Changing food, changing health.

By Amal Mohammed (CEO at Nutryfit)

May 31, 2024

Does diet affect the future or present of a country itself? The answer is to influence. Food is an essential element for human being to sustain life and growth and to move forward. Wrong food habits and food sources lead to various diseases and death and this condition determines the course and destiny of a country itself. The bottom line is that proper diet and food culture are important.

In today's time when lifestyle diseases are increasing, the main reason for it is wrong food culture. The wrong food culture that we grew up with in the name of fast food or junk food may taste good but slowly robs us of our health until it is too late to have a stroke or disease. 'Junk food/fast food is food that is over cooked, processed, high in calories and poor in nutritional composition'. We have changed the traditional style of eat to live to live to eat. The same is the case with fast food, which cannot be banned except by writing on the label that alcohol is harmful to health. We cannot stop the manufacture and distribution of such foods even though health experts swear they are unhealthy.

In the case of fast food, most of those who are addicted to it are children. It is essential for the growing generation of the country to be healthy. School meals are very important as they can affect the learning and future of children alike. On June 20, 2015, the Kerala government issued an order banning junk food/fast food in school premises. Later, the central government issued an order banning fast food in schools in the country. Adolescents need 2400 to 2800 kcal of energy a day. When eating a fried chicken or a burger, energy reaches the body from 1200 to 1500 kcal. That's about the same number of calories a six-year-old needs in a day with one early meal! But apart from calories, it is also very low in essential minerals and nutrients. This brings us to a package of diseases like obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, musculoskeletal disorders, breast cancer and uterine cancer. For a healthy future, prioritize the quality of food over its taste.

So the next question is what is the best healthy food. We can give a simple answer to that - home cooked food. It is better if fruits and vegetables are grown at home. We consciously try to forget that there are no energy drinks that can match Sambhara and Karik in terms of health and nutritional value. Change fast food culture and changing eating habits from schools. May the growing generation be enriched with health.

(Calorie figures courtesy: ICMR RDI Table 2020)