Photographs: Abhijit Mamunkar Priyanka Ganwani
Dietician to the stars and author Charmaine D'Souza talks about what it takes to stay in shape and more.
When the stars are in doubt, they consult Charmaine D'Souza. The celebrity dietician counts Karan Johar, Rani Mukerji, Neetu Singh Kapoor, Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways and Yash Birla among others as her clients.
In her first book, Kitchen Clinic, D'Souza who has been practicing for almost two decades lists out simple home remedies that will help you keep minor ailments at bay as well as control and prevent major illnesses.
Read an extract from the book here
Priyanka Ganwani interviews Charmaine D'Souza to find out how we can eat better to feel better and more.
Why did you decide to write this book?
Having taught nutrition for 18 years, educating a client about good health has always been my primary focus, so that they can make informed choices about the foods they should eat, what they should follow etc.
Seeing my zest for explaining things, be it their blood reports, food regimen or food myths and fallacies, people often told me that I should put down my thoughts on paper and come out with a book on health.
It was only when Random House approached me two years ago and convinced me that what I did on a daily basis would make for good reading, that I finally got convinced and began penning it all down.
In your long years as a nutritionist, what are the most common and biggest problems you have come across?
It's all about the 'S' word, 'stress.' Stress induced ailments like diabetes; hypertension, dyslipidaemia as well as polycystic ovarian disease are amongst the common ailments.
What do you think are the most basic things that we often miss out on, in our diet and fitness regime?
It's as simple as hydrating the system with adequate amounts of water, eating sufficient amounts of protein and not banishing energy or giving up carbohydrates because someone told us carbohydrates are bad.
These essentials are usually ignored but a little attention would only shape you up well.
Who is the most disciplined among your celebrity clients?
I've dealt with a whole lot of industrialists, politicians, actors, lawyers, doctors but I find Neetu Singh Kapoor to be the most disciplined of them all. She totally follows my instructions.
What should readers expect out of the book?
Kitchen Clinic is a simple, comprehensive and holistic approach to herbal healing that can be done in the comfort of your very own kitchen.
Readers will get a better understanding of how combinations of simple kitchen ingredients like bay leaves, cinnamon, fennel, turmeric etc. can help them stay healthy and blossoming.
Any plans of on another book?
I do have a couple of ideas. Hopefully they will soon see the light of day!
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