Humans are the only species in the world to spray poison on our food so that other animals would not eat it. And it is only humans that drink the milk of other animals, says Nandita Shah, a trained homeopath and founder of SHARAN, which aims to help people connect to animals and Nature in order to heal themselves and the planet.
Shah, who now lives in Auroville, Puducherry, received the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2016, the highest award for women in India, for her pioneering work in the field of health and nutrition, from the President of India. She is also the author of the book, Reversing Diabetes in 21 Days.
Shah first became vegan because of ethical issues. She says, “I became a doctor to reduce suffering and when I became aware of the tremendous suffering that we inflict on fellow creatures for food, I had to make the connection.”
With the COVID-19 crisis, as we start looking for immunity-building foods, SHARAN is offering workshops on mindful cooking and safe food. “Coinciding with the World Health Day which falls on April 7, we at SHARAN are offering live and free video sessions online for one week,” says Rosa Noronha, coordinator, SHARAN, Mumbai.
“It is proven that the impact of COVID-19 is harsh on those with pre-existing lifestyle diseases, and we take this lockdown period to make the population understand that such lifestyle diseases can be reversed,” says Shah, adding, “During the lockdown period, we must take all necessary precautions. These must not be temporary, but something which we continue even after the crisis settles down. We must learn to restrict processed food such as sugar, rice and oils and embrace plant-based food for our well-being.”
At SHARAN, they had planned their annual event for World Health Day at a public space in Andheri, Mumbai, but once the lockdown was announced, they decided to go online and make it free so that many families would benefit.
- SHARAN’s online session schedule is as follows:
- April 1: Dr Nandita’s live Q and A; Men can cook too, Boost your immunity: Joseph Pinto
- April 2: Weight Release: health coach Sandhyaashree Rajiv; Butter, Cheese and Chaas (non-dairy alternatives); Intermittent Fasting: Madhura Vayal
- April 3: How I Reversed My IBS & Asthma: Shalini Goenka; Gluten-free cooking and 7 Steps to Forming Healthy Habits & Live a Life of your Dreams: Ram Prasad
- April 4: How I Reversed my Cancer: Jaishree Kannan; Raw recipes, Power of Affirmations: Madhura Vayal
- April 5: Children’s Special: Reconnecting with Nature: Maria and Sarah Pinto; Kid-friendly recipes, All about Protein and Calcium: Amit Dudhani
- April 6: Parenting Special - Raising Healthy Kids: Kommal Shah; Cooking with kids, How to grow microgreens: Joseph Pinto
- April 7: Eat Your Way to Health: Reyna Rupani, Sugar-free desserts, Let’s Get Healthier Together: Dr Nandita Shah
“Adapting to a plant-based diet is easy if you make an attempt. Dairy can be completely replaced with milk derived from cashew and almond, peanut and rice, oats and coconut. Making oat milk is easy and can be used for coffee and tea,” says Shah. This summer, you can even try making buttermilk with tender coconut. Just take medium tender coconut slices, add a little juice of lemon, fresh mint-coriander leaves, slices of ginger, salt and water, and blend well in a mixer-grinder.
“During the lockdown period, we are also offering some of our popular online courses at 50%, such as the 21 days online diabetes reversal programme and basic plant-based cooking. Apart from these, the one-week programme also has cookery for kids and an exclusive session for men.”
Those interested in participating in the free online sessions have to register by calling 9769117747 or log on to www.sharan-india.org. Email: office@sharan-india.org
