From Junk To Joy: Rethinking Healthy Eating | Dr Karan Shah | TEDxNHLMMC

Initial Transformation and Realization

• The journey to rethinking healthy eating began with a personal transformation, as seen in a 2017 photo taken on a beach in Sri Lanka, where the individual had a large body, weighing over 100 kg (38s).
• Upon returning to India, a full-body profiling test was conducted due to insurance purposes, revealing extremely deranged lipid profile levels and triglyceride levels over 1500, which had a profound impact (2m6s).
• This experience led to a journey of strict diet, discipline, and extreme workouts, which was one of the toughest things to accomplish (2m40s).
• However, it was discovered that it was possible to eat outside regularly and still maintain a healthy lifestyle with moderation, consistency, and taking small steps at a time (3m20s).

The Impact of Junk Food

• Research shows that eating junk food floods the brain's reward system with dopamine, stimulating the same areas as drugs of abuse, leading to addiction (4m52s).
• Medical students, despite knowing the dangers of junk food, are not immune to poor eating habits due to extreme stress, long shifts, and sleepless nights (5m24s).
• The availability of unhealthy options in medical colleges, hospitals, and hostels perpetuates a vicious cycle of high stress leading to more junk food consumption (6m59s).
• The schedule and environment often force individuals into unhealthy patterns, making quick and convenient options the norm (7m23s).
• Medical students often engage in unhealthy eating habits as a social ritual, such as eating junk food outside after exams or studying late at night, which can continue into their professional lives (7m48s).
• As a result, doctors, who are trained to promote good health, often neglect their own health due to the demands of their work, leading to lifestyle disorders (9m6s).
• Despite being taught about lifestyle diseases and preventive measures in medical school, there is a lack of training on practical nutrition, leading many medical students and doctors to succumb to the same lifestyle disorders they warn their patients about (9m29s).

The Rise of Unhealthy Eating Habits

• Eating out has become a common routine in many parts of India, including Gujarat, with cafes and fast food joints booming, and the youth being drawn to food that tastes great due to additives and harmful ingredients (10m18s).
• Commercially available food often uses substandard quality ingredients, such as hydrogenated vegetable oils, palm oil, refined flour, and high sodium additives, contributing to the rise of lifestyle diseases among the youth (10m56s).

The Journey to Healthy Eating

• During a personal weight loss journey, it was understood that restaurants and cafes prioritize profitability over health, using cheap artificial ingredients to enhance taste and cut costs (11m38s).
• To overcome this, healthier versions of favorite junk foods were created at home using better quality ingredients, leading to the realization that healthy food can also be tasty (12m20s).
• A gap in the market was identified for truly healthy food that does not compromise on taste, leading to the co-founding of "Dreams and Mocktails, The Doctor's Cafe" in 2019, which offers healthy versions of favorite junk foods using better quality ingredients (12m37s).

Deconstructing Unhealthy Food

• A tanduri paneer pizza commercially available in the market typically contains 1200 to 1500 calories, depending on the brand (14m44s).
• The pizza base is made of refined flour, hydrogenated vegetable butter, and margarine loaded with sugar, and contains less than 5% tomato, with the majority being hydrogenated vegetable oil and additives (15m17s).
• The toppings include capsicum, onion, and tanduri paneer, which is marinated in a mixture of vegetable oil and mayonnaise, and the paneer is often an analog food made from vegetable oil (15m39s).
• The pizza is also topped with mozzarella cheese, which is often an analog milk product (16m19s).
• The ingredients in the pizza can be swapped with healthier alternatives to reduce the calorie count by 50% (16m41s).

The Doctor's Cafe and Impact

• A cafe that served healthy food was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but was reopened at a different location and has since impacted over 100,000 people and healthified over 20,000 orders (18m3s).
• The cafe has expanded to a multi-brand, multi-cuisine cloud kitchen, selling via four different brands that stick to the same principles of serving healthy food (18m29s).

Sustainable Lifestyle Changes

• Losing weight is only half the battle, and regaining weight is common, but making sustainable lifestyle changes and being consistent can make it easier to maintain weight loss (19m25s).
• It's not necessary to sacrifice favorite foods to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and making small changes can have a significant impact (19m52s).
• The individual used to weigh 108 kg and would eat samosas every Monday, a habit they continued even after starting to lose weight, but in a restricted portion manner (20m10s).
• The key to successful weight loss is not sacrificing favorite foods, but rather restricting them in a way that allows for enjoyment of the taste while making sustainable choices (20m35s).
• Extreme diets and complicated rules are not necessary for weight loss; instead, making smart and sustainable choices is essential (20m56s).

Personal Weight Loss Journey and Advice

• The individual had previously tried various methods to lose weight, including taking medicines and following crash diets, but was unsuccessful until they made a conscious decision to make sustainable lifestyle changes (21m20s).
• Being overweight poses health dangers, and making changes to one's lifestyle is crucial for overall well-being, particularly for individuals in the medical field (21m51s).
• The individual lost 36 kg in just 6 months, demonstrating that weight loss can be achieved quickly and easily with the right approach (22m7s).
• Weight loss is often easier than weight gain, and making sustainable lifestyle choices is key to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight (22m23s).