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An Interview with A Nutritionist

Medics in the Making

Updated: Oct 9, 2022

Interview with: Dr. Sivani Lodha

Interviewer: Parineeta Gupta


In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, eating healthy food remains an important part of maintaining your health. While there are no specific foods that can help protect you from the virus, a nutritious diet can boost your immune system and help you fight off symptoms.

Keeping this in mind, I approached a Dubai based nutritionist who very kindly shared more information on the key aspects of maintaining a healthy and nutritious lifestyle.

Dr Shivani Lodha, a certified nutritionist and a registered dietician who completed her PhD in child nutrition. For the past eleven years, she has been working in the sectors of women and children health. In addition to this, she has her own venture called ‘nourishvani’ which is all about counselling and educating people on good diet and nutrition.


“To start with, could you tell us about your approach towards nutrition?“


“I believe in healing people with a holistic approach and food is something wherein you connect with people emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Most diseases can be either managed or prevented (I'm not saying cured) with good food and lifestyle habits”

“What aspect of nutrition and health really fascinated you that you decided to make it your career?”


“Food and nutrition is a science that changes every day. For instance, right now everybody has access to technology, so we get to read a lot of articles from new diets coming in like keto to intermittent fasting. This is a science which is emerging, it is not a static science, where your theories are formed, and you must stick to it. I find this exciting. Secondly, food is something where if I plant a seed, and nurture it well then only will I get good fruits out of it, so this was something always in my interest. Hence, I chose this field and kept on learning more and more about it.”


“That’s amazing! As we know we all are going through a pandemic and most parts of the world are under lockdown, this has led to many people experimenting with their cooking and baking skills and trying out new things every day. What is the best piece of advice you would give to such people to maintain their health during this time?”


“Right, now there are two kinds of people: people who are starving themselves because they aren't able to exercise and resorting to multiple energy and immunity drinks (which of course isn't healthy!) and the people who have turned to baking and cooking as means of psychological support and comfort. I would say it is not bad to have any bakery or processed food but learn to make some combinations. For example, if you are making a homemade bread, don’t just have it by itself, add some dips, or vegetables or proteins with it. Combination of meals is important and never binge and eat, eat everything in moderation!”


“You did slightly touch on immunity, but according to you what are to most vital vitamins to boost immunity?”


The most important vitamin I call is vitamin W which is water and walk. You must have a good amount of water and you must walk. Any form of exercise helps. In addition to this, it is very important to hydrate yourself. Hydration doesn’t mean gulping down cokes or carbonated drinks. Hydration is having water or lemon water or coconut water. Hydration is not drinking juices as your body might go into dehydration due to heavy sugar concentration in juices. Secondly, it is very important to have a balanced diet, so just popping in pills won't work. Your body is like 5 fingers of your hand, without one finger your hand will not work properly. So, you must make sure you have the required amount of proteins, good quality fats and carbs. Thirdly, have the least possible processed food. Have fresh foods like fruits and vegetables, that will give you maximum immunity.”

“Lastly, what is the best piece of advice you would give to someone who is interested to build a career in the field of nutrition?”


“Nutrition is a very vast field, there a lot of specialisations that have come out, there is sports nutrition, mother and childcare, clinical nutrition and lots more. First, see what specialisation you want to take and secondly whether you are really interested in studying so much because it is not just about food, it all about the human body, right from processing and every possible thing that happens in the body. You have to also understand the market. You have to see the food processing units; you need to read a lot and educate yourself. You can work with the hospitals to cater to all the patients there or have your own setup, you can also be a maternal or paediatric nutritionist. Sports nutrition is in trend these days as every sportsperson needs a nutritionist and of course, you can always go into journalism and write articles on various products or topics related to nutrition. If you wish to pursue a career in nutrition, I will say it is a fantastic field!”


Special thank you to Dr. Shivani Lodha for taking part in this interview!


Edited by: Simoni Shah and Ashna Chaturvedi



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