Eating healthy food in Singapore and other modern cities of the world is more important to our lives nowadays than ever before. Why is this so? In today’s fast paced modern living, people are moving further away from nature. Due to rapid urbanisation, more and more farmlands and forests are being destroyed and replaced by concrete jungles. Even in China nowadays, there are many times more city dwellers than there are farmers.
In cities like Singapore, people want to achieve results in the fastest and most efficient manner. This has caused more people to suffer higher level of stress, which may take a heavy toll on our bodies if not controlled. With so many things to do nowadays, city dwellers also lack sufficient rest after long hours of work and has no time to do exercises.
The air is also getting more polluted, even in Singapore, due to increased vehicles on the road and haze from forest burning from a neighboring country. Inevitably, we breath in more toxins. Stress and pollution are the main problems city dwellers have to deal with as they are not doing good to our health. Yet, how many people can escape from the city to a remote mountain resort or villa by the sea for a few weeks to allow our bodies to heal and get healthy again?
We need a more realistic approach for us to get healthier, live longer and also enjoy the convenience and excitement city lives bring. That’s where eating healthy food can help.
4 Pillars of Healthy Living
There are actually 4 pillars to have a healthier and longer life. They are the environment, genetic, lifestyle and nutrition. For the environment, if you live in the city and leading a fast-paced life, pollution, lack of sleep and stress can be viewed as common occurrences that you cannot change much. As for genetics, there is very little one can do as it is inherited and you don’t really have a choice do you?
We can control our lifestyle in certain ways and change one’s lifestyle for the better, but it’s easier said than done. There is an old saying: habits die hard. Just look at smoking. Years of anti-smoking campaigns and ban on cigarette advertising have done little to drastically reduce the demand for tobacco. The same can be said about alcohol. Let’s face it. Alcohol and smoking have been viewed by many people as part and parcel of city living, the price to pay, with all its stress and pressure.
The only thing that’s left which we can leverage and improve our health quite easily and quickly is nutrition. The majority of our nutrition comes from eating healthy food, giving you the energy you need to combat stress. Nutrition serves as a powerful tool which you can use to provide balance to your health. As the saying goes, you are what you eat and its all about the healthy food choices you make. It is the only way we can control because we can choose what we eat on a daily basis.
You can choose to eat healthy food instead of junk food. You can choose how much to eat and when you want to eat. So it’s time to realise now that you do have a choice.
Healthy Food Tips
So in this modern world, healthy food and good nutrition are the tools can be easily and quickly added to your daily eating routines to achieve better balance. Here are some tips as a guide to help you get started:
- Take more whole grain food like whole-grain bread for breakfast. Take less salt and cook with less artificial seasoning.
- Drink more water. You can take less sweet stuff like ice cream and reduce your intake of carbonated drinks.
- If you are a vegetarian or has been taking organic healthy food, then good for you but if you are not, you can start to take less red meat and more fish as the latter can provide you essential Omega-3 fatty acids (good for the heart) and give you the protein your body need.
- You can get more info about healthy food from magazine, books, websites and other publications. Know that healthy food can be great tasting and cost less as well. The saving may come in the form of lower medical bills.
- It may be time to start cooking some healthy dishes at home in your kitchen rather than taking dinners at restaurants. If you just learning to cook some healthy meals more, I recommend you google for “healthy food videos”
- The next time you go to the supermarket for grocery some shopping, read the food labels carefully. Watch and track the calories you are taking everyday. The Health Promotion Board of Singapore has launched HPB DietTracker, a free app on Apple and Android mobile devices that can help you calculate the calorie of the food you take.
So start to make wise healthy food choices to help you attain a healthier and longer life now.