Eating Right- Why matters

At the end of the day, you’re exhausted, and it’s late. But there is a little problem. You need to eat. There’s nothing a few slices of pizza cannot fix. We live to fight another day.

An all too common storyline

We need food to get going, alright, but are you eating yourself to an early grave? Think about it. If your schedule controls your meals, then all you have is an unhealthy option of processed foods and skipped meals because the city life demands it.

The ongoing pandemic may have slowed you down and perhaps even allowed you a chance to work out and eat better, but who are we kidding? You could easily swing back to the same unhealthy lifestyle once you get back to the new normal. Who has time for a balanced diet anyway?

Let’s get back to the basics.

How balanced is your diet?

Your food may be nutritious, but, likely, it’s not balanced.  Besides the well-known food groups, proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins, your meal needs to have a good portion of minerals, calories, fiber and fat, accompanied with sufficient water intake. Let’s take an in-depth look;

The basic food groups

There are five basic food groups:

• Fruit
• Vegetables and legumes
• Cereals, bread, rice, pasta and other grains
• Nuts, lean meats, chicken, fish and eggs
• Milk cheese, yoghurt

If you include one item from each of these food groups in your meals, then you’ll be on your way to achieving a balanced diet.

Why is it so important?

The world has changed, and nearly everyone is in the fast lane. With so much to do in so little time, it’s easy to get all caught up! But once you realize that with little effort, you can get there, then you’ll have a place to start. Here’s why we’re making a fuss about it:

• A balanced diet keeps diseases and infections at bay. When you consume a wide range of vitamins and nutrients, your immunity gets stronger.
• A good diet may save you the hustle of dealing with heart disease, early-onset diabetes, and stroke later on in life.
• Complex nutrient-dense foods will give you an immediate boost in energy levels, enabling you to work for longer without needing to refuel.
• Eating the right meal in the right quantities can help you maintain healthy body weight, mitigating obesity, and all the complications that come with it.

What does a good diet do to my mental state?

A well-balanced diet can help you alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression.  Once you get what you eat right, you should experience a clearer thought process and an enhanced mood.

But which foods are these?

Let’s simplify this.

• Eat a nutrient-dense breakfast that is, tea/ uji, an egg, skip the bread and do sweet potatoes or yams. Add a fruit and you’re good to go.
• Forget about fast food for lunch. If your budget allows, then a proper restaurant with real food is ideal. If it isn’t, then consider packing your lunch or visit a food kibanda near you. Whatever works, try to pick a plate with vegetables (sukuma, cabbage, terere or managu) a starch (ugali, chapati, mukimo), and a protein(meat, chicken, fish, matumbo)
• Let the parameters for lunch apply for supper.
• Substitute snacking with nut (groundnuts, cashew nuts) and fruits.
• Keep a bottle of water at your desk throughout the day. Rehydrate.

This World Food Health Day

Take a second look at your fridge and replace processed foods with freshly cooked ones. Think twice before ordering that pizza and remember the importance of eating clean. After all, you are what you eat.