A few days back, I had posted a picture of my lunch plate on Instagram, where there was some A2B ribbon pakoda (deep-fried snack) along with veggies, sambhar and rice. There were a few DMs asking why I'm eating A2B snacks since they are made with palmolein oil.
Earlier this week, I had shared that I use pressure cookers extensively and that I don't see any issues in using them. There were a few responses to that Insta story saying that pressure cooking is unhealthy and one should cook the rice in an open pot and drain the starch.
There has been quite an increase in the awareness/interest levels (confusion too) on healthy eating and a continuous search towards finding healthy foods and healthier ways of cooking. Sometimes, I wonder if we have reached a point where we have become obsessed about eating healthy.
My belief is this - "If I eat healthy 80-90% of the time, I'm okay with it. I love to travel, go out to restaurants once a week, relish on bhel puri, kesari bhaath and rasmalai 1-2 times a month. I don't want to give up on all these, just so that I hit the 100% mark".
Several factors contribute to good health and overall well being. In the past few years, food seemed to have hijacked our complete attention. Yes, food plays an important role but isn't the ONLY contributing factor.
In my opinion, these are the OTHER factors that I want to give enough importance, along with food.
- Exercise
- Physical activity throughout the day
- Exposure to sun
- Spending time amidst nature and greenery
- Deep breathing
- Adequate water intake
- Good quality sleep
- No smoking or drinking alcohol
- Stress-free life
- Finding meaning and purpose in our work
- Making time for hobbies/interests/passions
- Leading a disciplined life and not giving into external distractions (social media, Netflix, TV, video games etc)
- Positive thoughts
- How we respond to negative emotions like anger, fear, resentment, jealousy etc
- Supporting relationships
- Reduced exposure to air pollution
I'm sure there are more factors that can be added to this list.
My ONLY suggestion through this post is - Let's aim for holistic well being and focus on the other factors too, and not spend all our energies in getting a perfect plate of healthy food every single meal. One cannot lead a healthy and happy life if we are just eating 100% healthy but ignoring the other factors completely.
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