Look before you eat

It's very tempting to drive through and pick up your fast food lunch, replete with fries and a coke. The next time you are tempted to do that think twice. Obesity is on the rise. It is time to take stock of what we are eating and more importantly, what we are feeding our children. Full fat, deep fried, sugary treats.....are all synonymous with unhealthy, unhappy and just plain irresponsible.

Also, now that winter good and proper, is here upon us, there is more reason to stay alert and eat right.

So, how to eat right this winter and make healthy eating a habit rather than a novelty, starting now?

Labels: eating healthy during winter, healthy eating, obesity

The winter is fast approaching. This means shorter days, less sunlight, depression on the rise and people getting fatter and less fit from all the eating. Christmas round the corner doesn’t help much either for obvious reasons. A simple thing like a change in season can make human beings change the way they feel, behave and eat. Science suggests that a lowered body temperature can cause one to eat more and when the temperature rises, hunger decreases. Moreover, when we feel low pshycologically, we tend to seek happiness through food, often erroneously relying on the wrong kind to get through the moodiness.

Call it a case of winter blues, but we seem to have an insatiable appetite for dense sweet treats, such as sweet breads, cakes, muffins and pies, especially when it is cold outside. Even thick sugary drinks and loads of chocolate seem to be the order of the day. This can take a toll on the body and leave it just a little bit too unhealthy for comfort. Winter is also typically the time when we are prone to a colds, coughs and a whole lot of other sicknesses, some even originating from the feeling of sadness, depression or loneliness that is so typical of a long, cold, grey winter. This is the time, then, to take stock of how we eat and what we eat. It is a good time to use diet as a means to boost immunity, even psychological immunity. After all, if the body is sprightly, well, energetic and happy, the mind is bound to be that way too.

A good start would be to drink loads of green and other herb teas through the day. When it is cold, we sometimes forget to drink water. Some hot herb teas will do the job of hydrating and cleansing all at once. Green tea is good for that caffeine kick though a coffee now and then isn’t going to hurt too much either. Science is now extolling the virtues of the coffee bean.

Removing toxins from the body is a good way to stay fit. Toxins tend to slow down the body’s metabolism, preventing fats from metabolizing. And sugar is an authentic source of toxins, being as it is, very acidic. Put herb teas and freshly prepared juices on the list for sure. Fruit and fruit juice may not be appealing during winter months, but they are so rich in vital energy, it might be the thing to rely on for boosting the immune system. Eat salads. Especially a medley of sprouted grains, with a squeeze of lemon, is a blast of energy because sprouts are live food. So much of the food we consume is dead. And that’s not even meat we are talking about, but refined foods, for example, that make the body tired because it ingests no nutrients into it.

Drink hot, spicy vegetable soups, laced with black pepper. Black pepper gives energy, boosts metabolism and boosts immunity as well. In some cultures, such as India, moong lentils and black pepper are given to those recovering from illness or to new mothers. And what is more, it will keep the body warm as well. Include whole grains, cereals, brown rice and breads made from whole grains too. They provide fibre, vitamins and even minerals in some cases. Eating like this helps the blood to stay more alkaline than acidic. That in itself implies good health because acidic blood can make you sick like nothing else can. For the body to restore the alkalinity of highly acidic blood, it will have to deplete the bones and tissue of minerals in order to do so. Now, that doesn't sound good does it?

One of the keys to good health, both body and mind, is good healthy food and freshly prepared where possible. If you can stand to eat yogurt in the winter so much the better. It is a wonder food packed with goodness. Just be sure to check the ingredients list because the last thing you want is to eat HFCS or artificial sweeteners, flavoring, gelatin and color in the name of acidophilus and bifidus.

This list of foods is by no means comprehensive. Much has to be based on your body, your intuition, and the need of the hour. All that this article hopes to do is to reinforce that the choice to eat healthy and stay healthy is each one's to call their own. Be creaticve and resourceful too in preparing your plate of food.

Eating light meals, more frequently through the day is sound advice from a feel-fit-and-well point of view, so it’s not just a winter strategy. It’s a strategy. Period. Stay away from canned food as far as possible. Eating fresh has it’s own benefits.

Food. It has the power to make or mar a human. If you let it, it can take over your life, make you a slave to it, make you unfit, unhappy and just plain depressed. The comfort-food theory takes you thus far and no further. Yes, chocolate makes you feel better because it releases certain chemicals in the brain that boost your mood, make you think better and keep you awake through the night when you have an important assignment to finish. If you love chocolate, go for the dark and bitter variety. It is still quite sweet and loaded with anti-oxidants.

It is useful to exercise the power of choice, feel what we are eating and, well, in a way, even choose how we feel through the dark and dreary months. If there is any truth in the theory that food satisfies us at the emotional level as much as it does on the physical level, then it is imperative for us to choose wisely what we eat.

Do yoga and some of those amazing breathing techniques we all know as pranayama. Again, yoga and pranayama can increase metabolism, improve blood circulation remarkably, induce a sense of contentment and happiness and make one feel fit and well. Any form of excercise is obviously good, but one that can be done on your own mat in the warmth of your living room, is even better.

Here’s to a healthy, happy winter with loads of good food, celebration and joyful tidings.

Labels: eat well, food, healthy eating, winter, yoga