TREAT YOUR FOOD AS MEDICINE

A diet rich only in carbohydrates is not healthy.

Food as medicine is a very important slogan that should be imbibed into us right from childhood. Are you the type that relies solely on carbohydrate intake for daily nutrients? Do you find it easy to grab quick takeout and eat rice a lot? Do you love doughnuts but ignore vegetables and fruits?

Eating well is hard, especially when you don´t take note of the food you consume. It can lead to numerous health problems, such as a bulging tummy, sleep apnea, anaemia, menstrual pain in women, tooth cavity problems, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and so on.

However, carbohydrates are not solely to blame. How do you eat your carbs? Do you practice portion control? Half of the plate should be vegetables, and the rest should be other types of food. What types of carbs do you consume?

Wholemeal carbs or overly processed ones? You need to figure out all this to ensure you get the best nutrients out of your food. Check out our post on popular Yoruba meals that give you wholesome nutrient doses when consumed in moderate amounts.

A diet low in water intake per day is not healthy.

How often do you drink water in a day? Do you bother to take notice? From experience, drinking the recommended amount of water daily can be challenging. Just have it at the back of your mind that if you don’t, you’re dying slowly. Many diseases can be avoided when your body has enough water to eliminate certain unhealthy substances.

An example is the case of kidney stones. Kidney stones form less easily when you have enough water to prevent stone-forming crystals from sticking together. Dehydration can also contribute to the formation of kidney stones and urinary tract infections, leading to kidney damage if not treated quickly. Drinking enough water can never be overemphasized.

A diet low in daily fruit intake is not healthy.

Do you eat fruits daily? Berries, oranges, and grapes are essential fruits you should consider including in your daily diet. Try to incorporate it into your diet and see how things improve.

A busy and stressful life with no well-planned diet.

“Nowadays, I ignore job applications that have in their description “can handle stress,” says a close friend, and she is right. It is hard to multitask, and the stress that comes with it is even more complex, so focusing on one thing at a time is advisable.

Anxiety levels increase when too much happens, and you are unfocused, stressed, and a mess. In this situation, you do not even consider what you feed your body; you eat what you can lay your hands on to quench your thirst and hunger.

One needs to find a calmer interlude, somewhere to re-group and restart. Many people can relate to this. So please, it is of utmost importance to ensure that you live a moderate to stressless life if you want to see healthy improvement in your life and diet in general. You owe that to YOU.

Intentional diet planning.

How well do you plan the food you eat in a day? How do you ensure you are hitting the right amount of nutrients required by your body in a week? Ensure that you intentionally give some thought to what you put into your body system.

Many of us eat what we see and end up harming ourselves because we end up stuffing up with foods that will do more harm than good to our body systems. It is essential to be intentional about this and be aware because “YOU are what you EAT”.

Take supplements when necessary.

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you still do not meet up with the daily nutrients your body requires. Thank God for supplements. Ensure you get checked regularly to know exactly what your body is lacking and how to improve and supplement nutrients you are not getting from food.

Women generally become anaemic due to their diet and lifestyle. Many people, especially Africans moving abroad to darker areas of the world with less sunlight, need adequate supplementation of vitamin D, especially during the winter. It is essential to take note of these things and act on them accordingly.

It is vital to give a disclaimer here that everything touched on in this post/video is personal advice and not a piece of medical recommendation in any way. Ensure you get a health check-up whenever you feel something is wrong with your body, and be intentional about your health and wellness.

Conclusion

Finally, eating well, sleeping well, and exercising are some of the main ways to live a healthy and wholesome life. Be intentional with all three.