We, the younger generation stress about diet, health and eating habits. My grandmother literally screamed seeing my plate. She’s like: Are you feeding the birds? And I’m like: No granny, like seriously, I am on a diet!
Her reasons to worry were genuine, because even though I was eating so less, not a fig worth of my weight was reducing. I had cut down carbs, fat, cooked less, ate less and exercised rigorously, yet got negligible results. Seeing my plight, she shared her experience and diet secrets that have kept here enviably thin yet hale and hearty. So yes, I eagerly lend her my ears and this is what she tells me…
For starters, she says, “We did not starve but we never overate too. We were a huge family with limited resources, so even food was limited. We couldn’t overeat because otherwise we’d run out for food for all.”
Overeating is a sin, and we need to cut back on it. The New York Times Magazine’s, best-selling author Michael Pollan says, “Calorie restriction’ has repeatedly been shown to slow ageing in animals. Once one of the longest-lived people on earth, the Okinawans practiced a principle they called ‘Hara Hachi Bu’: eat until you are 80 per cent full.”
“Eat food, not food products”, says my granny laughing. “You might not know this”, she says, “but we only ate actual foods. And by actual food I mean healthy food like boiled potatoes, protein filled dals, spices, herbs and plenty of green veggies off course. We rarely had processed food, like you do these days.”
(Image credits: foodal.com, thehideawaybar.co.uk)
“You know your problem”, she taunts me…, and “you undermine the authenticity of traditional ways of eating. So here are my tips for you, listen to them carefully.”
1. So eat food, respect it but also make it a point to avoid food that your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t classify as food. Be an intelligent consumer who’s aware about food industry’s gimmicks. Food products that claim to be healthy are probably deceptive and disguising something. You see, margarine was supposed to be a healthier replacement for traditional food but soon became one of reasons for people to get heart attacks.
2. Avoid food products that highly processed and have ingredients that seem to be – unfamiliar and contain high-fructose corn syrup.
3. Get away from the charm of supermarket and head to farmer’s market. It’s the right place to find fresh whole food that has been plucked at the peak of its nutritional quality. Precisely the kind of food I like and recognize as food.
(Image credits: scoopotp.com)
4. Focus on eating a plant based diet because you’ll consume far fewer calories that aren’t energy dense. And believe in the power of traditional food culture that has passed down the generation because they are generally healthier than your generation.
5. Cook as often as you can. Plant a kitchen garden as far as you can, full of succulent vegetables. You’ll find more wisdom about health and diet in your granny’s traditional kitchen than any nutrition health journal. Find it, just like I did! Keep expanding your platter. Add newer foods to your diet and diversify your taste to cover all nutritional bases.
(Image credits: gardeningknowhow.com)
