You Are What You Eat
Have you ever eaten a delicious full meal of comfort foods and head straight for the couch. You're entering a 'food coma' as you unbutton those jeans and release your bloated stomach? You feel tired and sluggish, content and happy with the dinner, but know what's to come in a couple of hours.
This is not what food should do to you. Of course having a nice meal here and there with family and friends is necessary for an enjoyable lifestyle. However when this sensation is occurring on a regular basis, this is not a healthy lifestyle. Food is supposed to give you energy, not put you to sleep. Comfort and fast foods such as burgers and fries, fried chicken, steak, or creamy pastas etc. are all loaded with high fat and carb contents. More specifically, processed fats and simple carbs with little nutritional value are hidden in these meals. This causes your blood glucose levels to spike followed by a significant release of insulin in order to counteract, which then causes the blood sugars to crash back down resulting in the post-food slump.
While this phrase "You are what you eat" is often used as an expression in casual conversations of health, it cannot be more true. Both figuratively and physically, you become the foods you eat. Food is the core source of energy in your day to day life and therefore cannot be neglected.
This simple yet powerful phrase dates centuries back. In 1826 a French lawyer, Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, wrote in his book The Physiology of Taste, "Dis-moi ce due tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es" [Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are]. Later in 1863 a German author, Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach, wrote, "Der Mensch ist, was er isst" [Man is what he eats]. Both of these writers intended for their quotes to spread the understanding that the food one consumes has a direct correlation to their state of mind and health.
Too often is this forgotten. As all sorts of health issues ranging from minor to fatal become more and more common in this day and age, people are quick to blame anything but themselves. It easy to deflect responsibility of one's own health onto factors such as genetics or financial status. But the fact is, most of the problems that seem hereditary are only the result of generational poor eating habits. And while research does show that socio-economic status has a relation to overall fitness, any access to fresh produce can be utilized to create a better lifestyle rather than to rely on the more convenient and less healthy fast foods.
Hopefully by now it is evident that the food you put into your body has at least some connection to your overall well being. Continue on to learn more about why this should matter to you or for anyone else in the world.
Some Perspective
Looking Back in Time
Looking Back in Time
Looking Back in Time
Looking Back in Time
Looking Back in Time
Question: What is something that any black and white photograph no matter the location would have in common?
Answer: If there are people in the image, the vast majority are slim and fit.
On the contrary if you were to search for an image taken some time after the late 20th century of a group of people, this answer would not hold true.
Coincidence?
Looking Back in Time
Coincidence?
The lifestyle of the average person from the 1950s and earlier were drastically different from today's. As Sheldon H Jacobson, a professor at the University of Illinois, states,
"You can think of obesity as an energy imbalance."
People back then were rarely sedentary for a significant portion of the day. Walking was the main mode of transportation, household appliances were not as
Looking Back in Time
Coincidence?
common, and cooking at home for every meal was the normal.
As technology continues to develop with anything and everything becoming more efficient, physical exertions in our daily lives continue to decrease. Our lives now revolve around cars, technologies like television and portable devices keep us entertained for hours, and it is not uncommon for at least one meal each day to be store-bought.