Healthy diet a must
The relationship between health and diet is a complex science. With each new study our understanding of which foods are nutritious matures. But that certain foods are beneficial for health while others can cause lifestyle diseases is undeniable. The recent finding that dietary cholesterol does not increase the risk of heart diseases isn’t a dilution of the principles of a healthy diet. It only confirms a long-standing suspicion that blood
cholesterol, not dietary cholesterol, is the critical factor in coronary
heart illnesses. Likewise, the discovery that eggs have less cholesterol than previously thought is no licence to binge on a dozen of them each day. Eating a diet high on saturated or trans fats continues to be unhealthy. Conversely, fruits and vegetables high on minerals and vitamins keep diseases such as scurvy, beriberi, anaemia etc at bay.
With the evolution of medical science and advances in clinical nutrition studies, there is an ongoing refinement of our knowledge of which foods are healthy. However, the fundamentals don’t change that easily. But thanks to the globalisation of the food industry and fast food culture, traditional healthy diets are increasingly being replaced by unhealthy junk food high on artificial additives and preservative chemicals. In such a scenario, it becomes even more imperative to maintain healthy dietary habits. And for that, it’s necessary to stay abreast of advances in our understanding of which
foods are healthy and which ones aren’t.
It is because of the growing laissez faire attitude towards dietary habits that obesity today claims more lives than AIDS. Obesity among schoolchildren in Delhi alone has increased from 9.8% to 11.7% in the last three years. Coupled with our increasingly sedentary lifestyle, disregarding the benefits of a healthy diet can extract an enormous social and economic cost. Eat Counter Point: “As you wish” Ajay Vaishnav
In today’s world, people are being bombarded with ‘scientific advice’ on their health and food habits. Studies are being produced a dime a dozen on these issues, making neurotics of people who’d otherwise be healthy naturally. Every now and then, new research comes up with a fresh set of dietary suggestions,
which challenge and dethrone the results of previous studies, thereby adding to the general confusion. A new study now suggests that dietary cholesterol doesn’t increase the risk of heart diseases. Many are welcoming this so-called conclusion as a further advance in our dietary knowledge, which is seen as the key to good health.
However, scepticism is natural when one can’t stop asking the question: what to follow and what to ignore? Worse, there has been no agreement among experts on what constitutes a healthy diet. It is quite possible that what is thought healthy today may prove unhealthy tomorrow thanks to some newfangled scholarship. In the name of science, why must we be guinea pigs testing out every new dietary fad, even going to the extent of imposing strict eating restrictions on ourselves? Why sacrifice an experience so
innate to human beings, since
food is pleasure?
Eating is a primal instinct. Nothing comforts and delights us like a good, hearty meal. The world over people turn to food for the communion with others it affords, as well as for its mood-enhancing, therapeutic effects. In that sense, the debate over healthy or unhealthy is redundant when the aim should be to impart a sense of well-being. New diseases like anorexia or bulimia, thanks to which people can’t maintain even a minimally acceptable weight, are evidence that making a fetish of dieting and thinness can have harmful consequences. Instead of viewing eating as part of the problem, let’s see it as a natural cure.
The relationship between health and diet is a complex science. With each new study our understanding of which foods are nutritious matures. But that certain foods are beneficial for health while others can cause lifestyle diseases is undeniable. The recent finding that dietary cholesterol does not increase the risk of heart diseases isn’t a dilution of the principles of a healthy diet. It only confirms a long-standing suspicion that blood
cholesterol, not dietary cholesterol, is the critical factor in coronary
heart illnesses. Likewise, the discovery that eggs have less cholesterol than previously thought is no licence to binge on a dozen of them each day. Eating a diet high on saturated or trans fats continues to be unhealthy. Conversely, fruits and vegetables high on minerals and vitamins keep diseases such as scurvy, beriberi, anaemia etc at bay.
With the evolution of medical science and advances in clinical nutrition studies, there is an ongoing refinement of our knowledge of which foods are healthy. However, the fundamentals don’t change that easily. But thanks to the globalisation of the food industry and fast food culture, traditional healthy diets are increasingly being replaced by unhealthy junk food high on artificial additives and preservative chemicals. In such a scenario, it becomes even more imperative to maintain healthy dietary habits. And for that, it’s necessary to stay abreast of advances in our understanding of which
foods are healthy and which ones aren’t.
It is because of the growing laissez faire attitude towards dietary habits that obesity today claims more lives than AIDS. Obesity among schoolchildren in Delhi alone has increased from 9.8% to 11.7% in the last three years. Coupled with our increasingly sedentary lifestyle, disregarding the benefits of a healthy diet can extract an enormous social and economic cost. Eat Counter Point: “As you wish” Ajay Vaishnav
In today’s world, people are being bombarded with ‘scientific advice’ on their health and food habits. Studies are being produced a dime a dozen on these issues, making neurotics of people who’d otherwise be healthy naturally. Every now and then, new research comes up with a fresh set of dietary suggestions,
which challenge and dethrone the results of previous studies, thereby adding to the general confusion. A new study now suggests that dietary cholesterol doesn’t increase the risk of heart diseases. Many are welcoming this so-called conclusion as a further advance in our dietary knowledge, which is seen as the key to good health.
However, scepticism is natural when one can’t stop asking the question: what to follow and what to ignore? Worse, there has been no agreement among experts on what constitutes a healthy diet. It is quite possible that what is thought healthy today may prove unhealthy tomorrow thanks to some newfangled scholarship. In the name of science, why must we be guinea pigs testing out every new dietary fad, even going to the extent of imposing strict eating restrictions on ourselves? Why sacrifice an experience so
innate to human beings, since
food is pleasure?
Eating is a primal instinct. Nothing comforts and delights us like a good, hearty meal. The world over people turn to food for the communion with others it affords, as well as for its mood-enhancing, therapeutic effects. In that sense, the debate over healthy or unhealthy is redundant when the aim should be to impart a sense of well-being. New diseases like anorexia or bulimia, thanks to which people can’t maintain even a minimally acceptable weight, are evidence that making a fetish of dieting and thinness can have harmful consequences. Instead of viewing eating as part of the problem, let’s see it as a natural cure.
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