South Asian children and youngsters worldwide are moving from an Indian diet to a predominantly western format diet. These changes coupled with metabolic syndrome lead to the development of early diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

South Asians have very different dietary habits. Their diets are rich in carbohydrates and many of them are vegetarians. A typical Indian diet consists of chapattis and rice in every meal and would mostly be eaten with lentils or vegetables; in contrast to a western diet that is predominantly meat based and has lesser emphasis on carbohydrates. They mostly prefer cooked hot meals and like to prepare their own food. This means that an Indian Diet is not just a set of different ingredients but a different eating pattern altogether. Many westerners cannot follow an Indian diet because it is extremely spicy and full of pungent and strong flavors. Most Indian diets, if planned well, are healthy because they are high in fibres and provide a healthy mix of carbohydrates and proteins in every meal. They also included a lot of pulses, milk and milk products, and vegetables.

A study published by the American Lung Association has found that Indian children living in England whose diet consisted largely of foods from their native country were less likely to have symptoms of asthma and allergy than Indian youngsters who ate a primarily Western diet.

Indian diets tend to contain more vegetables, less meat and fewer additives and packaged and processed foods than the traditional British diet, said Dr. Britton, of the Division of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Nottingham in England. The findings were similar for children eating vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets.

A study led by researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto have found that a diet high in low-glycemic foods improved both Diabetes control and cardiovascular risk factors. A diet rich in nuts, beans and lentils have been found effective in lowering blood sugar levels in people with Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.

According to a study (J Postgrad Med 2003; 49:222-228), the Indian diet encompasses diversity unknown to most other countries, with many dietary patterns emanating from cultural and religious teachings that have existed for thousands of years. The role of turmeric (haldi/curcumin), a common Indian curry spice, cumin, chilies, kalakhar, Amrita Bindu (traditional Indian Ayurevedic antioxidant supplement containing extract of several plants (long pepper & nigrum, ginger, nutgrass/cocograss, chitrak and caltrop) and various plant seeds are known for their apparent cancer preventive properties.