We Are
We Are, What We Eat
“Everything great that transpires (O Man) is from God, everything awful that transpires is from your own behavior”. (Quran 4:79).
In the past food was only a fundamental need to live. Individuals in the past might not carried on with a lavish life but rather they positively delighted in a decent wellbeing. For the general population of today food isn’t only an essential need, yet a joy that assumes a noteworthy job in their comprehension of joy. There are such a large number of various cooking styles and nourishment inclinations worked by social and ethnical foundations, land areas and social classes. Meat dietary patterns, herbs and products – everything makes its contribution to the conventional cooking and culture. Pakistan is a place that is known for flavors, Africa is a landmass of sauces, Europe unveils esthetical magnificence of food and opens up new chances and developments for the individuals who esteem and appreciate eating.
We see an variety of food accessible in the market today. We want to eat every last bit of it in one sitting. Some people require it to expel their craving, some of them eat it for joy and numerous individuals utilize it as a way of dealing with stress,weariness, or nervousness, or even to draw out sentiments of delight. Food is meant to give us energy and make us sound, rather it is spreading diseases in the general public. Today we will discuss the resasons for these contrary situations.
Among this variety, fast food, also called as junk food, comes first in the list.
Andre F. Smith defines junk food as,
” those commercials products, including candy, bakery goods and soft drinks which have a little or no nutritional value but do have plenty of calories, salts and fats.”
The blade of the population is continually twisting and changing the junk food world. Fast food itself has dependably been changing because of social, economic and health concerns. Throughout its evolution, from an automatic food serving machine to the pop culture, advertisement of food through songs like “let’s have another cup of coffee” fast food was never about giving nutritions to the hungry masses, and until today it’s all about business. Fast food industry don’t care about the health issues they just have to keep the taste great to make money. Today we shall discuss some serious issues in this regard.
There is a reason it is called as junk food, we can say a replica of food which looks like food, eaten like food and much tastier than the real food but works totally opposite to it. Fast food can be appealing for various reasons, including comfort, cost and taste. For kids, who don’t generally comprehend the wellbeing results of their dietary patterns, fast food may appear particularly appealing. In any case, frequently eating this low quality nourishment can be addictive for youngsters and prompt confusions like stoutness, ceaseless ailment and even despondency, and influencing how they perform in school and extracurricular exercises.
According to WCHN, foods with high sugar content deplete energy levels and the ability to concentrate for extended periods of time. Energy and focus are especially crucial for school-age children development. Physical activity is also essential for children of all ages, and regularly eating junk food does not provide the necessary nutrients children need for sufficient energy to engage in physical activity. An absence of physical action is dangerous for physical and mental health and may also deprive a child from social development.
Obesity Risk
As per an examination from “Pediatrics” in 2004 junk food utilization in youngsters is connected with numerous hazardous forerunners for weight. As per this investigation, kids who ate junk food will probably devour a higher measure of calories, fat, starches and added sugars in a single cheap food dinner. They were likewise less inclined to expend as much fiber, milk and fruits as kids who did not eat junk food. These elements were found to put kids who routinely ate drive-thru food at expanded risk for obesity.
Chronic Illness
As indicated by the Prevention Institute, specialists accuse low quality nourishment for rising rates of diabetes, hypertension and stroke. Diabetes can result in disability and premature death.
Self-Esteem and Depression
Confidence in oneself is particularly critical to growing children, and consistently devouring lousy nourishment can adversely affect this feeling of self. junk food can influence a kid’s physical advancement in negative ways, including unhealthy weight gain, which can result in confidence issues. Low self esteem can prompt outcomes like depression which affects development and growth, performance in school and social connections.
People who eat food as a coping mechanism to deal with boredom, or anxiety, or even to prolong feelings of joy may help themselves in the short term but eating for comfort or soothe and ease feelings often leads to regret and guilt. They aren’t actually coping with the problem rather they make it worse.
After all this discussion one might say that it’s the 21st century and “junk food” has gone global. This low quality diet is available all over the world now. We see it almost everywhere we go, usually looking very appealing and it has replaced almost everything even fruits are preserved in chemicals to make them available in every season. So what should we eat?
What we eat affects how we feel, it makes us who we are so food should make us feel good. By settling on better sustenance decisions, you may have the capacity to control enthusiastic eating practices and weight gain. You may likewise encounter sentiments of smoothness, high vitality levels, or sharpness from the food you eat. There is a basic answer for this, 80:20 guideline. “80:20 principle” is take healthy diet at least eighty percent and enjoy fast food twenty percent of the time, if that is the thing that you truly need. In this way you can take both taste and a healthy diet side by side with you.
Lets have a look on what Islam has told us in this regard:
Proper working of our muscles, bones, lungs, liver and brain depends on the raw product we eat . If we provide the factory with junk raw products, it will not produce tough bones, strong muscles, good pump (heart) and clean pipes (vessels).
“O humankind: Eat of what is legitimate and good on earth” (Quran 2: 168).
According to one Hadith of Prophet Mohammed we are advised to leave one third of our stomach empty after finishing the meal. This Hadith can be understood with this example that you have a blender/mixer in the kitchen and you broke it after stuffing it to the top and then turning the machine on. After all, what is a stomach, if not a blender, grinder, mixer and food processor, all in one!
Certain types of food i.e. fruits are especially emphasized in Quran (36:57, 43:73, 16:67)
“And from the fruits of date palm and grapes you get healthy beverage and nutrition: Behold in this is an indication for those who are wise” (Quran 16:67).
Fruits are low in calorie, high in vitamins and minerals, and fiber and sugar is fructose and not sucrose. In a recent study by Dr. Anderson (Assistant Professor in University of Kansas ) fructose has been shown to cause no rise in blood sugar and even lowers the high blood sugar of diabetics. Honey is fructose.
When you’re making the choice between a healthier option and junk food, consider that just one healthy meal a day could reduce overall stress and inflammation in your body. Every meal is an opportunity to positively impact your health.
Article link:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/sneaking-a-little-junk-food-doesnt-mean-all-is-lost/2018/02/26/828b75fa-1b36-11e8-9de1-147dd2df3829_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2ec7f13bdf06
(Christy Brissette)
Reference links:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/10681-the-psychology-of-eatinghttp://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/92/2/13-120287.pdfhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/sneaking-a-little-junk-food-doesnt-mean-all-is-lost/2018/02/26/828b75fa-1b36-11e8-9de1-147dd2df3829_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2ec7f13bdf06
