Yes of course. It is absolutely necessary to know about the foods you eat to maintain good health.
Food is the most important single factor in connection with attainment and maintenance of health. Every drop of blood in the body is conditioned by the food we eat and it is blood that every tissue, every organ, every gland, and indeed every function of the body fundamentally depends on.
The function of food is to supply the body with the materials necessary for the growth, maintenance, repair and efficient functioning of its various organs and structures and therefore ensures harmonious working of the whole human body. The study of the food-and-drink requirements of human growth, activity, reproduction and so on is called Nutrition.
If you analyze the diet of anyone around you whose knowledge of nutrition is limited, you will be appalled at the number of nourishing substance or nutrients essential to health which are either under-supplied or almost entirely lacking. At first it is even surprising that such people can be as healthy as they appear. But careful scrutiny brings many deviations from health : decaying, dead or missing teeth; pyorrhea, poor muscle tone causing sagging posture, pale colour of cheeks, ears, lips and tissue, lack of mental and nervous stability, poor digestion and faulty elimination, bald heads and premature aging.
The majority of the people who claim to be in good health have not the slightest conception of the meaning of health.
Take the case of Ms. O.D., a young woman of thirty- three years who called in at my clinic for a consultation regarding her excess weight. During the course of our discussion, she boasted to me that she was always well. Her hair were grey. She lacked enthusiasm, pep and drive. Fatigue showed on her face. I wondered, as I looked at her, if instead of never being sick, she were ever well.
Lack of nutritional knowledge manifests itself daily before our eyes in the way children and grown ups alike, are ‘allowed to eat’, ‘given to eat’ and sometimes, even ‘forced to eat’, particles of food which, by anyone would be recognized at once as harmful to the health of the body. This eating of food without regard to its suitability ‘as food for the body’ is undoubtedly the main factor in the causation of disease, in general, and unsound health in particular in the world today. Mankind continues to pay little attention to the question of diet, with the result the statistics for diseases such as rheumatism, arthritis, cancer, kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes and obesity continue to increase yearly.
The only way to build a healthy body is to understand ‘why, we eat’ and ‘what we eat’ and once the simple fact is grasped that it is by ‘ what we put into our mouths ‘ that we decide, either good or evil what is to take place inside our bodies, then the way is opened up for sensible and intelligent understanding of the facts which help in affecting good health, safe weight reduction and permanent weight loss.
The secret of successful eating and therefore the basis of healthy living, is to have a fair idea of the amount of protein, starchy, sugary and fatty foods required by the body, to obtain them from the most natural source, and to make up the rest of the bulk of the food from fresh fruits and vegetables.
But doctor, I dislike the taste of foods in their natural wholesome form such as fresh fruits, vegetables and so on. I am young and healthy. Can I not subsist on the much tastier artificial foods ?
One of the biggest problems of modern day is that food no longer reaches us in its natural form straight from fields, gardens or orchards. Such foods are collected and taken to commercial centres where they are altered, heated, processed, adulterated, preserved, pickled, sterilized, pasteurized thus deprived of their most vital elements. Such artificial foods have no nutritive value.
To make these foods attractive to consumers they are treated with chemical dyes and chemical flavours. It is unfortunate that we humans are made to subsists on artificial foods totally unfit for consumption. We eat these foods because they are attractive to the eyes and to the palate. But these foods, lacking essential nutrients, lower the vitality and sap the health of the people who as a result of this fall a prey to various diseases.
Take the case of Mr. P.S. an average middle-aged man about forty-seven years old or so. He could have been your neighbour or your colleague in office. After finishing school he stepped into his father’s shoes, took over the family Leather business and was an instant success. He married early, his wife gave birth to two sons, both healthy.
Mr. P.S. pursued a satisfying peaceful life through the thirties and upto the age of forty-seven.
Lulled by almost complete freedom from apparent illness of any kind, Mr. P.S. for twenty years been growing more careless about his manner of living. His digestion seemed good so he ate all sorts of artificial foods – cakes, pastries, puddings etc. which were for from nutritious foods. He travelled only by car, rarely walked and his body did not get any other type of exercise. Mr. P.S. hated fresh vegetables and fruits and did not feel the need to eat them as he considered himself a healthy man.
Overweight and overeating , with a heart gradually running down, with no reasonable hard work, Mr. P.S. reached middle-age and then all at once he seemed to lose what he boasted of as “my good health.” He suffered from a chronic and serious condition which was the complication of several preventable ailments. It may have been heart disease, diabetes, gall bladder trouble or ulcers of stomach. It does not matter which it was for Mr. P.S. is an illustrative case history. The important point is that a great many people are saved by prompt attention being paid to their eating habits.
What you eat today determines your health and well- being during the remainder of your life. Learn to enjoy natural health building foods. There are hundreds and thousands of people in India who have never achieved vital health because of food dislikes. Thousand are nervous and irritable because they never learned to enjoy the taste of foods rich in essential nutrients and as a result are woefully deficient. Thousands upon thousands have poor healthy simply because they enjoy the taste of refined bread and cereals more than the whole grain products.
Yet surely any normal person would agree that health is more important than the taste of food. “I won’t eat that. I don’t like it.” – Many dislikes are caused merely by poor food preparations which leaves food both tasteless and unattractive as are vegetables boiled in water. According to Mr. Arvind Sodhi chief executive chef, Welcome group of hotels – Sea Rock Bombay ” Indians eat with their eyes. Hence foods should be prepared palatably, their natural colour and beauty retained.” The food dislike is usually only imaginary, and when the food is once actually eaten the person who thought he disliked it soon discovers that he enjoys it. Remember that your willingness to cultivate good habits determines the degree of health you will enjoy.
Do not sacrifice your health at the shrine of ignorance and fashion. It may be fashionable to have half a dozen rich gravied dishes at a meal, but the custom is injurious to health. We must strive hard to break the habit of subsisting on harmful artificial foods , and live on truly nutritious food.
To be healthy and in good condition it is imperative to eat natural, wholesome foods, making sure that the food supply is in proper proportion and of a character or quality suitable for body.
The nutritive substance which are essential for maintenance of life in man are proteins, carbohydrate, fats, vitamins, and minerals. A nutritionally adequate diet will contain all of the essential nutritive substances mentioned above, both in amount and in proportion required to maintain the body in full health and physical efficiency.