Let’s eat vegetables

The President’s light-hearted comments suggesting that people must eat less meat and more vegetables have gone viral on social media.

However, behind them lies a deep wisdom that we would all do well to listen to.

Our diet is poor, and not because of poverty.

We need to listen to the President’s advice if we want to improve our lifestyle, health and even life expectancy.

Organic food and vegetables is the way to go. A report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) even encourages people to eat insects to stay healthy.

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The report suggests that eating insects like crickets, grubs, grasshoppers, giant water bugs, caterpillars, mealworms and weevils can be a solution to feed a growing global population in a healthy way.

A natural diet has, for long, been encouraged as a secret to long life not only in Zimbabwe but throughout the world.

But people have strangely preferred the more dangerous Western diets that consist of “the fried and sweet foods, red meat, refined grains, and high-fat dairy products.”

Many have boasted over eating the Western food aforementioned and they use a lot of their (especially financial) resources to afford the food.

But researchers have found that eating too much fatty and processed foods reduces one’s likelihood of reaching their golden years in glowing good health.

The impact of diet on specific age-related diseases has been studied extensively, and the aforementioned research “adopted a more holistic approach to determine the association of diet with overall health at older ages.”

The research proved that those who ate a Western diet were less likely to have ideal aging but people – despite knowing all this – still scramble for western foods and diets.

Many important occasions have to do with western meals like chicken and chips or burgers or hotdogs and most young people are nurtured into believing that such food is proof of good living.

Families that eat healthy, more natural diets with less refined food are actually looked down upon and considered poor.

Many people from the third world think eating healthy natural foods is a preserve of the sick who are obedient to doctors’ orders regarding their diet.

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Eating a good diet along with regular exercise, not smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight could add 15 years to a woman’s life, or 8.5 years to a man’s, according to a research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and it is further proof of the difference a good diet can make to someone’s life.

Reearchers from Spain also found that eating a diet rich in olive oil, nuts, fruits and vegetables along with wine can reduce your risk for cardiovascular problems.

Our natural foods in Zimbabwe like sorghum, rapoko, unrefined mealie-meal et cetera can boost our immune system and enlong our lives.

We should strive to eat healthy and do our utmost to live full lives by not only eating well but also exercising, avoiding smoking and engaging in life-enriching lifestyles.

People should also stay away from drugs and avoid abusing alcohol and fast food.

Do not let something like food shorten your lifestyle. Value your health, watch how you eat.

 

 

HMETRO

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