One of my friends had planned her dream vacation to Singapore, and she wanted to look picture-perfect in all her holiday pictures. It might sound like dedication but guess what she did? She starved for 7 days by drinking only water. Is this the right way to lose weight — or just a dangerous trend we should stop glorifying?
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. The word “diet” often implies the use of a specific nutritional intake for health or weight-management reasons. Complete nutrition requires the ingestion and absorption of vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids from protein, as well as essential fatty acids from fat-containing foods, along with food energy in the form of carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
Megha’s Nutritional Journey
This quest led her to enrol in a Vedic Nutrition course at a Delhi wellness centre, where she discovered how Ayurveda helps in balancing the mind, body, and soul. She strongly believes that Indian food works best for Indian bodies. Megha also explored the Rainbow Diet linked with the seven chakras, along with specialised plans for conditions like cancer and joint pain – completing nearly 10 – 12 diet modules, including a masterclass at Level 2 and a Garb Samskar course.
Her curiosity didn’t stop there. She studied nutrition across different age groups (22 – 25 courses) and gained exposure at Jain College, where she learned counselling techniques and diverse diets from around the world. Under the guidance of Dr Rekha from Kerala, Megha refined her understanding of right and wrong food choices.
The Making of a Wellness Entrepreneur
After pursuing 22–25 different courses in Nutrition, she began her journey as a Nutritionist, offering free diet plans to her friends and family initially to build trust. Good results and great response led her to think of being a wellness Entrepreneur. Slowly, her client base grew. But success came with challenges – one of her early clients started to share her diet plans with others at cheaper rates in the name of “Megha’s Diet”. This made her realise that her diet plans have to be unique and personalised. She deepened her knowledge by developing wholesome, body-type-specific nutrition plans that stood out.
Megha’s Instagram profile ‘Complete Nutrition’, is in full gear as she shares tips and easy cooking with nutrition as a priority.
India is considered a “diabetes capital” with tens of millions of adults suffering from the condition, and millions more are prediabetic and at high risk of developing it. The disease is on the rise, affecting more younger adults and children, and has serious health complications such as heart attacks, blindness, and kidney failure. A significant portion of people with diabetes are unaware of their condition, and control of blood sugar levels remains a challenge.
A simple tip for diabetic patients and the benefits of leftover rice have garnered maximum views on her Instagram. The tip is very simple and is a must try, “when we boil the rice and remove the water (the traditional way of cooking rice in vessel and not in cooker) the starch is vanished, this rice when stored for 10–12 hours in fridge it becomes starch resistance and can be eaten by diabetic patients and people who are stressed about their weight, as it has a lot of benefits”. A magic tip for a healthy heart, a good source of antioxidants and the best option to maintain your skin health, then have a garlic pod with honey twice a week. There are plenty of tips on nutrition and diet on her Instagram channel that are beneficial for our healthy lifestyle, and also easy and quick recipes using healthy options that can be prepared instantly are available.
Megha, in her journey to share her expertise in nutrition on social media, came across another obstacle: the Instagram competition and crowded online space. Who hasn’t come across a nutrition program to become thin or reduce their belly fat in 30 days? These types of ads have flooded social media these days. Therefore, Megha taught to diversify. She turned her focus to green teas, setting up a room full of samples for trials and research. Selling them wasn’t easy, but she took her products directly to people by putting up stalls at exhibitions. This hands-on approach helped her build a loyal audience.
Her first flavour, “Hangover Tea,” was followed by blends like Hibiscus Tea, Joint Pain Tea, Anxiety Tea, and Sleep Tea. Each was carefully designed with wellness in mind. A client of hers from Punjab, who was apparently leading a magazine called “FACT TIMES”, was impressed with the results he experienced from the nutrition plan from Megha, and he requested her to write articles every month about nutrition and diet in his magazine and the proof is below.
Today, Megha Saigal continues to stand out as a nutritionist who combines ancient wisdom, modern insights, and entrepreneurial spirit – making her journey both inspiring and impactful.
Healing Through Nutrition: Megha’s Diet Approach for Cancer Patients
According to the WHO, “Cancer is a large group of diseases that can start in almost any organ or tissue of the body when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably, go beyond their usual boundaries to invade adjoining parts of the body and/or spread to other organs”. The latter process is called metastasising and is a major cause of death from cancer. A neoplasm and malignant tumour are other common names for cancer.
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Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, accounting for an estimated 9.6 million deaths, or 1 in 6 deaths, in 2018. Lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach and liver cancer are the most common types of cancer in men, while breast, colorectal, lung, cervical and thyroid cancer are the most common among women.
Cancer is a dangerous disease, not just because of the disease itself, but also due to the side effects of its treatment, like chemotherapy and radiation. These treatments often leave patients feeling weak, low energy and some common symptoms like hair fall, stunted appetite and digestive discomfort. Thus, proper nutrition at this time plays a crucial role in regaining energy, improving immunity and maintaining overall well-being. A balanced diet tailored to each patient’s needs can make a significant difference in their recovery journey.
Megha, a passionate nutritionist, started visiting R.B. PATIL Cancer Hospital as a part of her social service. She began providing personalised diet plans to cancer patients. As a start, Megha believes that improving the patient’s digestion is the key step – only when the body digests food well can patients feel ready to eat their next meal. She also noticed that treatments like chemotherapy result in high radiation exposure, which reduces patients’ energy level and their appetite, making it all the more important to support patients with carefully designed nutritional plans.
According to Megha, there is no one-size-fits-all diet for cancer patients. The type of diet depends on the condition and treatment stage – some patients, like those with mouth cancer, may require liquid diets, while others might benefit from semi-solid meals. Additionally, patients with conditions like diabetes need completely different diet strategies to balance sugar levels while still supporting recovery. By following a proper, individualised nutrition plan, patients often see their energy levels improve, their digestion strengthen, and their ability to cope with treatment side effects increase significantly.
The opportunities that shaped her journey
There was a time when they said, “गली-गली में न्यूट्रिशनिस्ट्स हैं।” That made her feel anxious about her future, and now she is the most popular nutritionist in Hubli. Megha stood strong, researched and improved herself every time she encountered challenges.
She was invited by TATA MARCOPOLO TML DHARWAD to give a session for their 2000 employees to design a diet chart for them, as they often feel heavy and lethargic after their lunch break. In her second visit, she gave a session on diabetes and hypertension. Thus proving that diet is not just for weight loss but for every health issue. The next honour was like a dream come true moment for Megha when she delivered a talk for two days about Nutritional care and diet for Autistic children, the audience included 250 future medical professionals, alongside prestigious doctors of Dharwad Science University, organised by JSS INSTITUTE of SPEECH AND HEARING for children with autism. Megha noted that children with autism need a high-fat diet, and the sugar level must be balanced. If a spike in sugar intake occurs, then it may affect their behaviour and body mechanisms.
Simple tips for better health
A sustainable and balanced diet is the foundation for good health. Comfort traditional homely food like chapati, sabzi, salad, daal and rice consists of the right mix of nutrients when eaten in moderation. Also, each age group has different nutritional needs.
In the case of women, they need more or extra nutritional needs like calcium, vitamin C and magnesium. Conditions like Thyroid, PCOD & PCOS have been heard frequently in women these days. The common symptoms are lifestyle, lack of sleep, excessive gadget usage, junk food consumption and minimal or no exercise. Incorporating wholesome foods such as vegetables, eggs, buttermilk, milk, paneer, citric fruits, berries, pumpkin seeds, and bananas can help meet requirements for calcium, magnesium, and vitamin C – nutrients especially important for women with busy lifestyles. It’s also wise to get a health checkup every six months to detect and prevent other underlying conditions.
Women, especially after 40 years of age, require extra nutrition and calcium as they experience menopause-related symptoms such as weakness, joint pain, lethargy, mood swings and sweating. With the right diet, regular exercise and good food & supplements, women can stay strong and healthy.
At the same time, people should avoid wrong food combinations that affect their bodies in the long run. This can create a hormonal imbalance in our bodies. The fancy diets and the new age programs like Herbalife have to be avoided, as Mega had clients who had put on triple their weight or had developed additional health problems after its usage. Supplements and protein powder are good, but should be taken after the advice of a doctor or nutritionist – while whey protein can benefit those who work out regularly, it may not be suitable for individuals with sedentary lifestyles. Instead, focusing on natural, traditional foods and spices can provide sustainable health benefits without side effects.
Conclusion
There were times when Megha felt like quitting because of days when she had fewer or no clients or when she didn’t get a good response to her green tea, but her daughter kept her going. She always pushed her mother to try new things and became a source of continuous motivation. Additionally, self-motivation has worked well for Megha.
As a wellness entrepreneur, the unique thing she has invented in her nutritional plan is that she knows substitutes or alternatives to everything that her clients dislike in their diet. Also, her green tea is better than other green teas available in the market because the green tea mixture of Complete Nutrition has visible ingredients like Ashwagandha, Mulati, Kesar, Elachi, fruit pieces and flower petals, which are all edible – each of these ingredients has high nutritional values and great benefits to the body. While the green teas available in the market, which are dip formats, lead to the consumption of a small percentage of plastics daily, and as Megha rightly says, these green teas might be the extracts and leftovers, which may have low or no nutritional value.
Thus, with her uniqueness and authenticity, Megha is a notable nutritionist who has spread her wings not just in India but abroad as well. “One doesn’t need a big office, employees, or large teams to become a successful entrepreneur. With willpower and a genuine heart to spread goodness, even working from home can make someone a well-known entrepreneur. Hats off to this inspiring wellness entrepreneur!”
