KAVITA DEVGAN
Eating For The Next Decade
For over thirty years, Kavita Devgan has quietly shaped how India thinks about food, health, and lifestyle. When nutrition was barely mainstream, she entered a new field. Today, as a respected dietitian, columnist, bestselling author and widely read health writer, Devgan champions a simple message: prevention is the best medicine. Her nutrition journey began long before wellness trends and diet fads became popular. Growing up in a small town, Devgan remembers that career choices for girls were mostly limited to medicine or teaching. Her father hoped she would pursue a medical career, but her path became clear during her first nutrition lecture. “It was literally love at first lecture,” she recalls. “I realised nutrition was a hugely underrated tool, it could prevent disease, not just treat it.”
After graduating in dietetics and interning at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, Devgan made a distinct choice: focus on prevention, not just treatment. She helps people build habits that keep disease at bay. This philosophy still guides her work. For Devgan, nutrition is not about strict diets or deprivation, but understanding how daily choices shape long-term health.
Writing soon became an extension of her mission. In the early 2000s, few explained nutrition science to regular readers. Devgan filled that gap. Her articles now appear in many of India’s leading publications and reach a wide audience. “As a dietitian, you help one person at a time,” she explains. “When you write, ideas reach thousands.” Besides her columns, she has authored six books demystifying nutrition with practical habits, not rigid rules. Today, Devgan’s work spans writing, consulting, speaking, and brand partnerships around whole foods and sustainable eating. Her core mission remains unchanged: fight misinformation and empower people with evidence-based knowledge. In a world of trend-driven advice, her steady voice is calm, balanced, and rooted in traditional wisdom.
In this conversation with MOSAIC Magazine, she discusses sustainable eating, the gut-brain connection, modern diet myths, and why lasting health comes from long-term habits rather than quick fixes.
MOSAIC: Your book, The Ultimate Grandmother Hacks: 50 Kick-Ass Traditional Habits revisits time-tested food and lifestyle wisdom. From a sustainability perspective, how do traditional Indian food habits support conscious living today?
Kavita: I’m glad you started with this question, because traditional Indian diets already embody many principles of sustainable eating. For a diet to be sustainable, it must meet three key criteria. First, it must be nutritionally adequate for current and future generations. Second, it should have a low environmental impact, without heavily burdening the climate, water, soil, or biodiversity. Third, food should be culturally acceptable, economical, and accessible for the communities that produce and consume it.
Traditional Indian eating practices align well with these principles. Historically, Indian diets were mostly plant-based, predominantly vegetarian, though not entirely so. This approach naturally meant lower emissions than meat-heavy diets. People relied on local and seasonal foods, minimised waste, and used preservation methods like pickling and fermentation. Even our cooking demonstrated sustainability. Every part of an ingredient was used: stems, peels, and leftovers.
Dietary variety was another strength of Indian food culture: countless types of dals, grains, millets, vegetables, and spices were regularly consumed.
The Ultimate Grandmother Hacks is an ode to these habits. I did not consciously plan it as a sustainability guide, but I realised the wisdom passed down by earlier generations was inherently sustainable. Simple practices, eating together, cooking at home, and using peels and leftovers creatively are good for both health and the planet.
MOSAIC: Having written bestselling books and spoken across platforms for decades, what do you think is the biggest obstacle preventing people from adopting healthy habits today?
Kavita: The biggest challenge is our tendency to chase quick fixes. People naturally seek the easiest and fastest solution to problems, including health and weight-loss issues.
However, quick fixes simply don’t work. They never have, and they never will. Whenever someone approaches health with the mindset of finding the fastest shortcut- whether it’s a miracle diet, a magic supplement, or a trendy eating plan, they are almost setting themselves up for failure. The second major problem is misinformation. Social media has created an environment where incorrect advice spreads
rapidly. If you repeat something often enough, people start believing it is true.
That is why all my books focus on habit change rather than
diets. Health is a marathon, not a sprint. If a person changes even one habit today, and then another next month, they gradually move toward better health. But people often lose interest the moment they hear that it will take time. Unfortunately, there is no sustainable alternative to incorporating healthier habits step by step.
MOSAIC: In your book Don’t Diet: 50 Habits of Thin People, you move away from restrictive dieting. What are some everyday habits naturally thin people follow that anyone can adopt?
Kavita: When I wrote this book, I observed that people who remain naturally thin often share certain
habits. These habits are so ingrained that they don’t feel like effort. The first is focusing on nutrition rather than calories.
I know this may sound controversial, but calories are a very vague science when viewed in isolation. Instead of obsessing over numbers, focus on eating nutritious, beneficial foods for your body.
Second, prioritise home-cooked meals. This one change can solve a huge number of problems- ingredient quality, portion control, and overall nutritional balance. If someone eats out several times a week, simply cutting back on those meals can make a dramatic difference. Third, make fitness enjoyable.
I personally believe strongly in what I call non structured exercises. Of course, going to the gym or attending a fitness class is helpful. But everyday movements, walking to the market, taking the stairs instead of the lift, choosing to walk rather than drive, are equally powerful.
Another important principle is not demonising food. No food is inherently “bad.” The idea is simply to eat more of the foods that nourish your body, and less of those that don’t. And finally, work on your mindset. People who maintain a healthy weight rarely use food as a form of emotional comfort. They enjoy food, but they don’t expect it to solve their problems.
MOSAIC: MOSAIC: There is growing research on the gut-brain connection. In your experience, how does food influence mood, focus, and productivity?
Kavita: Interestingly, Ayurveda recognised the gut-brain connection centuries ago, long before modern science began studying it. Today, we know that much of the serotonin responsible for regulating mood is actually produced in the gut. That means maintaining gut health is essential for emotional well-being. In short, looking after the gut supports a positive mood. To support gut health, eating a balanced, anti- inflammatory diet helps maintain a healthy gut microbiome. This microbiome, in turn, influences everything from mood to energy levels, creating a direct link between our diet and how we feel day to day.
Within a balanced diet, some foods are particularly beneficial. For example, small amounts of cinnamon can support metabolic health. Foods rich in cholin, such as egg yolks, mushrooms, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, also support mental clarity. For corporate professionals, paying attention to lunch is key. A well-balanced midday meal, ideally including yoghurt, can stabilise energy levels and even improve dopamine production. And, of course, hydration is extremely important to overall well-being. Often when we feel tired or distracted, we are simply dehydrated.
MOSAIC: Do you believe nutrition education should begin early in schools?
Kavita: Certainly. Achieving meaningful societal change requires initiating efforts with children. Today, many children cannot even distinguish between real food and packaged food, which is quite alarming. By teaching nutrition at an early age, we help children develop healthy habits that can last a lifetime.
Extending this approach, when I speak to brands, I often encourage them to invest in educational initiatives rather than purely marketing campaigns. Reaching children between the ages of six and eight can be far more impactful than trying to change the habits of adults in their late twenties. Supporting this strategy, I have run school outreach programs in the past, which were incredibly rewarding. Children are naturally curious and eager to learn.
MOSAIC:With social media promoting global food trends, do you think Indian cuisine is losing relevance?
Kavita: Actually, not at all. On the contrary, the traditional Indian diet may hold answers to some of the world’s biggest environmental challenges.
Reports, including those from the World Wide Fund for Nature, highlight that predominantly plant-based diets, such as those typical in India, are among the most environmentally sustainable. The Indian thali, for instance, offers remarkable nutritional balance-grains, pulses, vegetables, fermented foods, and dairy all in one meal.
The issue i s not Indian cuisine itself, but how we have modified it. Today, many meals revolve around large portions of refined carbohydrates with very little diversity. Traditionally, meals included multiple elements that balanced nutrition.
If we return to those traditional patterns, Indian food remains one of the healthiest and most sustainable cuisines in the world.
MOSAIC: Wheat is often criticized in modern diet culture. Do you think gluten-free trends are justified?
Kavita: My stance is very clear: wheat is not the villain. Unless someone has celiac disease or gluten intolerance, there is no need to eliminate wheat completely. The
real issue is overconsumption. Many people eat wheat three times a day- bread for breakfast, rotis for lunch, and rotis again for dinner.
The better approach is grain rotation. Include millets like bajra or ragi along with rice and wheat. This not only improves nutrition but also supports digestive health. Food should never be feared. Balance and variety are the real keys.
MOSAIC: With the rise of veganism, many people rely on packaged vegan products. Can vegan diets be sustainable through traditional foods instead?
Kavita: Any diet- vegan, vegetarian, or non-vegetarian, should rely primarily on minimally processed food. Ideally, processed foods should make up no more than 5-10% of a person’s diet. Beyond that, the focus should be on home cooked meals.
Vegan diets can absolutely work, but they require careful planning to ensure adequate protein and micronutrients. For example, if someone avoids eggs, they must obtain nutrients like choline from other sources, such as mushrooms or cauliflower. With awareness and planning, any dietary pattern can support good health.
MOSAIC: Finally, what message would you like to share with the readers of MOSAIC Magazine?
Kavita: I would like to leave them with two thoughts. First, you only get one body. Do not treat it like a laboratory experiment. Whenever you read about a new diet or trend, do not blindly follow it without understanding its impact. And second, always eat for the next decade.