August is a month of birthdays in our family. It starts with my grandma’s and ends with my sister and nephew. I was looking forward to the cake on Sunday in celebration of Ammachi’s 91st birthday.
Her secret to long life? Faith, cold showers and cola everyday. What? Cola? Yes you read correctly, cola that starts with a C and not a P (I’ve not been paid to advertise). At first when she started this habit years ago, it concerned her children but they came to a realization, that at her age, why argue?
Another realization on Sunday was that though our family has shrunk due to migration, we all were eating less and had to take home leftovers. I took home cake! But as a family, we were careful with what we ate.
Some of us live to eat and some eat to live. But we all can’t afford to do either/ or – for we’d end up sick either way. While some drink a concoction of bitter gourd and other yummy mixtures to lower sugar levels, I’m told a glass of red wine is good for you, but yesterday read that it causes cancer.
It gets a little all too confusing. One day nuts are good for you the next they will kill you? Yes if you choke on them. Today dairy is good for you and the next thing you know once you’ve stocked up on the yogurt, milk and cheese, you read that women in China don’t eat diary and this reduces their risk of cancer. And out goes the dairy.
Chocolate is a good antioxidant but causes pimples and have you heard that soya beans are good for you. And after you’ve changed your diet to be soya-filled, you find out that it’ not so good for you.
But I guess each generation has its confusions. I saw some advertisements from the 30’s with a happy family on it with the bold words “They’re happy because they eat lard”. And I burst out laughing!
But not as much as when I read a cigarette advert that has a picture of a guy blowing smoke at a woman’s face and the caption says “Blow in her face and she’ll follow you anywhere” More like nowhere I thought. But I bet it wasn’t funny back then. It was cool or the done thing.
The ‘in’ thing now is to go green- no plastic bags. But what about the food we eat and the packaging it comes in? Diets across the world have changed. It’s great to have a more diverse buffet but that extra helping of meat might not just be costing your arteries but hurting the earth.
The UN advises that we should try and adopt a meat free day to curb global warming. Former Beatle, Paul McCartney is pushing for meat-free Mondays to tackle climate change.
With the knowledge that meat causes 18% of global warming, we might want to think about what we put in our mouths.
As our diets change, we should start thinking how this affects our environment. Maybe giving up meat is hard but cutting down might be an option?
Though I believe that everything is permissible, it might not be beneficial. So perhaps cut out the lard, add more greens, get on the stair master and go for the run.
My theory is that everything in moderation because I can’t imagine life without that little bit of chocolate, cookies or ice-cream. Life wouldn’t be as fun without the pleasure of eating.
As I reached out for my second slice of cake, I remembered a saying my friend Nick once repeated to me with a cheeky smile “a moment on the lips a lifetime on the hips, Natalie”.
So as I try to loose the lifetime on my hips, I ponder on the phrase “you are what you eat” but I’m glad my grandma is not a coke bottle.
Natalie might start looking like cookies, cake and ice-cream if she becomes what she eats.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
Her secret to long life? Faith, cold showers and cola everyday. What? Cola? Yes you read correctly, cola that starts with a C and not a P (I’ve not been paid to advertise). At first when she started this habit years ago, it concerned her children but they came to a realization, that at her age, why argue?
Another realization on Sunday was that though our family has shrunk due to migration, we all were eating less and had to take home leftovers. I took home cake! But as a family, we were careful with what we ate.
Some of us live to eat and some eat to live. But we all can’t afford to do either/ or – for we’d end up sick either way. While some drink a concoction of bitter gourd and other yummy mixtures to lower sugar levels, I’m told a glass of red wine is good for you, but yesterday read that it causes cancer.
It gets a little all too confusing. One day nuts are good for you the next they will kill you? Yes if you choke on them. Today dairy is good for you and the next thing you know once you’ve stocked up on the yogurt, milk and cheese, you read that women in China don’t eat diary and this reduces their risk of cancer. And out goes the dairy.
Chocolate is a good antioxidant but causes pimples and have you heard that soya beans are good for you. And after you’ve changed your diet to be soya-filled, you find out that it’ not so good for you.
But I guess each generation has its confusions. I saw some advertisements from the 30’s with a happy family on it with the bold words “They’re happy because they eat lard”. And I burst out laughing!
But not as much as when I read a cigarette advert that has a picture of a guy blowing smoke at a woman’s face and the caption says “Blow in her face and she’ll follow you anywhere” More like nowhere I thought. But I bet it wasn’t funny back then. It was cool or the done thing.
The ‘in’ thing now is to go green- no plastic bags. But what about the food we eat and the packaging it comes in? Diets across the world have changed. It’s great to have a more diverse buffet but that extra helping of meat might not just be costing your arteries but hurting the earth.
The UN advises that we should try and adopt a meat free day to curb global warming. Former Beatle, Paul McCartney is pushing for meat-free Mondays to tackle climate change.
With the knowledge that meat causes 18% of global warming, we might want to think about what we put in our mouths.
As our diets change, we should start thinking how this affects our environment. Maybe giving up meat is hard but cutting down might be an option?
Though I believe that everything is permissible, it might not be beneficial. So perhaps cut out the lard, add more greens, get on the stair master and go for the run.
My theory is that everything in moderation because I can’t imagine life without that little bit of chocolate, cookies or ice-cream. Life wouldn’t be as fun without the pleasure of eating.
As I reached out for my second slice of cake, I remembered a saying my friend Nick once repeated to me with a cheeky smile “a moment on the lips a lifetime on the hips, Natalie”.
So as I try to loose the lifetime on my hips, I ponder on the phrase “you are what you eat” but I’m glad my grandma is not a coke bottle.
Natalie might start looking like cookies, cake and ice-cream if she becomes what she eats.
