Why Knowledge of Food and Nutrition is Important for You
An important factor that will determine your quality of life is your knowledge of nutrition and the quality of food that you eat. If you want to live a healthy life avoiding frequent visits to the doctor’s clinic, you must be inquisitive about the effects of food on your body. This knowledge doesn’t cost you much. In today’s world it is possible to gather this knowledge from the internet and a few good books on diet and nutrition. Moreover, there is no real substitute of this knowledge. It is possible to get professional help but a professional nutritionist would, in all probability, give you some general guidelines that you would soon forget. What’s more such a person would not know your body, or your fascinations and temptations as well as you do! The benefit of taking control of your diet may well be a long, healthy life free from the harassment of hospital visits. Remember, it does not cost you anything but may help you a lot.
So knowledge of food and nutrition is the first step that helps you to remain in control of your health. This is one sphere where almost all of us are either ignorant or careless. Perhaps as consumers, we are nowhere as careless as we are when it comes to food. We eat anything that meets our fancy. We consider food as entertainment. We gobble up a few cookies without even thinking what harm they would cause to our body. Indeed, it is one of those aspects of life where human behaviour defies logic and reason. It shows that very few of us are disciplined enough to stay away from instant gratification. That is what most mass-produced modern food is designed to provide. Modern food is a BIG business that preys on our weaknesses and makes profit.
The first step in gaining control of what you eat is to know if you are allergic to any food. An intelligent and sensitive person who observes his bodily reactions may identify such allergic reactions on his own. Or you may take an allergy test. Eliminate all food items that cause an allergic reaction in your body. Then take into account the availability of fresh, farm-produced and preferably organic food items that are available in your locality and prepare a list. Even a mental plan would do. While preparing the plan take care of the fact that you need to have some carbohydrate, fat and protein in every meal. Eat about four-fist sized portions of safe starches (rice, potato, plantain, taro, sweet potato) and some protein (preferably fish or lean meat), plenty of vegetables and fruits and some good fat like nuts, coconut oil, olive oil, unrefined mustard oil or clarified butter (ghee).
Eliminate all foods cooked outside and all fried foods. Prepare your own lightly-cooked meals. You can minimize the use of oil in cooking and supplement it by taking a few almonds and walnuts with every meal. Soak the nuts in water for a few hours before eating. Do not keep sugar or refined vegetable oil at home so you do not have access to them. Avoid all grains, especially wheat or foods made of wheat. Eat light meals three times a day so only 80% of your stomach is full when you finish eating. Drink plenty of plain water and do not eat between meals. If you have to attend social gatherings, either do not eat at all or decrease your portion sizes. Remember that toxicity depends on quantity. So if you are compelled to eat bad food for social reasons, eat as little as possible.
You cannot go wrong if you follow the above guidelines. A careful reading of Paul Jaminet’s Perfect Health Diet
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