The INTERNET is flooded with wisdom on nutrition, be it weight-loss diets, intermittent fasting, veganism, giving up carbohydrates or taking supplements. The truth is, it is difficult to find a balanced meal that works for you from the information swirling around you. That's why the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), under the aegis of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has released a comprehensive guideline on how Indians should be eating clean with easily accessible resources and, most importantly, what suits their body type.

Complete with an ideal plate, diet charts, recipes and advisories on how you should be cooking and in what cookware, this is an essential handbook that all of us would find convenient to incorporate into our daily lives. Given India's growing burden of non-communicable diseases, these guidelines are significant as they lay down the template of foundational nutrition in children, beginning with pregnant women. The report says that proper nutrition for a mother and child is linked not only to proper growth and development but also to the risk of diabetes, hypertension and heart attack later in life.

Over 56 percent of all non-communicable diseases can be attributed to an unhealthy diet. As the reports show, a healthy diet can prevent 80 percent of type 2 diabetes and significantly reduce the burden of heart disease, high blood pressure and prevent premature deaths. It has even warned against taking supplements for building body mass and recommended restricting salt intake, minimizing sugar and ultra-processed foods and reading information on food labels correctly.