11 May 2020

If love is the universal language, food is the universal love. Don’t we all love food. If we are to go by the memes all over the internet, “Food is bae”. The most famous instagram accounts happen to be of the food lovers followed closely by those struck by wanderlust (celebrities do not count). So since food is the new rage lets hop into the new trends in the food industry.

Veganism

The Vegan Society’s updated the definition of “veganism” is:

“A philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals”

This lifestyle demands avoiding animal products and their derivative. While vegetarians only avoid meat products, vegans avoid even the milk product that does include cheese, cream. But worry not the society has come up with amazing substitute to counter their nutritional and palate deficiency.  A vegan diet is richly diverse and comprises all kinds of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds, beans and pulses – all of which can be prepared in endless combinations that will ensure you’re never bored. From curry to cake, pasties to pizzas, all your favorite things can be suitable for a vegan diet if they’re made with plant-based ingredients.

Here are some of the yummy substitutes you must try:

• In place of cottage or ricotta cheese, you can use crumbled tofu, soaked raw nuts, or a combo and nutritional yeast which works wonders.
• A great substitute for scrambled eggs is tofu scramble.
• In baked goods, good substitutions for eggs include applesauce, pureed soft tofu, Ener-G egg replacer, a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax seeds plus 3 tablespoons water or other liquid, blended), or mashed bananas.
• Chickpea flour makes amazing omelettes, and aquafaba is useful for making recipes that originally call for egg whites, like mousse and meringue.
• Replace beef or chicken stock with vegetable broth. Or use vegetable bouillon cubes.
• If you need to substitute for gelatin in a recipe, use agar flakes or powder. It will thicken as it’s heated.
• There are many liquid sweeteners on the market that you can use in your recipes instead of honey like maple syrup and agave nectar, Frozen fruit-juice concentrates, sorghum syrup, and concentrated fruit syrups etc.
• Regular milk can be substituted with coconut, almond, rice, hemp and hazelnut milk.

But why go vegan? Here are 6 scientifically backed reasons to go vegan

• When properly planned, several studies have reported that vegan diets tend to provide more fiber, antioxidants and beneficial plant compounds. They also appear to be richer in potassium, magnesium, folate and vitamins A, C and E (1, 2, 3, 4) due to replacements take the form of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, nuts and seeds.
• It Can Help You Lose Excess Weight– Many observational studies show that vegans tend to be thinner and have lower body mass indexes (BMIs) than non-vegans. Vegan diets have a natural tendency to reduce your calorie intake. This makes them effective at promoting weight loss without the need to actively focus on cutting calories
• It Appears to Lower Blood Sugar Levels and Improve Kidney Function– Studies even report that vegan diets lower blood sugar levels in diabetics more than the diets from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), American Heart Association (AHA). Indeed, vegans tend to have lower blood sugar levels, higher insulin sensitivity and up to a 50–78% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. several studies report that a vegan diet may be able to provide complete relief of systemic distal polyneuropathy symptoms — a condition in diabetics that causes sharp, burning pain
• A Vegan Diet May Protect Against Certain Cancers– For e.g. For instance, eating legumes regularly may reduce your risk of colorectal cancer by about 9–18%. Research also suggests that eating at least seven portions of fresh fruits and vegetables per day may lower your risk of dying from cancer by up to 15%.Certain aspects of the vegan diet may offer protection against prostate, breast and colon cancers
• Lower Risk of Heart Disease– Vegan diets may benefit heart health by significantly reducing the risk factors that contribute to heart disease with portions of vegetables and frutis and elimination of fatty food.
• Reduce Pain from Arthritis– Vegan diets based on probiotic-rich whole foods can significantly decrease symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Vegan diet provides a lot of benefits. Be sure to add all form of nutrition available form plants to it.

Keto Diet:

Ever had the sudden urge to purge over the excess fat in your body and obtain that Instragram model bod?? Well according to the latest trend starving isn’t the answer, just ditch the starch. The latest trend In diet nowadays is the Keto diet.

A keto or ketogenic diet is a very low-carb diet, which turns the body into a fat-burning machine. It has many proven benefits for weight loss, health and performance, as millions of people have experienced already.

The “keto” in a ketogenic diet comes from the fact that it makes the body produce small fuel molecules called “ketones”. This is an alternative fuel for the body, used when blood sugar (glucose) is in short supply.

Ketones are produced if you eat very few carbs (that are quickly broken down into blood sugar) and only moderate amounts of protein (excess protein can also be converted to blood sugar).

Ketones are produced in the liver, from fat. They are then used as fuel throughout the body, including the brain. The brain is a hungry organ that consumes lots of energy every day, and it can’t run on fat directly. It can only run on glucose… or ketones.3

On a ketogenic diet, your entire body switches its fuel supply to run almost entirely on fat. Insulin levels become very low, and fat burning increases dramatically.

A Keto diet not for people who are diabetic, suffer from Hypertension or breastfeed.