In today's hectic, high-speed Internet, quickly changing world, it
has become common for us to think about the here and now, and put off
concerns about the future as vague possibilities that we will deal with
once we come to them. This, sadly, has reflected on our health, and the
nutritional choices we are making. What we need to realize is there are
important benefits to eating healthy, benefits that may not garner
immediate gratification, but benefits that are well worth the wait!
Our frenzied lifestyle is compounded by our tendency to put our
careers in front of our health. Grabbing a burger and super-sized fries,
on the go at lunch, only to scarf it down and hurry back to the office is
common. Breakfast for busy workers can consist of a doughnut or bagel with
black coffee, or worse, nothing at all! Working late is typical, leaving
no time or energy to stop at the gym after a long, hard day. Dinner too
often consists of fast -food, take out, or pre-packaged microwaveable meals
eaten in front of the television, before heading off to bed. All of these
habits, when they occur on rare occasions are not detrimental in and of
themselves, however when they become the staple of the way we live and eat,
our health suffers. Surely, we may be saving those finite minutes during
the day, thanks to convenience, but in the end, we are shaving years off
our lives. Not a good trade at all.
In addition, for humans, eating is not merely a means to obtain the
fuel we need to get through the activities of the day. Instead, we have
taken eating and altered it into a social activity. We eat together to
celebrate. We eat together to grieve. We eat together to say goodbye to
someone. And, we eat together when we welcome them home. (Kluger, Gorman,
& Park, 2004) Yet, this social ritual of eating has detrimental effects.
Our very lives are threatened due to the poor nut...