The word ‘Diet’ comes from the Greek word DIAITA meaning, to direct one's own life. The way we lead our daily
lives has a great effect upon our health and well being, and we
can all do something to maintain or help restore our health by how
and what we eat. This may seem simple, but our digestive system
is the main way in which we take in nourishment to sustain ourselves
and is probably the part of our bodies we most abuse.
I don’t believe it is necessary to follow a harsh regime of abstinence
or to brave laborious and tedious regimes to prepare meals in order
to remain healthy. What is important however is to be aware of what, how much, and when you are eating.
It has become quite faddish to eat exotic foods from far off places.
One just has to walk around the fresh produce section of any supermarket
to see this. In moderation these are fine, but the volume of sales
suggests that the consumption of such foods is both excessive and
sustained.
At the other end of the eating habit scale, processed food is having
its effect on our health by virtue of the amount of insidious sugar,
salt, chemical colouring and preservatives we are consuming. The
idea of ‘processed’ food can be extended to the cocktail of chemicals
used in growing crops and feeding animals. Even if you are vegetarian
you are subject to the effects of hormonal cocktails through dairy
produce. Ah! You say but I get my eggs, butter, and milk from organic
sources. Yes but where did the feed come from, and how was it grown?
Even if it’s a completely self-contained organic farm, the pollution
from the rivers and rainwater will still find its way into your
body.
