GlobalSpa
16-Dec-2021
Meet Lovneet Batra, one of Delhi's most insightful nutritionists based in Delhi. She is also the author of “50 Desi Super Drinks” - a deep dive into balanced delicious drink recipes that can be made in minutes at home from spices which also boosts your health and immunity. A consultant, TV host, and columnist, here’s Lovneet in conversation with GlobalSpa exploring her journey, philosophy, and more.
1. Starting off, how did your journey as a nutritionist begin?
Becoming a nutritionist wasn’t my intention at the start, though. My initial plan was to study medicine — and I chose nutrition and dietetics as my pre-med major at Michigan State University. At around the same time, a relative back home had a brush with disease. While the patient was receiving the right medical care, there was no proper nutritional guidance or advice — which resulted in a long-term dependence on medication, which was unnecessary and unhealthy.
As I began working with medical practitioners on a closer level during my time at university, I came to learn the power of nutrition — and how food could be used to treat and beat disease. I experienced how food and nutrition had the power to support, prevent and manage illness, improve the efficacy of a course of treatment or medication, and even get a patient off medication completely.
After experiencing the effectiveness of food-as-medicine, I chose to pursue nutrition as a way to use food to prevent illness and achieve life-long happiness and good health — and set up my practice when I returned to India in the 2010s.
2. Please tell us a bit about your book 50 Desi Super Drinks. How did the concept come about?
I’ve been a clinical nutritionist for over a decade, during my practice I’ve helped several struggling with different goals, be it weight management, body image issues, sports performance or healing from a disease condition. Although different people may have different goals their hope is to reinvent the wheel when it comes to their diet. They usually expect a superfood from far away land to be the life-changing element in their fitness journey. Just like I’ve busted those superficial, non-sustainable ideas of fitness for my clients through my diets, this book is a humble attempt to rebrand our traditional wisdom through the support of science into our go-to superfood.
3. What kind of challenges would you say you face as a nutritionist?
When I started out as a nutritionist a decade ago, the landscape was different. And, what was expected of a nutritionist was different, too: weight loss, management, and how to trim the fat. The focus was on food for “fitness," and being “fit” was equated with being thin or skinny. I then launched my practice with a completely different approach— one which has helped hundreds of patients, and which continues today. My nutrition philosophy centres around food that heals and helps, with a focus on native ingredients and a sound understanding of Ayurvedic principles.
A medical report can change a person’s life — and as nutritionists, my team and I work to keep our patients happy and healthy in spite of it. Food has the power to heal. Poor eating habits in childhood and different stages of adulthood can have detrimental effects later, as metabolic down and the body changes with age. When people choose the right foods early on, they can stay healthy and even prevent the onset of lifestyle disorders. And, if a patient is diagnosed with a disease or disorder, the right foods can improve the effectiveness of their course of treatment.
We don’t prescribe paper-perfect diets, but sustainable plans that will nourish and keep satiety levels in check. Our diets push people towards better health and help them overcome illness, disease, and lifestyle disorders, with optimum nutrition, and no deprivation.
4. What aspects of nutrition do you feel are most important to address when consulting with clients?
Providing sustainable solutions that do not isolate diet from their life. Most people focus on calorie centric approach in nutrition, as a clinical nutritionist, I focus on spreading awareness about the qualitative aspect of the food we eat. The ingredient quality, micronutrients & phytochemicals present, the kind of ash a particular food leaves in our body, what type of soil it was grown in, how it was processed, cooked and stored. The complete cycle from farm to fork matters and has an impact on our wellbeing.
5. Personally, what is your fitness philosophy?
Keep it simple but consistent. Fitness is a continuous journey, the one that you owe yourself. It should be a journey that transforms you into your stronger version but without making it a punishment. You must love the process and should be able to make it part of your life with joy not as another add-on to your to-do list.
6. Social media is an integral aspect of food wisdom, but what are your thoughts on the prospect? Do you think the digital era of nutritionists is more pro or con?
Social media is a fantastic way to communicate and spread general awareness. However when it comes to seeking specific health advice, scrolling through social media can be dangerous, each body is unique and a social media post cannot be a substitute for assessment and intervention. The digital era is a boon for nutritionists but it comes with bigger responsibility, as a health professional you must focus on science-driven solutions and not fall for food/diet trends just to catch more eyeballs. If you stay true to your subject, the sky's the limit and the impact you could make on community health is immense.
7. Lastly, any word of advice for aspiring nutritionists/dieticians?
Nutrition as a science is evolving so rapidly, never stop learning. Explore various specialities and innovate to make this world a healthier place.
