Most of us make resolutions for a new year, the most common one being about giving health an upper priority and to inculcate healthy eating habits. Most of us fail to oblige ourselves. Gyms demand a huge commitment which many of us cannot keep up with, and ‘healthy eating habits’ become a pass very soon! The deeper you try to understand the phrase, the more you hate to think..
What are these so-called healthy eating habits? Our pseudo-friend - the television box - gave me a deeper insight [sarcasm intended] into this question. A bunch of advertisements on television made me ponder in more than one ways..
Noodles made out of refined flour, high on carb and low on nutritional index is portrayed as 'healthy food', eating processed deep fried croutons is shown as ‘fashion food’, packets selling air along with some chips or fried high carbs are shown as party snackers, fizzy drinks high in carbon dioxide are portrayed as mood enhancers and become more of a must-have; milk becomes healthy to drink only when added with certain chocolate flavoured powders that are usually loaded with a junk of preservatives; ready-to-eat food is most trending in markets; consumption of a certain brand of tea showcases sharpness of brain; eating chocolates help carve an impression at workplace; whereas consuming coffee helps you pour out your mind.
How does one strike a balance of thoughts when a portion of your brain is tempted to buy those appealing products whereas another portion of the brain is screaming against it, because you know the unwritten truth about such comfort foods.
Any mango-person (aam aadmi) like me would easily buy and eat what my lifestyle demands. And there we are...the victims of our lifestyles. While it is easy to blame it on our lifestyle, it is more necessary to watch the nutrition quotient of what we put into our mouths. Not sounding text-bookish at this point, I decided to take a fine look into my own kitchen. I was shocked at the amount of processed foods stacked into my refrigerator and kitchen storage. An impressive collection for any fast-food-junkie! Butter, jams, cheeses, spreads, masala pastes, tetra packs, et al., and biscuits, chips, fried snack items, ready-to-eat popcorn packets, etc stacked into my traditional canisters. (These are the same canisters from my grandmother’s time).
And since they reminded me of my grandmother who was one of the healthiest persons I have ever known, and who went on to live upto 94 without even a blood pressure issue; another thought struck me too…which out of these foods would my grandmother eat? Shockingly, none…And maybe that was the reason for her fitness!
Nowadays, each time I go grocery shopping or feel tempted to buy packaged food after watching lucrative ads on TV, I ask myself that one question which helps me decide my purchase: Will my grandmother eat this?
#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful
Samuchit Enviro Tech. samuchit@samuchit.com www.samuchit.com
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