The word diet will typically make the reader think of food or better still food restrictions depending on what side of the divide you fall. One thing remains constant though, and that is the food element.
A diet is actually the kinds of food a person, an animal or community habitually eats. Diet in the context I would like to bring forward today, is in the kind of foods we consume as humans.
Basically everyone should go on a diet based on their required nutritional needs. However, most often than not humans consume foods based on taste, appeal to sight, what is available and ease of preparation among other factors.
It is however important that one is conscious and intentional about what one consumes or ingest. Those who are into weight loss regimen, sports or who have medical restrictions related to diets are usually more intentional about their food. I have read about so many diet types ranging from vegan, keto, Cambridge, Mediterranean, intermittent fasting, gluten free, raw food and blood type diets. However, there are lots more. These diets do not focus only on what you eat, but even on when you eat and portions taken.
Diet is interesting in itself and more interesting is the various reasons people stick to particular diets and sometimes crisscross on diet types, coining their own unique diets from a combination of two or more.
One thing I have come to realize is, irrespective of the diet type you choose, there are a few things to make sure of as follows:
- That the diet meets your nutritional needs
- That the diet is sustainable in a long term
- That the diet satisfies energy demands
It is important to state too that for those seeking to lose weight you cannot out exercise a bad diet. I also find interesting how beliefs shape our diets as humans. A typical example is, as a Yoruba child, I learnt that drinking coconut water wasn’t a good thing and that coconut water makes a child stupid. I recently discovered that in the eastern part of Nigeria, coconut water is actually given to children to make them intelligent. What an irony.
Researching into coconut water as an adult, I realise it actually does have a lot of nutritional benefits while excessive intake has its downsides too. So though it has antioxidant properties, a source of several nutrients, and may help lower blood sugar for people living with diabetes. It is not an ideal drink for people vulnerable to allergies, and it possesses diuretic properties.
I would therefore conclude that there really isn’t any general categorization of certain foods as bad diet, as what is bad to one, might be the need of another. Hence, I would recommend that in all that one consumes, moderation is key. It is important also, to note changes in one’s body, in terms of age, dietary needs, and energy demands based on lifestyle changes and make adjustments to diets accordingly. Do enjoy your meals going forward and be intentional about what you eat
CARPENTRY