If you grew up in the 90s, Raveena Tandon was both a beauty and fitness inspiration. On her birthday on October 26, we are looking back at an interview she gave to Pinkvilla in November 2020 that still feels incredibly relevant. No crash diets. No fancy superfoods. Just dal-sabzi, homemade ghee, and a lot of swimming. Also read | Mira Rajput interview: Why she doesn't believe in 'good' or 'bad' food and swears by intuitive eating over strict diets
The dahi rule Raveena Tandon swears by
In the interview, when asked about her daily diet, Raveena said something most of us will relate to: "The regular, like for lunch, dal, bhaji (veggies) and my dahi (curd), is something that I regularly eat because I feel the stomach needs to remain full. That's a lot of probiotics. So dahi is something one should have if you don't have access to coconut water. We have become more concentrated towards food. When we are having lunch, our conversation is about what's for dinner; and then when we are having dinner, the concentration is on 'what do we make for tomorrow for lunch'. In fact, my husband has become a gourmet chef because every day he sits on YouTube and other channels, bringing out different recipes. But, yes, I have been careful for sure."
It is simple, but it is exactly the kind of pattern global health guidelines push for. As per the World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline on healthy diets, a wide variety of foods, including fruits, vegetables, pulses, whole grains, and lean sources of protein, help ensure a healthy diet. Diverse diets, based on a wide variety of foods between and within food groups, are associated with a greater likelihood of meeting vitamin and mineral requirements and reduced risk of diet-related noncommunicable diseases, per WHO.
The WHO also noted that for many adults, 'a shift towards more plant-based sources of protein may bring health benefits, particularly when the shift is away from red meat. Foods high in unhealthy fats, free sugars and sodium should be limited'. Raveena's staple lunch of dal, bhaji and dahi hits that brief — pulses for plant protein, seasonal vegetables for micronutrients and fibre, and curd for probiotics.
No to aerated drinks and yes to homemade ghee
Raveena was clear about what she cuts out. Sharing more details about her home food philosophy in the same interview, she said, "We make our own homemade ghee. We try not to have, nor have we encouraged the children to have, aerated sodas. A lot of high-sugar-concentration drinks are also a no-no. I get organic haldi (turmeric) from my farm, and we make this kada, which we also make the children drink... it is a mixture of a little bit of ajwain (carom seeds), laong (clove), kali mirch (black pepper), pure organic haldi, adrak (ginger), and then you boil it together with a pinch of pure ghee."
That no-soda, no-high-sugar-drinks rule is textbook WHO. The organisation has consistently flagged that diets containing significant amounts of highly processed foods, which are often high in sodium, sugar or unhealthy fats, are associated with negative health outcomes. Swapping those for homemade options like her kada is the kind of low-sugar, whole-food approach nutritionists like.
Her fitness formula: more cardio and swimming
Then comes the fitness part, and again, Raveena kept it honest. She said: "I love swimming…I love massages. I think oil massages are very necessary for the body to keep your skin moisturised; that is very important, especially as you grow older. Earlier on, you take yourself for granted, but once dryness sets in, it's a path to wrinkles, so keep your skin as moisturised as possible. I love doing a lot of cardio because it really suits my body type, whereas a lot of weight training doesn't. So, I love my yoga, I love my swimming, and I love my walking, running."
No punishing weight routine, no two-hour gym sessions. Her mix of yoga, swimming, walking and running is essentially what the WHO recommends for long-term health. According to the WHO, adults aged 18–64 years should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity throughout the week, or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both.
For additional health benefits, adults should increase their moderate-intensity physical activity to 300 minutes per week, or equivalent – muscle-strengthening activities should involve major muscle groups on two or more days a week, per WHO. Raveena's combination of swimming, brisk walking, running, and yoga easily covers that 150-minute benchmark without making fitness feel like a punishment.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.