Everyday I work with people which want to change their diet to a healthier one.
Most of them are seek help when they have already experienced some serious health issues (obesity, cancer, cardiovascular diseases). They reach out to me when these conditions have already had a negative impact on their daily routine.
When I am speaking to busy professionals, I often hear that they are too busy to eat healthily or they “are not into that’’, as healthy eating is often portrayed as something for supermodels, yoga freaks or athletes.
I must admit the statement “I am not into healthy eating’’ really worries me. I find it close to saying: ”I don’t care about my life, I choose to die early’’. And that’s a statement you don’t hear often. Your food choices each day affect your health, as well as the length and quality of your life. Each soda drink, processed snack or saturated fat from red meat may reduce the length of your life or cause a disease which will significantly reduce quality of your life.
Healthy eating is not for celebrities or Instagrammers showing off their sixpacks. Whether you are a busy mum, successful manager, or an important CEO you need to eat healthy as well.
Simply enjoy your life, to be happy – running after or with your kids, or just waking up energised to work.
There is no magic pill, treatment or procedure allowing people to eat whatever they want and be healthy. Your health starts on the plate and you are solely responsible for that, by choosing simple, not heavily processed foods you choose a better life. A healthy diet does not only improve your medical indicators – cholesterol level, blood sugar level or high blood pressure but also energises you, helps you to sleep better, improves your cognitive functions, or in some cases even improves your sex drive.
Busy people working in offices often opt for a quick, convenient lunch. They put their KPIs, financial performance or sales analytics above the food. Unfortunately, it’s not a good long-term solution. We need health, energy and life vigour to achieve all these goals. All of these start inside us, with the proper nutrition. As with anything else in life, there is no shortcut. Meal by meal, Brick by brick we are ‘building’ our body and our future.
Proper nutrition is not only for privileged athletes or celebrities but the duty of each one of us.
Healthy food doesn’t have to have a steep price tag. So called superfoods or fancy processed products can be expensive, but you don’t really need them. Local fruits, vegetables, legumes, pulses, wholegrains, nuts and seeds are not expensive. With aromatic spices and seasoning you can turn these simple ingredients into delicious dishes. Different cooking techniques can completely transform your produce. Roasted carrots for example develop a deep concentrated flavour, roasted bell peppers gain sweet almost cherry flavour.
Healthy food doesn’t have to be boring; everything depends on your imagination….and a bit of practice. Don’t be afraid to experiment with a new vegetables or exotic fruits.
Busy professionals often invest their money – stocks, bonds, properties, they are looking for new routes to increase their capital. Healthy eating is an investment in your future. Each breakfast, lunch or dinner can be like a dollar added to your capital.
Just, as with a stock market there are no guarantees, even when eating healthy you might g develop a disease. However, the odds can be significantly reduced. On average people following whole food plant based diet (diet which excludes all animal products but also refined flour, sugar, oil and processed foods) have lower chance to get lifestyle diseases ( cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, some type of cancers, depression). If you would like to enjoy your hard earned money in your senior years invest in your health. There is no magic pill nor medical treatment which can replace healthy food.
I know, at the beginning it might seem a bit difficult – we are used to certain flavours and textures. But everything is just matter of time, our taste buds and senses need some time to get used to new tastes. I loved cheese, it was a part of my every day diet. I couldn’t imagine my cooking without it – I believed that cheese made everything better. I started a vegan diet but urges for Mozzarella, Gorgonzola or Emmentaler were strong. I read stories how people gave up cheese over night, or even during 1 month. I felt very miserable about it, because even after 2 months I still had a strong cheese cravings. It took me about 6 months to overcome my cheese addiction. (and yes, it was an addiction, cheese may be mildly addictive due to its protein casein, which your body breaks down into casomorphins. These compounds attach to dopamine receptors in your brain, possibly triggering cravings).
It’s never too late to start a healthy lifestyle, as this can be an investment with a really high return.