Variety is the spice of life and fortunately nature has a bounty of varied foods on her platter to offer. All those bright colored foods and deep colored vegetables, nuts and whole grain, just like pearls and diamonds! The variety in taste from sweet luscious mango to the tangy lip smacking tamarind ; from watery cool cucumber to the bittery bitter gourd — what a variety nature has to offer. But all this doesn’t not seem to be enough to that four inch stubborn tongue of ours. It got fed up with the natural tastes and started demanding for more variety. Not the subtle sweetness of corn but the deep sweetness of white sugar, not the hidden fats of groundnuts but the dribbling fats of doughnuts, not the natural fats of dairy but the unnatural hydrogenated fats of the junk foods……
The food industry cashed on this demand and now has become a giant monster coming up with variety of unhealthy but mouth watering new products by the day. And we the urbanites, the so called knowledgeable people have become the slave to our tongues. Our intellect, our knowledge , our common sense all have laid down their arms in surrender to these tiny taste buds that literally control us like puppets. They demand and we serve! We have since long stopped listening to all other organs who are crying out for health.
The wide variety of fruits and vegetables that nature offers no longer excites us. The deep red color of the road side Chinese food is more beckoning than the natural red of the beetroot, and the white creamed cakes taste better than pulpy sitaphals. However nature cares for us and has been giving us plenty of hints and warning signals such as diseases developing at younger ages, decreased immunity, accelerated aging, and degenerative diseases — all these are the signs. Nature is hinting to us to slow our pace, not to abuse our bodies with the bad foods, and to get up and exercise.
Well friends, it’s high time we really get hold of our lives. Let us accept and understand that it is not just life span, but the quality of that life that matters. And for this quality of life, we have to start appreciating nature and her offerrings once again. Let us limit and control all those processed and refined foods. They have no place in the nutrition kingdom.
At the same time, let it also be remembered that happy eating is as important as healthy eating. Opting for healthy foods should not be a compulsion but rather a better option, so make small positive changes at a time and stick to it. Consistency is the key factor!
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