Last year, I visited Vietnam, a country celebrated for its healthy and nutritious cuisine. As a vegetarian, I wasn't expecting a variety of options, but I was pleasantly surprised by the range of dishes available, from rice paper rolls to vegetarian noodles. Low in fat, gluten-free, and packed with vitamins and minerals, Vietnamese food seemed perfect if you wanted to boost your immune system, aid weight loss, and enhance energy levels.

But Is Vietnamese Food Really Healthy?

Vietnamese cuisine stands out for its fresh, antioxidant-rich ingredients. The generous use of herbs and vegetables provides a healthy dose of Vitamins E and A, which help delay ageing, promote skin healing, and keep wrinkles at bay. Traditional Vietnamese soups, like the iconic pho, are nutrient-dense, providing essential vitamins and minerals that combat fatigue and support overall well-being. The long-simmering broths, rich in nutrients like Vitamin C, iron, and folate, make these dishes both hearty and health-boosting.

For those concerned about blood sugar, Vietnamese food is an excellent choice. The cuisine is naturally gluten-free, relying on rice noodles, rice paper, and rice flour instead of wheat, helping to regulate blood sugar levels without the spikes caused by refined grains. Additionally, dishes are often flavoured with fresh herbs rather than heavy oils or dairy, making them light and low in calories.

Vietnamese food is not only delicious but also beneficial for digestion, thanks to restorative herbs like mint and coriander. With its low sugar content, nutrient-dense ingredients, and lean proteins, Vietnamese cuisine is a great way to maintain a balanced diet while enjoying vibrant flavours.

10 Healthiest Dishes In Vietnamese Cuisine

1. Gỏi Cuốn (Fresh Spring Rolls): Rice paper rolls filled with fresh vegetables, herbs, and lean proteins like shrimp or tofu, often served with a light peanut or hoisin sauce.

2. Phở (Vietnamese Noodle Soup): A traditional broth-based soup made with rice noodles, herbs, and lean proteins like chicken or beef. It's low in fat and packed with nutrients.

3. Bún Chay (Vegetarian Vermicelli Noodles): A refreshing bowl of rice vermicelli topped with fresh vegetables, tofu, and herbs, served with a light, tangy dressing.

4. Cà Tím Nướng Mỡ Hành (Grilled Eggplant with Scallion Oil): Smoky grilled eggplant topped with scallion oil and fresh herbs, offering a rich source of fiber and antioxidants.

5. Canh Chua (Vietnamese Sour Soup): A tangy and light broth-based soup made with tamarind, fish or tofu, and vegetables like pineapple, tomatoes, and okra.

6. Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese Sizzling Crepes): Savory rice flour pancakes filled with shrimp, pork, or tofu, along with bean sprouts and herbs. They're light and usually served with lettuce wraps.

7. Chả Cá Lã Vọng (Turmeric Fish with Dill): Marinated white fish cooked with turmeric, fresh dill, and herbs, offering a flavorful dish rich in omega-3s.

8. Rau Muống Xào Tỏi (Stir-Fried Water Spinach with Garlic): A simple yet nutrient-dense dish made with stir-fried water spinach and garlic, high in fibre and vitamins.

9. Nộm Đu Đủ (Green Papaya Salad): A crisp salad made with shredded green papaya, carrots, herbs, and a light dressing, offering a refreshing source of vitamins and fibre.

10. Bún Bò Huế (Spicy Beef Noodle Soup): A hearty soup made with spicy, aromatic broth, lean beef, and plenty of herbs, providing a balanced meal with protein and low-fat content.

Everything Korean today is a trend. Among all these trends, there is a Korean diet which is going viral because it claims for a rapid weight loss, that too in just 4 weeks!

The diet came on the program called "Switch On Diet", which is created by Dr Yong-Woo Park, known for treating obesity for the last 33 years. The diet "aims to return metabolic abnormalities to normal weight through 4 weeks of practice". The diet claims to promote fat loss and muscle mass retention.

So, What Is This Switch On Diet?

This diet focuses on intermittent fasting and gut health optimization. The diet mainly comprises of protein-heavy meals and also emphasizes on hydration, notes New York Post.

Rule Of Thumb For Switch On Diet

The basic rules include:

• Drink eight glasses of water or two litres of water
• Get at least six hours of sleep
• Consume nutritional supplements
• Practise 10-14 hours of intermittent fasting
• Perform high-intensity workouts at least four times a week
• Have dinner at least 4 hours before bedtime

The program also advises against coffee intake and suggests that one must limit caffeine and alcohol consumption, along with processed food and sugar. The diet also restricts carbohydrates to allow the body to enter a state of ketosis, which is a metabolic state characterized by rapid levels of ketone bodies in the body tissues, which are pathological in conditions, such as diabetes, or the consequence of diet which is very low in carbohydrates. This is when your body burns fat for energy instead of glucose.

How Can You Follow This Diet, Weekly?

Here's a weekly overview of how this diet could be followed:

Week 1 - Detox And Gut Cleansing

The first week focuses mainly on detoxing your body and cleansing your gut. Participants in this phase thus consume protein shake four times a day, for three days. Probiotics too play an essential role by emptying stomach. This is also followed by at least an hour of walking.

What Is Allowed: Cabbage, cucumbers, broccoli, tofu, and unsweetened yogurt. Participants can also consume fish, chicken, pork, eggs, low-fat meat. However, flour, dairy and coffee are not allowed.

Week 2 - Intermittent Fasting

During the second week, participants start fasting for one day, for a total of 24 hours. This fast is broken with a high-protein dinner.

The meal afterwards include a daily lineup of two protein shakes, low-carbs meal, which also includes rice, vegetables, and a no-carb dinner, which is high in protein.

What Is Allowed: White rice, legumes, and a cup of black coffee.

This phase mainly focuses on muscle recovery, and so high-intensity workouts are avoided during this time.

Week 3 and 4 - Fat Burn

In the last two weeks is when the diet goes in its full fledged mode. This is when the focus is solely on the fat-burning process. The week 3 is started with two non-consecutive 24-hour fasting periods. In week 4, these fasting days are up by one extra.

What Is Allowed: Two shakes a day and two low-carbs meal. You can have pumpkins, cherry tomatoes, chestnuts, and berries.

Post-exercise, carb-dense foods like sweet potatoes and bananas are encouraged.

Maintenance is the key

Even after the program is finished, it is important that people maintain their results with a 24-hour fast and a 14-hour fast window once a week.

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world. On an average an American drinks about 240 milliliter of coffee in a day and a cup of it generally has about 120-180 milligrams of caffeine. The relationship between caffeine intake and people with diabetes has always been up for debate. According to Mayo clinic, caffeine can affect the way your body uses insulin, which could lead to higher or lower blood sugar. While some experts say that it is safe for them to drink coffee in moderation, it depends on each person differently.

If you are a regular coffee drinker, and do not know how to get rid of the habit, this suggestion by Diabetes UK may be of use to you. As there is a common belief that the risk of a person developing type 2 diabetes is based on what kind of diet and lifestyle they follow. When you are at risk of it, you have to make some necessary changes in order to lead a relatively healthy life.

Diabetes UK suggests a surprising switch: choose tea or coffee instead of fruit juice. If you can drink these hot drinks without adding extra sugar, it could be a simple way to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.

How Is Coffee Better For Type 2 Diabetes Than Fruit Juice

People with type 2 diabetes have to avoid many things including foods that are perceived to be healthy but tend to have lot of natural sugar. Fruit juices might seem healthy compared to coffee, but many popular brands have a lot of added sugar. Even juices made only from fruit can still have a lot of natural sugars. Experts on diabetes say it's better to eat whole fruits like apples, grapes, and berries instead of drinking their juice. Whole fruits have fiber, which helps your body absorb sugar slowly and stops the quick sugar rushes you get from juice.

We know that fizzy drinks and energy drinks with lots of sugar are linked to problems like type 2 diabetes. Giving up caffeine from these drinks can be hard. If plain tea or coffee doesn't appeal to you, try versions with fewer calories or no added sugar. This can help satisfy your cravings without increasing your diabetes risk. Diabetes UK also points out that even losing a small amount of weight, like 1kg, can help lower your risk.

Important Point To Keep In Mind

It's important to remember that some things that increase your risk of type 2 diabetes are out of your control. Diabetes UK explains that people with African Caribbean, Black African, or South Asian family backgrounds, as well as those who have family members with type 2 diabetes, tend to have a higher chance of developing the condition.

How you make your coffee can also be a game changer. A study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that filtering coffee, like with a paper filter, is better for your health than just boiling the ground and drinking the water. This was especially true for older adults.

However, the Harvard Health Publishing states that “the study is observational and doesn't prove that filtered coffee is healthier than unfiltered coffee, but it makes sense.”. However, it makes sense because unfiltered coffee has things called diterpenes that can raise your cholesterol.

Spices have been a big part of many Asian cuisines for centuries. Not just as foods, but they were also used for their medicinal purposes. Spices like turmeric were often used to make medicinal concoction and other spices like cinnamon, ginger and peppermint are used for their anti-inflammatory qualities.

A new study has revealed that the compound that is responsible for the spiciness in chili pepper not only has anti-inflammatory properties but also has cholesterol lowering potential. Capsaicin, that makes chili peppers spicy has been studied for many years, researchers have found different nuisances of it that make it healthy for consumption.

Beyond its fiery nature, capsaicin exhibits cholesterol-lowering properties and may even play a role in reducing the risk of cancer and arthritis. A 2022 study published in Frontiers in Nutrition investigated capsaicin's impact on cholesterol in individuals with metabolic syndrome.

How Does Capsaicin Lower Cholesterol?

A 2022 publication in Frontiers in Nutrition reviewed nine controlled trials encompassing 461 patients with metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that elevate the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart problems. The study found that when these people ate capsaicin, their total cholesterol and the "bad" kind of cholesterol went down a lot.

Other research suggests that eating chilies might be good for our hearts. A study from 2019 looked at what over 22,000 people in Italy ate and their health over about eight years. The study found that people who ate chili peppers more than four times a week were less likely to die from heart problems. This seemed to be true even if they didn't eat a super healthy diet. So, it looks like chilies might have a special way of helping our hearts.

Spicy Foods For Heart Health

While there are studies that show its benefits for heart health, there has been a lot of debate regarding the same. In a study published in the Molecular nutrition and food research 2022 researchers investigated the role of capsaicin for your heart health. The study revealed that it’s not clear yet how eating spicy food and chili peppers affects health.

There might be a link to better metabolism, less death, and fewer heart problems. How much capsaicin someone eats might also change the risk of stomach cancer in a complex way. Usually, it's safe to eat spicy foods and chili peppers. Another study published in the Biomolecules 2022 journal found that people who eat chili peppers often seem to be healthier and live longer. Studies in animals suggest that capsaicin, the hot part of chili peppers, might help prevent metabolic syndrome. It found that while eating a lot of chili peppers is linked to a lower chance of dying from heart problems, capsaicin doesn't clearly change blood sugar or fat levels.