetarian food were evident only in the US population. This was because South Asians failed to maintain a balanced diet.

To illustrate the importance of a balanced diet, let's consider two common options: palappam with beef fry versus chapati with dal curry. Palappam, made of white rice, is primarily composed of sugar and starch, with minimal dietary fiber. Additionally, the protein source, beef fry, contains excessive saturated fat and lacks dietary fiber. On the other hand, chapati made from whole wheat provides higher fiber and protein content compared to rice, while dal curry, made from lentils, offers a rich source of protein with minimal fat. In summary, the second option represents a better-balanced diet.

The Art and Science of Balancing
So, what matters at the end? It is about correct proportions of the three components of food making sure that adequate amounts of dietary fibers are included, by adding a good amount of fruits and fresh leafy vegetables with each meal. In today's rapidly changing world of food choices and eating habits, it's crucial that we carefully consider what we put into our mouths. Reflecting on the evening in Budapest, I came to realize that the bitter notes of espresso following a meal serve a purpose beyond mere preference. They provide a perfect counterpoint to the sweetness of dessert underscoring the artistry of gastronomy. Delving deeper into the science of this choice, the coffee decoction enhances motility, stimulates gastric hormones, and facilitates digestion. It is also nearly calorie-free. In contrast, a cappuccino, with its fatty blend of thick cream and milk renders the opposite effect.

(Social anthropologist and novelist Thomas Sajan and US-trained neurologist Titto Idicula, based in Norway, write on politics, culture, economy, and medicine.)