As per the report from Economic Times, demand for noodles ( I assume instant ones) grew by 30%, salty snacks by 13.3% and bottled soft drinks by 67% ( Sugar water)

We have an opportunity to eat well and live well. But we as humans are very good at the art of self-destruction of health. If we eat this level of salt and sugar, what miracles are we expecting to improve the health of the nation! This is very disturbing.

Human body is highly resilient. During the young age, it can handle all these junks but at some point, it gives up. Loading of excessive amount of salt and sugar infested junk is destroying our current and future generations.

It could show mostly in lifestyle impacting diseases be it diabetes or kidney issues. Remember, money will not give happiness when health is absent.

Companies who produce and sell these products make millions in profit because these junks are easy to sell and the margins are extremely high. But, customers, you are on your own. Their profits will not help you pay your hospital bills and loss of your productive years.
If this trend continues, we are going to face severe crisis as a nation with obese, diabetic, struggling population.

Source: https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/food-entertainment/personal-care-pet-supplies-liquor/fmcg-market-down-but-its-not-all-that-bad/92216746?utm_source=Mailer&utm_medium=ET_batch&utm_campaign=etretail_news_2022-06-15&dt=2022-06-15&em=cC5jaGFrcmFwYW5pMDdAZ21haWwuY29t

What we eat determines a lot about ourselves. After all, food is fuel for our body. Fuel has to be good for the body to sustain long healthy life. We do not compromise on many things in life - be it the jewellery we aspire, or the latest gadget. But then, why would you compromise and look for cheap food products instead of the best ones to sustain your body in a long run? Keep it simple and natural!

Healthy life, healthy food habits are not a gift. Gift you get through gene can go only to some extent. There has to be a hard work combined with smartness to achieve health and wellness.

But then, how to do that? It is overwhelming to understand what is a good food? I can tell you that almonds are good for health. Does it mean we can eat one kg every day? Olive oil is supposed to be good. Shall we drink one litre each day? Make no sense, right?

To understand how to eat for healthy life, we have to take some time to understand the basics. The success of anything we see in nature depends on balance. A well-balanced food habit can take you long way.

WHAT IS CALORIE?
How much calorie you should consume? Is consuming lower calories is good?
What are the pillars (so to speak) that forms the calories we consume?
What makes a balanced food?

Calorie is a simple math with Fat, Protein and Carbohydrates as follows.
Calories = ( 9 X Total Fat ) + (4 x Protein) + ( 4 x Carbohydrates)

If you consume 300g of Carbohydrates, 60g of Protein and 60g of Fat each day, you would be consuming (9 x 60) + (4 x 60) + ( 4 x 300) = 1980 Calories. It is that simple!


Calories we consume should come at right proportion from the three pillars of life-giving energy   Fat , Protein, Carbohydrates (also called as macro-nutrients)

You should understand now that none of the three is bad. We need fat, protein and carbohydrates. Otherwise life will not be possible.

You can consume either 2000 Calories or 2500 Calories or even 5000 Calories each day. It all depends on what is that you do day in and day out. A competitive swimmer, for example, training each day for 6 hours, swimming about 10 Kilometres each day would easily require upwards of 8000 Calories. When engine is running at high capacity, it requires more fuel.

Various research from reputed institutions such as National Institute Of Nutrition (Govt Of India) or USDA shows that an average adult with moderate level of activity would require between 2000 to 2500 Calories each day.

If we consider 2000 Calorie diet, for an adult, a balanced food would be the combination of
300g of Carbohydrates
60g of Protein
60g of Fat

As long as you can keep the balance of these three in order, first step towards health is achieved.

Let us understand the  balance  better. The team calories mean Energy. It is what keeps us active and alive. We have to ensure that the calories are not empty.

WHAT ARE EMPTY CALORIES?
If we consume a bottle of coke (500ml), then, it will cost you 226 Calories. This is pure simple sugar with no value to your body. It is going to get into the blood stream so fast that your body will not know what hit it and how! It is like taking a big hammer and give the blood vessels a big whack!

This is exactly you have to avoid when consuming carbohydrates. It is not only useless; it is simply harmful to your body.

On the contrary, let us consider you consume 100ml of milk. Instead of consuming coke, you made the choice of milk. It will cost you approximately 62 Calories. Good right? This 62 Calorie is not empty calorie

In return for this cost, your body will get 3.3g of protein, 41mcg of Vitamin D, 117mg of Calcium and many more. This is the fundamental behind consuming balanced food. If you consider calorie is a cost that you spend, protein, vitamins, minerals are what you get in return. It is simple as that. Always shop for batter deals!

LET US TALK ABOUT FAT
There are several types of fats. Saturated Fat, Unsaturated Fat, Trans Fat
Transat is bad. Fortunately, most food products you consume would not have it. You have to make effort to consume trans fats.

Unsaturated fats are necessary for you (nuts and seeds are full of it). Saturated fats are not necessarily good but it should be consumed in minimum amounts.

Unsaturated fats are further divided in to two categories (Mono and Poly Unsaturated Fats). These are lovely for your heart. Full of Omega 3 fatty acids. It helps to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke and helps to improve good cholesterol level.

Next time, when you see a walnut, give a big hug and a long kiss. Let me tell you why! 100g of walnut will give you 47g of poly unsaturated fat and 9g of mono unsaturated fat, 6.7g of fibre and 15g of protein. Go figure! 100g of walnut will cost you 650 Calories. But I am sure you will not complain.

You are getting too much in return. Given what you get in return, it is one of the cheapest nuts on this mother earth.

LET US COME TO PROTEIN
A normal adult would require about 60g of protein per day. He has to obtain this through his regular food that forms part of his/her 2000 calories. Protein is not available in all food products. For example, rice does not contain much of protein while pulses contain about 18% protein. If you consume 100g of cooked pulse, you may get 18g of protein. On your daily diet, it is quite unlikely that 100g of pulse is consumed. Even if you do, it can only give you 18g of protein.

Let us try eating non vegetarian then! 100g of chicken can only give you 30g of protein.

Among the three pillars, this one pillar is hard to manage. Unless we make a conscious effort to choose what we eat, getting that 60g protein naturally each day will be hard to achieve. The solution lies in getting more nuts, seeds and whole grains into your food habits. There is no other way.
We now understood the essence of what should constitute the calories   it is the right balance of the three macro-nutrients (Carbohydrates, Fat and Protein). These are required in plenty and hence is called as such.

Key is selecting the food products that will form your daily diet. As long as your selection of foods revolve around fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains, it is very hard to lose the balance.

Let us continue the learning in the next blog..

Have a healthy and balanced life

It is a common misconception that fats are bad for us in that they can cause weight gain in an uncontrolled manner. Not all fats are bad and we need certain type of fats for our general well-being.

The consumption of fats in the right amount is crucial. Triglycerides, cholesterol and other essential fatty acids are some nutrients that we need (a certain minimum amount) to function, store energy, insulate and protect our vital organs.
The fats food group has been classified into unsaturated fats, trans fats and saturated fats based on whether it impacts our bodies in a good or bad way.

Unsaturated fats are further classified into polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats, which both, when eaten in moderation, can help lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Examples of good, healthy food rich in monounsaturated fats are avocados, canola oil, olives, monounsaturated margarine spreads, egg yolk and most nuts like almonds, peanuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias and pistachios, etc.,
Most vegetable and seed oils like sunflower, soybean and corn, polyunsaturated margarine spreads, linseeds, some nuts like walnuts, brazil nuts, pecan and pine nuts, wheat germ, oily fish and fish oils are great examples of sources of polyunsaturated fats.
Ironically, food rich in good sources of unsaturated fats is actually necessary for us to lose weight and the fat mass percentage in our bodies. The fats to avoid are trans-fats or saturated fats. These kinds of fats are often found in packaged food such as French fries, cake mixes and packaged Ramen noodles.

Transfats as well as Saturated fats will raise our low-density lipoproteins (LDL-bad cholesterol) and lower our high-density lipoprotein (HDL-good cholesterol).

Examples of foods high in saturated fats are fatty meats (beef, pork and lamb), chicken skin, butter, cream, full cream milk, cheese, ice-cream, lard, palm oil, chocolate, deep-fried foods, as well as take away and fast foods. Foods like biscuits, cakes, pastries, and doughnuts are rich in trans-fats and should be avoided, too.
The daily consumption of such foods can be extremely harmful to us. An increased amount of LDL cholesterol can result in an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

Whereas, HDL cholesterol, which is sourced from good, unsaturated fats, can take bad cholesterol (LDL) from various parts of the body and take it back to the liver hence reducing the LDL. This is how HDL actually helps to reduce the LDL level.
In the short term, our brain functions are hindered by the heavy consumption of bad, saturated fats, and in long-term, a consistent diet involving such fats can lead to various diseases and disorders like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart diseases, stroke, and osteoporosis.
It is therefore highly advised to be more mindful of the type of fats that we consume on a regular basis, and to ensure that we include them in the moderation.

Ours is a country exemplified with its vast diversity with the beauty of unity. Food is the core of our lifestyle and is one of the critical diversity of ours. With so many food choices, various languages, diverse cultures, we just magically unite. 

Food is part of our cultural identity. Food and language show so much about our ancient traditions. When we started developing the new product "GANJI BOX" about 18 months back, we started with what is typically consumed in our region of Tamil Nadu where we grew up.

In the districts of Salem, Dharmapuri of Tamil Nadu, which we are very familiar with, two crops used to dominate - Ragi ( Finger Millet and Pearl Millet (Kambu) ). The Ganji we are taking about is called Koozh in Tamil Nadu. Kambu Koozh is a top food in rural Tamil Nadu. 

We used to drink Koozh which is either made from Ragi or Pearl Millet ( Kambu) and served in fermented form with mixture of curd. The preparation is pretty long but, probably the best probiotic complex carbohydrate with protein and fiber we could have asked for!  It is unmatched in taste and nutrition. 

Settled in Karnataka, travelling across the state, we find similar delicacy everywhere (may be except in big cities), it is called Ambli. Popularity for Ragi ( Finger Millet) is notch higher here compared to the other ones. In Andhra/Telangana, it is called with same name Ambli. Ragi and Pearl ( Sajjalu) dominates there as well. 

Travelling towards northern part of the country, Rajastan for instance, Barley and Jowar are used to make similar type of food. Here it is named Raabdi (Not to be confused with sweet - Rabdi ). Barley is a very interesting grain because of its low Glycemic Index (25) and people from very hot areas prefer this. 

Travelling to eastern part, say Bihar, there is a phenomenal protein drink called Sathu. It is made using Black Chenna. Instead of curd, they use buttermilk. Almost similar - almost!

This is not to say, other grains are not used. There are always preferences in each part of the country based on the availability of grains, climatic conditions and taste profile.

All of them, irrespective of under what name it is identified, it doesn't take too much time for us to understand the similarity.

Different bit similar!

Our people used to consume these wonders for hundreds of years. It worked for them for hundreds of years and it will continue to work for good health and lifestyle for us as well -  as long as we also consume these regularly. Hundreds of years of empirical evidence is unchallengeable. 

As you can see, food at the conceptual level is same ( Koozh/Ambli/Raabdi/Sathu) but has its own identity.  The name Ganji is a common name that covers all these food items.

It is our humble attempt to bring these to the mainstream in a way everyone can use it with minimal effort irrespective of their work, travel schedule covering many age groups. 

Why Millets and Why in Ganji form is very simple question to answer.

Simple answer- Complex Carbohydrates!

Millets are hard grains with high amount of protein, fiber with high levels of micronutrients. For example, for most millet, the protein level and fiber level are almost the same. This composition is not very common in grains. This structure makes it a complex carbohydrate among other things.

For instance, Bajra ( Pearl Millet/Kambu/Sajjae) has 11% protein with 11.5% fiber.  Fiber is like a speed breaker in the digestion process.  Millets are high in Folates, and rich in Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Iron and Zinc. ( Ref IFCT 2020)

Because it is a complex carbohydrate, the digestion takes more time and the body slowly works on it. It gives an opportunity for the body to absorb the nutrients. Because the digestion happens slow, it does not increase/spike blood sugar levels.  Helping us to manage or even prevent diabetes. It is that simple. Remember, anything we eat gets converted to glucose eventually. How slowly it happens is what matters!

Our job is to convert this wonder grains into traditional Ganji ( Koozh/Ambli) making it easier to consume on a daily basis. Ganji making involves fermentation and hence making the food rich in probiotics. Probiotics are natural gut bacteria helping us in gut health.  In addition to being high in nutrition, it is also very tasty which we can look forward to consuming it each day.

If we can manage taking Ganji as our breakfast for a sustained period of time (say two to three months), we can see noticeable improvement - be it energy levels or overall health and wellbeing.

Good luck