The countdown to Diwali has begun and it is extra special this year. People look forward to celebrating the festival with all their family and friends after following two years of Covid restrictions. The festive season is the perfect opportunity to binge-eat different sweets and foods guilt-free. While one can easily get carried away, it is important to choose festive food mindfully if one wants to avoid health issues and sudden weight gain.
Nutritionist Bhuvan Rastogi talk about healthy sweets one can eat this Diwali.
She wrote, “Who can resist sweets when the festive season comes rolling around? But the conflict between sticking to your fitness goals and having a little bit of fun can put a dampener on your spirits. But not if you choose the right kind of sweets and stick to the basics of meal planning. That way you can still have fun without going overboard.” She said most of the sweets have excessive sugar and maida and they are usually high in simple carbs and they have a high glycaemic index. The key is to try to reduce the effect of simple carbs.
Choose sweets with a milk base
Milk has protein and fats. Even if sweets are cream-based, the glycaemic index will be lower. So, pick chena (milk protein) over rasmalai (milk fat) and biscuits or cake which has both sugar and maida. Chena has the most amount of protein, followed by rasmalai and then biscuits.
Pick fibre-rich sweets
Besan is high in fibre, millets come close second. Have besan ladoo over ragi sweets and atta ladoo. Besan has the highest fibre followed by ragi and atta.
Pick sweets with natural sugar or artificial sweeteners
Rastogi says fresh dates that have fructose and fibre which is much healthier than artificial sweeteners are safe to consume in moderation.
