We live in a world where a section of the people struggles to have at least one meal in a day, while another set buys food in hordes only to waste a good amount of it. Though increasing number of people are realising the ill-effects of overeating and choosing to take a healthy path, there is no dearth in the amount of food being wasted. Even when the government and NGOs come up with various projects to feed the poor, the number of hunger-stricken people just keeps swelling.
In this ironic state of food affairs, we need to learn to respect food and ensure its availability to the have-nots. Along with it, we also need to understand that food has a major role in building a society free of illnesses. Let each World Food Fay, that falls on October 16, serve as a reminder for this.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations aims to eliminate hunger from the world by 2030. Based on this, the organisation celebrates each Food Day with a particular theme every year. Healthy diet is the theme for this year. And through this, the organisation aims to avoid overweight.
Food is not just to kill hunger
Keralites seem to pay little heed to the concept of balanced eating and end up falling prey to illnesses. Food is not just to satiate those hunger pangs, it should fulfil the nutrient requirement of your body as well. The perfect meal would be a balanced one, including all the nutrients.
The age-old saying on never to skip your breakfast still holds true. The brain channelises the energy needed for the day from the breakfast.
Both children and grown-ups have to keep up with the habit of having breakfast every single day. Idli-sambhar, puttu-kadala curry are some of the best breakfast options. However, avoid the common Malayali practice of having puttu with banana. Though delicious, poori too should be avoided. Skip deep-fried items and opt for steamed food items.
A person only needs 5ml of oil (equivalent to 1 teaspoon). But people have several times that amount in a single day.
Begin your day by drinking one glass of lukewarm water with lemon as it is believed to do good to your body. You can add some honey as well but make sure it is pure. After that only drink tea or coffee. Ensure that the stomach is not empty and have lime juice or butter milk every two to three hours.
Those of you who gorge on lunch, can try drinking one or two glasses of water prior to it to avoid overeating. Or eat a bowl of salad.
Reduce the amount of rice and concentrate more on vegetables, especially the greens. Vegetarians should include dal varieties, curd; while non-vegetarians should have fish and chicken. Here also avoid deep-fried items.
Instead of white rice, go for kuthari/matta rice which is more nutrient-rich. Avoid all-purpose flour (or maida) as it does not add any value to your food. Limit your intake of tea to just three cups. You should have dinner at least two hours prior to sleeping. Eating food late into the night can only do harm to your body.
Wrong eating habits
Some people follow wrong eating habits for reducing weight. Most of the time, they are not even aware of the ill-effects of doing so. They then end up suffering the consequences.
What is right and wrong?
With the bakery/fast food culture settling in, people tend to binge on snacks bought from outside, especially during the tea-time. Earlier, our households use to stock home-cooked snacks, that were tasty and healthy. Snacks bought from outside are most often fried in reused oil, which only spells hazardous to your health.
Though people eat lot of rice, the amount of vegetables would be less. Even if they eat fish, most often it is in the fried form, thereby killing all the goodness of nutrients.
Consumption of fruits is also less. Have the fruit itself instead of juices which would have lost the fibre content.
A healthy body requires the correct amount of protein depending on the body mass. For every kg, one gram of protein is the requirement. Eating fish and chicken alone would not be suffice, curd and milk should also to added to the diet. Milk should be consumed as milk itself. By adding milk to the tea, its goodness is lost. Avoid sugar as much as possible. If you can completely omit it from your diet, that would be the best. If you need the sweet taste, go for alternatives such as jaggery.
One plate of food
Fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables, quarter portion with protein such as soya bean, paneer, fish and chicken. In the remaining quarter portion, put some rice or chappati. Along with these, you must have half-a-glass of curd or milk. To cut down on the carbohydrates, reduce the amount of rice and eat more vegetables.
Packet foods
When you buy packed food, read the ingredients on the cover. The pack would also mention the nutrients that your body will receive from the food item. Most people skip reading the label.
Pure water
Drink up to 10 to 12 glasses of water every day. Also, do 30 minutes of exercise during the mornings or evenings.
A shocking 820 million people in this world live in abject poverty and suffer from hunger. However, even in less-developed countries, the number of obese people are increasing. Around 670 million adults and 120 million children are overweight, according to the United Nations’ statistics.
Some of the healthy tips suggest by the Food and Agriculture Organization:
- As much as possible, prepare food at home and eat it along with the family members
- Don't randomly buy packed food items. Check the label and buy what you need
- Don't get influenced by glossy, ads and go after food items and ingredients
- Be sure to order for healthy food at restaurants
- Exercise for at least 30 minutes in a day
- Instead of junk food, eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains. Include fish too in your diet
- Reduce the intake of refined rice, sugar
- Opt for traditional, local and seasonal food
- Pick fresh farm produce to cook
- Respect food. Avoid wastage. Food thrown into rivers and streams harm the nature.
Follow these practices and make others aware too
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