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<\/p>\nVikas Khanna\u2019s wellness reset was built on rhythm, digestion and discipline.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There comes a point when ambition stops feeling exhilarating and starts feeling expensive. For chefs working across time zones, sleep cycles blur, hunger cues disappear, and the body quietly runs on debt. For chef Vikas Khanna, that bill arrived as exhaustion \u2013 physical, mental and emotional.<\/p>\n
Instead of pushing through, Vikas Khanna<\/a> did something unexpected. He slowed down and returned to the simplest tool he knew best: food. Not as cuisine. Not as craft. But as care.<\/p>\n When Burnout Becomes Biological<\/p>\n Long-haul flights, late-night services and early shoots had dismantled his natural rhythm. The fatigue wasn\u2019t just about fewer hours of sleep. It was hormonal, digestive and neurological. When the circadian clock is disrupted, metabolism falters, inflammation rises and mental clarity dips.<\/p>\n \u201cI realised I wasn\u2019t tired because of work. I was tired because my rhythm was broken,” he shared. That realisation reframed everything. The problem wasn\u2019t productivity. It was timing.<\/p>\n Diet As Alignment, Not Restriction<\/p>\n Khanna began rebuilding his days around biological cues rather than schedules. Morning hydration, lighter seasonal meals, reduced sugar and gluten, and earlier dinners became daily anchors.<\/p>\n \u201cDiet became my anchor. I began to treat food not as indulgence, but as alignment.” The shift reflects a growing wellness philosophy: eating with the sun. Research increasingly shows that earlier meals support digestion, blood sugar control and better sleep. In contrast, late-night eating \u2013 common in hospitality professions \u2013 keeps the gut active when it should be resting. The result? More stable energy, fewer crashes and a calmer nervous system.<\/p>\n The Gut\u2013Mind Conversation<\/p>\n Perhaps the most compelling insight from his reset was the gut\u2019s role in mental health. The microbiome influences mood, immunity and even cognition through the gut\u2013brain axis. A distressed digestive system often mirrors emotional unrest. \u201cWe often separate physical and mental health, but they are the same conversation. The gut carries memory, mood, and energy,” he wrote.<\/p>\n By prioritising simple, warm, easy-to-digest foods and consistent meal timing, he wasn\u2019t just improving digestion. He was regulating stress.<\/p>\n Travel, Reimagined<\/p>\n Frequent flying taught him that jet lag isn\u2019t merely about sleep deprivation. It\u2019s also digestive confusion. Eating at random hours forces the body to constantly recalibrate. He added, \u201cWhen I help my body recognise time through food, light, and routine, I help my mind find stillness again.”<\/p>\n Today, his routine focuses on sunlight exposure, mindful meals and disciplined rest \u2013 less about denial, more about respect. Because sometimes the most powerful performance hack isn\u2019t doing more. It\u2019s eating better.<\/p>\n Handpicked stories, in your inbox<\/p>\n A newsletter with the best of our journalism<\/p>\n submit<\/p>\n Location :<\/p>\n Delhi, India, India<\/p>\n First Published:<\/p>\n February 17, 2026, 17:45 IST<\/p>\n Disclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last Updated:February 17, 2026, 17:45 IST Chef Vikas Khanna reveals how mindful eating, gut health and circadian rhythms…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[143719,143721,143718,143722,17381,103,6714,61,60,166,143720,446,143717],"class_list":["post-304721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-burnout-recovery","tag-chef-wellness","tag-circadian-eating","tag-food-as-medicine","tag-gut-health","tag-health","tag-health-and-fitness","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-lifestyle","tag-mindful-nutrition","tag-nutrition","tag-vikas-khanna-diet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}