MS. Namita Nayyar:
How would you explain the role of eating healthy in leading a fit & healthy lifestyle?
MS. Anu Sharma:
Healthy habits are hard to develop and often require changing your mindset. But if you’re willing to make sacrifices to better your health, the impact can be far-reaching, regardless of your age, sex, or physical ability.
When you start the day with a healthy breakfast, you avoid becoming overly hungry later, which could send you running to get fast food before lunch. Additionally, skipping breakfast can raise your blood sugar, which increases fat storage. Incorporate at least five servings of fruits and vegetables into your diet per day. These foods, which are low in calories and high in nutrients, help with weight control. Limit consumption of sugary beverages, such as sodas, and if you are a non vegetarian choose lean meats like fish and turkey. A nutritious, well-balanced diet – along with physical activity and refraining from smoking – is the foundation of good health. Healthy eating includes consuming high-quality proteins, carbohydrates, heart-healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and water in the foods you take in while minimizing processed foods, saturated fats and alcohol. Eating in this manner helps you maintain your body’s everyday functions, promotes optimal body weight and can assist in disease prevention.
MS. Namita Nayyar:
How would you guide someone who has just started out as a YouTuber and wishes to grow big?
MS. Anu Sharma:
First of all let me start by saying that I think I am still a beginner. Each video teaches me something new. I am still learning on every aspect of video making. When you’re first starting out, there’s a lot of things to focus on but, I believe the four most important things, that can help you get started will be :
1- GET OUTSIDE YOURSELF AND JUST DO IT- A lot of people, they are so insecure about how they sound or how they look, and all those sorts of things that most people don’t even notice. It’s all in your head, guys. Most people don’t even notice a lot of the things that you’re so worried and insecure about.
2- YOU DON’T NEED THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT- no need to buy expensive cameras, lights etc. Just start with what you have and once you are sure that this is something you want to do long term , you can invest.
3 -BE COMMITTED AND CONSISTENT – Once you have a channel you need to make meaningful content and be consistent with your uploads.
4- ENGAGE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE – reply back to your viewers and make a connection with them . Always try to keep in mind what they request.
MS. Namita Nayyar:
How do you think has YouTube changed how the world operates and brought everyone closer?
MS. Anu Sharma:
When Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawad Karim founded YouTube in 2005 there’s no way they could have predicted that they would change the world as we know it in these 12 years. YouTube has revolutionized everything from entertainment to education, opened new doors for talented individuals looking to be discovered, and brought people together from all over the globe.
For me, one of the most amazing things about YouTube is its ability to make the world smaller. And, no, I don’t mean that YouTube has literally shrunken down the globe. What I mean is that YouTube has given us the power to travel the world with a single click. Sure, before YouTube existed we could learn about distant countries and cultures by reading books and articles online, watching documentaries and looking at published pictures. But YouTube allows us to take things a step further and learn about places and cultures around the world from the actual people who live there.
I think it’s absolutely amazing that with a quick YouTube search we can watch a Zimbabwean Music video, take an educational trip to Bhutan, the last Shangri La, or find out everything there is to know about Iceland. It is opening up new doors for people, who were once ignorant to the world around them, to become aware of cultures around the globe and to see that there are all sorts of interesting people living on our planet, interesting music and dance that we’ve never heard before, and so much to see, learn and soak up.
Youtube helps people get discovered like Justin Beiber. Youtube has revolutionized education. It is now full of how to videos, tutorials and lectures. In fact, some people are even beginning to use YouTube as a tool for offering a free education to people around the world. For instance, hedge fund analyst Salman Khan quit his job to start offering a free education on the web, via YouTube. Through the “Khan Academy”. With videos like Khan’s on YouTube, all that a person needs is an internet connection and they have access to a fantastic education, even in third world countries. If you ask me, I’d say this is pretty incredible and revolutionary.
MS. Namita Nayyar:
Would you like to tell us about the changing scenario of health and nutrition in India over the years?
MS. Anu Sharma:
A lot has changed and that too drastically. During our grandparents or great grandparent’s time “Every food item was seasonal, had a medicinal property and an endemic quality. Desert food would be a coolant, while something on the hills generated heat. It was always locally grown, locally suited, taking into consideration every possible nutritional need.”
The moment you coughed, your grandmother would tell you to drink hot milk with a dash of turmeric and pepper.Studies done by universities abroad have directly linked turmeric to an anti-carcinogen, as well as an antiseptic and antibiotic.Thousands of years ago, our sages practiced yoga, but, ironically, we were convinced of its benefits only when the West recognized its immense powers and popularized it. So, like yoga, we have been brought to see that turmeric is good. Every curry we prepared contained a pinch of turmeric; it was used by women to enhance their complexion, and also the best medicine for a scraped knee. Most of our food also contained ginger and garlic, both natural medicinal ingredient used for centuries. In addition, we used a wider array of spices with multiple health benefits — pepper (relief from respiratory disorders), cumin (helps digestion), fenugreek (controls diabetes, cures acid reflux), mustard (high anti-inflammatory properties), etc.
In the last four or five decades, we have replaced everything good and familiar with the unknown. We have ignored healthy practices that have been handed down for generations, with no regard for the consequences. It is truly a shame that a civilization that once understood the finer nuances of food, its medicinal and nutritional benefits, today survives on pizzas, burgers, fizzy drinks, fried chicken, packaged chips and snacks. While there is no denying that change is inevitable, it should be remembered that change should always be progressive. Anything that drives us into the dark, depressive world of diseases is certainly not progress. We are surrounded by foods that are engineered with the sole aim of making us fat and sick, our activity levels are laughably low, our stress levels are dangerously high and we inhale toxins from the air all day everyday! And guess whats even more messed up? We have little to no control over pollution and, in some cases, stress levels. So clearly, our only opportunity to make the best out of what we have is to control nutrition and activity!
