I recently spotted this quote in a WhatsApp forward - "We just get one life. Don’t waste it on dieting”. It was more in the context of “eat pastries and whipped cream, don’t deny yourselves such yummy food”.
I can’t help but wonder how ridiculous this quote is!
First and foremost, avoiding unhealthy, processed, junk foods is NOT dieting. It is a sensible decision that you take towards better health.
The quote should rather be rephrased as “Don’t waste your life eating food-like edible substances”.
Food manufacturing companies and pharmaceutical companies have mutual collaboration -
The former makes attractive, unhealthy processed foods loaded with chemicals;
That would eventually make you sick and you end up with one or more of lifestyle disorders;
After which you will be dependent on life-long medications manufactured by the latter.
Pharma companies cannot earn their profits from people who are healthy OR from people who have died. Their main source of revenue is from people who are sick with chronic illnesses and need to take medications for their entire life term.
The earlier they can get people to fall into this “trap” bucket, the bigger their profits would be, the higher their customer lifetime value will be.
So it’s no surprise that most of the junk foods are targeted towards kids and teens, so they can get caught into such chronic diseases at an early age and end up buying medications for a longer duration.
Having observed a few people who have these lifestyle diseases, all they do is
- take medications every single day, keep reminding themselves not to forget their dose of medicines 4-5 times a day (before food / after food)
- worry about their food and well being without taking any conscious steps towards cutting down processed food or exercise
- face the consequences of the side effects of their medications
- become more self-focused and not be able to contribute towards any other worthwhile cause in the society
Is this the life that one wants to aspire for?
There’s nothing to be ashamed of when you say No to junk foods. It signals to everyone that you take care of your health. You don’t need to eat such “junk”, just so that you’ll be accepted in a friend’s circle.
Let’s spread the message - “We just get one life. Don’t waste it by eating processed foods”.
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