Dietician Richa is a big-time Foodie

We have our presence on different social media. One of them is Instagram. We met Dietician Richa Nimeshwari on Instagram some time ago. Thus, we grabbed the opportunity to interview her about her work. Thus, today’s post is Dietician Richa is a big-time Foodie.

What qualifications are needed to take up this profession?

The path to becoming a Clinical Nutritionist in India involves – 3 years Bachelor’s Degree (in Science/Home Science), then 2 years Master’s Degree (Foods and Nutrition), with 6 Months Supervised Internship in Multispecialty Hospital.

What attracted you to this profession?

I am a big-time foodie. Food really attracts me so I picked this subject to learn more about food and nutrition in my Master’s but I was not sure about becoming a Nutritionist at that time. During my internship days in AIIMS, New Delhi – where I had to take OPD consultations or take counseling sessions with patients. At that time, I found that people had so many misconceptions and myths in their minds about food (like certain food is cold or hot in nature, good food and bad food concept, etc.). So, at that time I decided to become a nutritionist to spread awareness related to foods and nutrition. And now I am working as a freelance Nutritionist and Nutri-Blogger. I create content on social media to spread awareness about food and nutrition.

We had interviewed a nutritionist regarding the different cooking oils that are good for health. She had enumerated the qualities of those oils. The article did not conclude that one particular oil is good. Can you help us with that?

Yes. Not one particular oil is perfect or has all the qualities. Different oil comes from different seeds or nuts, so they have their own nutritional value. I advise my clients to use combinations of oil in their diet and include all the nutrition. For example – if you are cooking at a higher temperature (deep-frying/shallow frying) use coconut oil, mustard oil, olive oil or sunflower oil. They have a high smoke point. If you are using oil for cold preparations use butter, ghee, flaxseed oil or walnut oil.

They say green teas can help in weight loss. How good is the claim?

Yes. Green tea is associated with many health benefits including weight loss as well. Due to its great nutritional value and antioxidant presence. But, weight loss is not completely dependent on Green Tea. You should follow other things too – like a balanced diet, regular exercising and good sleep to reduce weight. Green Tea just helps in boosting your metabolism, which creates a small yet great impact on the weight loss process. But, it doesn’t mean that you eat whatever you want and then drink green tea to cover that… No, this will not help you.

There are different fad diets in the market for weight loss. Are they good enough for us?

Fad diets are impractical. They are deficient in nutrition and will not help you in the long run. When you go on a fad diet and exclude all necessary nutrients, you are putting yourself at the risk of becoming ill. The best diet is not a diet at all, but a way of life that includes food you enjoy, exercise and healthy habits. All this helps in improving health and sustainable weight loss for the long run.

Why should a diet be customized for individuals?

One shoe does not fit everyone – similarly, one diet does not suit everyone. Every individual is different, their body requirements are different, their health goals are different. For example, Person A wants to lose weight and Person B also wants to lose weight but they have diabetes. So in this case the diet plan which helps person A, can be dangerous or non-effective for person B. I advise everyone; do not borrow diet plans from your friends. Go get an appointment for yourself, discuss your issues, goals and challenges with your nutritionist and get customized diet advice and a diet plan for yourself.