Whole Foods

As we all know, when it comes to health and fitness, food plays an extremely big part – even more than exercise itself. The age old saying of “You are what you eat” is so true when it comes to fitness. So because of this, I thought it is extremely important to highlight some of the food choices you should make on a daily basis. Now I could sit here and name all the good foods and all the bad foods to avoid but that would just waste both our times. So instead, let me focus on 1 important aspect of choosing food and by just making this switch, you would have taken a giant leap towards a healthier lifestyle. If you can just remember this and follow it every time you eat, you will be far better than most people out there.

What am I talking about? I am talking about Whole Foods. Whole Foods is a term used to describe food that has not been processed / refined or only processed / refined slightly and consumed the way nature intended it. This is the best form and best way to consume food. In today’s world, our food choices are filled with processed foods which are filled with additives & preservatives that only add taste and increase the shelf life of the product. No nutrition value and worse still, some of these are actually harmful to you. So not only will some of these foods make you fat, but it is harmful to your health as well.

So what are whole foods? Anything that has not been processed or refined. So if you are going for chicken, buy chicken parts as they are, not sausages and burgers. If you want to eat burgers, buy your own fresh meat and mince it up yourself. If you want to eat french fries, buy your own potatoes and cut it up yourself, rather than buying the frozen ones which have been processed. If you want to drink orange juice, buy your own oranges and squeeze them yourself, rather than buying it in a bottle or can.

Let’s be honest for a second. I am sure you know some friends who eat 2 sausage buns for lunch every day thinking that that is a diet plan that is going to help them lose weight. After all, the sausage bun is only about 250 calories (that’s what they say to comfort themselves). Buns are made from refined flour, mixed with margarine (usually margarine contains transfat which is bad bad stuff), sugar and a whole lot of other preservatives. Then comes the sausage. Does anyone know how sausages are made? Usually its made from all the left over parts of the chicken which cannot be sold… like the skin, fat and any other body part which cannot be sold. So they grind everything up, throw in a whole lot of MSG and flavouring and voila…. You have yourself a sausage. Put that together and multiply it by 2 and that is what your friend is consuming everyday in hopes of losing weight. Need I say more?

Now the next question on everyones mind is, “OK, you have made it clear about how to buy healthy food for home preparation. But I eat out a lot. So how does this help me?” Well its no secret that making your own food at home will be better than eating out. However, I do understand the constraints of making your own food all the time. So, the next time you go out to eat, have this concept of whole foods in your mind as well. Skim through the menu and see what are the kinds of food that will still be in its natural form. So between a grilled fish and fish burger, which one would you choose? Mutton Kima (minced mutton) or Mutton Curry… which one would you choose? French fries or baked potato, which one would you choose? Fried fish or fried Keropok, which one would you choose? Now I know some of the foods I mentioned above, both choices are not the healthiest choices. I am just trying to make it clear when you have to choose between 2, which one would you choose. The lesser evil of course. And when you are eating out, sometimes you have to make that choice as you are not the cook.

So remember the next time you hit the supermarket for your grocery shopping, be careful with what you throw into your trolley. Your safest bet is always buying food which is not canned, bottled or wrapped up. Go fresh and go for whole foods. Eat food the way nature intended it to be. As usual, look forward to hearing your comments.