People often say that they don’t know how to cook and thus tend to eat out. Or, they complain that cooking is too difficult and too time consuming, so they eat out or skip meals or eat junk food. Both are common justifications which I hear in my Ayurvedic practice. The old adage, “ You are what you eat ” hold true for all of us. The science of Ayurveda classifies food according to its qualities. If we eat rough, dry food, we experience dryness, stiffness, and roughness in our bodies. If we eat hot spicy foods, then we experience inflammation and skin conditions. If we eat heavy foods, then the weight is a lot easier to put on than it is to take off.
We live in a society that craves instant gratification. While fast food may be a convenience item and save time in the short run, it does not do so in the long run. Eating processed, unhealthy, fatty, high caloric, unmindfully prepared, chemically preserved foods creates more toxins in our body over the long run. This leads to multiple health ailments, discomfort, multiple visits to the doctor, and perhaps even a lifetime of being medicated. So, what we feel we may be saving in the short-run certainly doesn’t even itself out in the long-run.
We use phrases like “eating on the run”, “grab something to eat”, “get something at the drive through”, “gobble something down”, “gulp down my drink”, etc. We pay no attention to what we are putting in our bodies or how we are ingesting our foods. This is not giving our bodies and our digestive systems the attention that they deserve. If we aren’t mindful about what goes in and how, then how can we expect our digestive system to comply? How many people do you know who suffer from acid indigestion, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, etc? It’s not a lifelong sentence, unless we make our habits a lifelong habit.
There’s no time better than the present to start implementing healthier dietary routines to lead a happier, more fulfilling life.