Every time we make a purchase of any material things to decorate our lives with and enhance our lifestyle, we tend to be very sceptical. We make decisions on the basis of price, looks, and of course, the quality of the product. I am sure all of us can relate to this by now.
Some may be thinking whether the things they have purchased recently fit this description. Now, the question is, do we follow the same steps when it comes to buying food? I guess the answer is pretty much a big no. When it comes to food, we think about price and taste, but we generally disregard the impact of that very food on our health.
Why don't we care about the adverse effects of food that is unhealthy in every sense of the word? In case of food, most of us seem to be least bothered because we are making a purchase for our body. Many of us sort of tend to think of food only as something for our bodies to consume to keep going, and not as a means of nourishment, which is what it truly is.
Therefore we tend to neglect it the most and take it for granted. Added to that, there is a thought process that has developed within us where we assume that we are bound to fall ill after a certain age. I agree to that partially, but not totally. It might sound okay to fall ill after you hit age 60, but not 40! So what should we do?
One of the things that we must always do is to think about the long term benefits of eating a balanced meal. Eating a balanced meal is very important, which can be easily understood from innumerable health researches that have been done over the years.
A typical Bangladeshi urban diet is high in grains, animal protein with some dairy included as well. Research states, that such a diet is acidic in nature. Regular consumption of this type of foods leads to a net-acid load that results in a low-grade chronic metabolic acidosis. Now, this is not good news, why? Because of the sub clinical rise of acidity, our doctors might not notice the problem, but our cells will.
Thus, to maintain the blood pH at a neutral level, calcium from bones are released. Hence, over time with age, bone-related health issues arise.
While most of this is a consequence of ageing, however, our unhealthy life choices may end up accelerating the process further. Therefore, eating a good amount of vegetables is the key to a balance meal. Most green veggies are alkaline in nature and will help the body to maintain the right pH balance.
Avoiding sugar is another thing that we should take under serious consideration. Sugar is half glucose and half fructose. Unlike glucose, all the cells of the body cannot metabolise fructose. It is only the liver that can metabolise fructose, that too in a limited scale, and store it as glycogen. When excess fructose enters the already glycogen packed liver, it has nowhere to go. Well it has one place to go sadly, in the fat cells as fat droplets and thus, the consequences of excess body fat is no longer unknown to us.
Our bodies belong to us only. We have been blessed with it and we need to think intelligently and efficiently about what goes into it. Love yourself, be careful about what you eat, and give enough time to planning a balanced meal. Remember, a fit body can actually enjoy moments of happiness better.
Reaz Fiem is a fitness enthusiast, who wishes to help people stay healthy
