You are what you Eat! | Archana Rairikar

Dietitian-Nutritionist Archana Rairikar
Satwa – Nutrition Center

Archana Rairikar is a clinical dietitian and nutritionist with a rich experience spanning over 30 years based out in Pune. She was a part of the expert team working on the Ketogenic Diet for Epilepsy at Shushrusha Hospital, Mumbai. She is a life member of the Indian Dietetic Association and a Local Executive Committee member, IDA, Pune Chapter 2019-2021.

Coming from a well-to-do business family, Archana went for a regular Home-Science degree. While she was undecided about her major, she took a nutrition course due to peer pressure and friends. However, she realized the course was arduous including subjects like microbiology, physiology, food science, food technology, and biochemistry. She went ahead and did a post-graduate diploma in dietetics from Maharashtra Technical Board’s catering college. She grasped the skill of quantity cooking, various recipes as well as the administrative part required to run a hospital or hostel kitchen. Further, she also did her master’s degree in dietetics and along with it complemented it with many other courses like counselling, nutrigenomics, alternative medicine therapies like Bach flower remedy, Pranic-healing, and naturopathy.

All these things came together as a dietitian to understand the nutritional value, invent new appetizing recipes with specific needs, and do food consulting and counselling. Archana believes that “The very first thing the dietitian should ensure is that the client has a healthy relationship with his food. This starts with taste, and then you can move on to healthy diets and a healthy lifestyle. The journey should be smooth and joyous towards a healthy life.”

Clinical Dietitians:
They are qualified dietitians having an appropriate educational background in dietetics, nutrition and are attached to institutions such as hospitals and primary nursing care facilities. They are responsible for providing medical nutrition therapy to patients in consultation with doctors for their medical and dietary needs. They assess patients’ nutritional needs, develop and implement nutrition programs, evaluate and report the results. In-house dietitians are required to treat complex diseases while closely supervising and monitoring critical patients. Clinical-dietitians are also responsible for the food-service department’s hygiene and quality of food. They are also accountable for all diet charts and their implementation to every patient in all wards with their specific needs.

Archana is attached to prestigious hospitals like Deenanath Mangeshkar and Shushrut in Pune, while she has worked with Jeevan Vikas Kendra and Dhanwantari Hospital, Mumbai.

Archana worked closely with neuro-physicians from Shushrusha Hospital doing their research with John Hopkins Hospital, US for epilepsy. She was part of the experts’ team who studied the ketogenic diet in detail, understood it in the Indian context, and carefully formulated the Indianized Ketogenic diet. The team also helped spread awareness of it.

Ketogenic Diet :
The ketogenic diet is a recognized non-invasive treatment for epilepsy. It is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet with the required amounts of proteins. Through ketosis, ketones are produced by the liver and used to fuel the body’s cells and brain instead of glucose. This helps to reduce the abnormal electric activity in the brain which can cause seizures. The ketogenic diet requires close supervision and monitoring by clinical dietitians. Results say that the seizures have been reduced considerably and reduced the need for surgery in many.

The ketogenic diet has proved effective in weight loss and other medical conditions like diabetes, certain heart disease, and brain disease. It has worked on skin irritations like acne as well.

Dietitian and beyond…
Archana has a holistic approach to health, touching all aspects from healthy food, healthy lifestyle, exercise regime, meditation, alternative medicine therapies, etc. She being a fitness enthusiast works out in the gym daily, goes trekking and hiking, participates in marathons, loves doing Zumba. She has worked across age groups as a Zumba Trainer.

Archana established herself as a Diet Consultant with prestigious gyms like Talwalkars, Slimwell, and Gold Gym in the early years when gyms and diets were introduced in India.

She educates and creates awareness about community health through public speaking. She has conducted various lectures and modules in various corporates and companies, schools and colleges, yoga groups, senior citizens groups, NGOs, and rural areas.

She started her private practice to reach out to more people through Satwa- Nutrition center. She has helped more than 1000 clients achieve health goals by analyzing their physical conditions and other health concerns and creating a nutrition plan that meets their individual needs and dietary preferences. She has practiced with all age groups and all kinds of cases from weight Loss & Gain, Diabetics, Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Cancer, Thyroid, and depression.

Archana finds it very rewarding to help someone find what works for them, see them become healthier, build confidence, and become more productive in their lives. Healthy people move towards healthier choices and happy life. And she works passionately towards building this world of healthier and happier people.

Website : www.archanarairikar.com
Email : archanarairikar@gmail.com
Contact : 99754 34568