Live better, live longer. Living wiser beyond our years.
It’s time to take a long, hard look in the mirror and re-evaluate some of our life habits that have a negative impact to our health. By highlighting these daily, life-draining things we eat, do, or even say, and flipping them upside down, or rather, the right way up, we can add many happy and healthy years to our precious lives!
There are a few age-old sayings that we are going to unpack to properly understand what our forefathers were actually talking about when they say, ‘back in my day’, and perhaps we can learn a thing or two, so that we too, can walk hand-in-hand into many healthy decades ahead.
“You are what you eat”
During the 60’s, the hippies made this saying very popular, because, simply put, if you eat healthy, you will be healthy. Although a lot of other activities carried out by the hipster generation wouldn’t be deemed as ‘healthy’, this simple truth stands firm. By avoiding junk food, opting for a side salad instead of fries, cutting out fizzy, carbonated drinks, and by putting in more nutritious, healthy food, we will be one step closer to living one day older.
“What you put in, is what comes out”
Along with many avenues in our lives, from our studies, to our personal relationships, the amount of effort or thoughts you put into your diet, the greater the outcome. So like how you would approach an exam or a giant task at the office, that is how you should tackle your meal choices. Planning ahead for the week, making lists before you go shopping, preparing healthy lunches for the office or even using a calorie-counting app, the more you will see the results. No last-minute fast food dashes or deliveries, more energy from eating healthy and more time on your hands to do the things you love.
“Practise what you preach”
As a parent, one is so quick to comment on what or how our children eat. We tell them to finish their plates, to chew with their mouths closed, and to not eat so many sugary treats. BUT, here comes that mirror again- this time though, the mirror is our children. They see everything we put into our mouths, from stuffing our faces while talking to each other, to the late night chocolate and crisps packaging left in the lounge the next morning. Perhaps another saying comes to mind here too, ‘monkey-see, monkey-do’. We need to be healthy examples to our children, so that they become healthy too.
“Put your money where your mouth is”
It is far cheaper to buy your fruits and vegetables in their original shape and form. As soon as we buy chopped or peeled anything, the price goes up and the amount of food gets smaller. Also, the more a food is in its’ original form, the more nutritious and wholesome it is for us. Food manufacturers and suppliers add many chemicals preservatives, like BHA, to their products to prolong the shelf life of the food, but at the same time these chemicals are shortening your own life. Consuming larges amounts of certain preservatives can be toxic. So while you’re saving your money buy buying fresh, you’re also saving your life!
By making small changes here and there to the food you put in, what you get out of it in the long run. Here’s to us eating fresh, homemade, wholesome food and living beyond our years!
