When it comes to diets and eating healthy, you will get a different view from every person you talk about this with. So, I guess we’ll have to figure it out ourselves, what works best for each of us.
For example, I recently discovered that my hemoglobin is quite low, which means that I could do with some more meat. Meat’s expensive, though. And since the doctor said I don’t need to worry one bit unless I start feeling like fainting. So, I think I will stick to my lentils and falafel for now (I am obsessed with them!).
Organic and locally produced food is gaining more and more market share everywhere anyway, which I see as a very positive trend. Vegetarians have become a natural part of society.
And even I recently realized that I have, without noticing, become a vegetarian myself. Although, I do most often choose a meat option in a restaurant or when I’m visiting home.
These days some of the vegetarian dishes in restaurants are actually better than the meat options. There is so much you can get wrong when cooking meat, whereas vegetables are easier to control.
Yes, this was a heart-felt confession by a kitchen disaster but I’m fully aware that most of you are able to cook meat just fine.
And with spices and seasoning you can disguise any good vegetarian dish to perfectly match a meaty equivalent. If you don’t believe me, try a vegetarian curry next time you go to an Indian restaurant.
Making sure your food is clean is paramount!
After thebird and swine flu epidemics I became more interested in where my food was coming from and how clean it might or might not be. When it comes to diets and eating healthy, you can try as hard as you like, but if your food is toxic, you’re set to lose the battle.
In addition, I am interested in what sort of conditions farm animals are kept in. And even though I’m not a big fan of the scandalous documentaries displaying the horrid circumstances some farm animals are kept in, I have pretty much stopped eating chicken for good.
I can’t even remember the last time I had chicken… Could be years.
This is actually a hot topic because we all know about the antibiotics abuse in the meat industry. When cattle becomes resistant to antibiotics, and we eat that meat, we become resistant too.
Many of the pandemics that have been enormously fatal for humankind have started from animals. Even though improvements have been made here and there, farm animal safety and health are still not high enough on the priorities lists of many big farms.
And that puts each and every one of us at risk, even the ones who do not consume meat products. Sometimes it’s not possible to figure out where your food has come from, though. Especially when traveling.
Things aren’t always as they seem
But it was particularly upsetting to find out that even in Finland the truth behind products marked with a “Made in Finland” stamp wasn’t quite as pure as we had liked to believe. For example,
- pigs that had been grown in Finland were then shipped to Poland to be slaughtered (you can probably imagine how gentle their methods are)
- from there the meat was shipped to Lithuania or Latvia to be packaged
- and then it’s all shipped back and onto Finnish grocery store shelves.
Doesn’t sound like a hygienic, safe, environmental or in any way ethical a way to get meat on the table. Thankfully there are still those old-fashioned butcher shops in existence all over Europe, especially in Italy. There local people can still get their meat from familiar sources.
These shops have even started to appear in Finland, which I find delightful! That means another age-old tradition is making a welcome return (I sound like such a hipster…)
Portion sizes do matter
No matter how organic and local your food is, if you over-consume it, it won’t do you any favors. I believe in keeping the portion sizes in check and eating max. 3 meals per day. OK, 4 if I did breakfast, which I don’t.
When you keep portion sizes in check you can actually eat pretty much whatever you like without too much worry. I do recognize that I have been blessed with an excellent digestion, which gives me quite an advantage for leading a more hedonistic lifestyle. Whereas for most people my way of consuming food would be close to fatal.
The fact is, we all have bodies that function differently, so diets and eating healthy aren’t things that anyone can just order you to follow. I do not believe that there can ever be an all inclusive solution to how we should eat to stay healthy and in shape.
BUT! No need to despair, for there is a centuries old method with which each of us can boost our metabolism! And like most brilliant things in life, this trick is so obvious that most of us don’t even consider it.
Conclusion: Slow eating is the key
Eating slowly, aka chewing your food properly helps your digestion to work more smoothly. And what’s even better, burns calories!
As always, our bodies will tell each of us what it requires as long as we have the capability to listen to it. You know when you are hungry and you know when you are full. Respect these signs and don’t over-eat or fast any more than is absolutely necessary.
Diets and eating healthy shouldn’t be a burden to any of us. In my world food is an indulgence, something worth gathering around with people I like and enjoying whole-heartedly.
Not everyone sees food that way, though, but even for those who think of food only as fuel, the fact is that it is a big part of our everyday life. It can be a curse and a blessing depending on how you relate to it, but as the Ancient Greeks knew; a hedonistic viewpoint towards food can take you a step closer to happiness.
