Gift of health this Diwali

Wondering what to gift this diwali? I say you stay away from mundane, useless stuff, and opt instead for something others will actually value. Give something that’ll help the health of your loved ones. Agreed dry fruits make a wonderful health giving gift, but that doesn’t mean you should give the same nuts as gifts every year – almonds, cashews and pistas. This year gift a trio of walnuts, dried figs and dried apri-cots. All three will add extra nutrition, flavour and crunch to the meals of your loved ones, and they will hopefully snack on these instead of high saturated fat cookies.

Gift them heart health with walnuts
One of the best plant sources of protein, walnuts are rich in fibre, B vi-tamins, magnesium, and antioxidants such as vitamin E.  They are also an excellent source of omega-3 essential fatty acids (this latest buzz word in healthy eating is a special type of protective fat the body cannot manufacture) - walnuts' concentration of omega-3s (a quarter-cup provides 90.8% of the daily value for these essential fats) offers cardiovascular protection, and better brain function; plus walnuts also contain an antioxidant compound called ellagic acid that supports the immune system and protects against cancer.

Help control their blood pressure with dried figs
Potassium in figs will help keep the BP down and lets face it most of us slack as far as this nutrient is concerned as we don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables. Plus we also consume high amounts of sodium, so a little extra potassium will help balance the electrolytes in the body. There’s more! It is rich in other minerals like calcium, magne-sium, iron and copper and is a good source of antioxidant vitamins A, E and K too. Figs have good amount of calcium, which helps to strengthen the bones and loads of fibre which helps keep our diges-tion hum along nicely.

Protect their vision
Apricots loaded with vitamin A, carotenoids and xanthophylls which protect the retina, so will help keep their vision in good shape. tIt also delivers vitamin C and a number of potent antioxidants like quercetin, proanthocyanidins, catechin, epicatechins and many more. These an-tioxidants also help get rid of free radicals produced in the body which, can damage the body on cellular level. Catechins in particular also help keep inflammation away. They are also rich in soluble fiber that dissolves easily in the body, this helps in absorbing essential nutri-ents. and keep one safe from gastrointestinal disorders. Finally it is a rich source of iron too, one of the rare good vegetarian sources.