A nutrition gup-shup session organized and hosted by nutritionist Sahiba Bhardwaj in Delhi gave a new twist to nutrition talks. An innovative and creative idea, she threw her own quaint garden open to 6 participants who dropped by on a cold December afternoon to share a cup of tea, some scrumptious snacks and talk nutrition with her. Beautifully set up garden with angeethis and shawls, potted palms and masala chai, it was an evening well spent and all for free. As a nutritionist with a Masters in Nutrition Science and Research from Tufts University, Boston, Sahiba is deeply inclined towards imparting nutrition education to people. “I have hypothyroidism for 10 years now and I lost 30 kilos despite that post-delivery. I have done every diet under the sun; I know how most of them wreak havoc in your body. The main reason for me to pursue nutrition was to get healthy and fit from within. After having done that, knowing every struggle at every stage of weight-loss or fitness journey, I want to help as many people as I can. I want to tell them that it’s do-able, it’s not easy but it’s not impossible”, explained Sahiba Bhardwaj. The participants all carried a snack which they enjoy eating with tea during the winter season and shared the same with everyone else. No food was forbidden or off the table. In fact, Sahiba who also loves cooking had specially prepared- keema pao, gluten-free brownies and masala chai for the guests. It was a delight to see pinnis, dhokla, tadka idli, mathhi & achaar, gur paarey, cookies—all winter staples but usually off diet charts!
Sahiba is breaking away from the norm used by most dietitians and simplifying nutrition and making nutrition education more accessible- “With so much information on social media and Dr.Google, people don’t know what to trust. I encourage people to ask me questions, check facts with me or news articles so I can help them filter out the right information.”
Some very interesting questions came up in the discussion like- Microplastics in the marine life and how it affects humans via the food
chain, Weight memory, anxiety and mood swings and its effect on weight, misleading nutrition labels and how to read them and many more.
It was nice to see an interactive session where everyone participated and interacted with each other over food. “Food is just food. We need to stop labeling it. I hope in 2020 the only trend people follow is the trend to listen to their body. Between this chaos created by the health industry and media where fear and guilt rule as emotion, it is imperative that we break away and renew our relationship with food. This can only happen when we are in sync once again with our body.” Intuitive eating is a concept Sahiba believes and promotes. She supports, counsels and helps all her clients to take charge of their food, their emotions and life. This Chai pe charcha was truly one-of-its-kind and we hope this grows as a concept and more nutritionists and dietitians choose to adopt it and equip more people with the right nutrition knowledge.