The legendary poet Virgil once stated, “The greatest wealth is health”. This can indeed be agreed upon by any person in the world; a healthy body and mind are the key to a prosperous and long life, and pave the way to the enjoyment of every other aspect of life without any hindrances.
One is born with a healthy body, however, it is up to each individual to maintain and better this. Avoiding practices and habits harmful to your health and pursuing activities that are instead beneficial to your health will allow you to achieve a sound body and mind.
Some key factors affect the general health of a person’s body; these are diet and exercise. An effective healthy diet and adequate exercise will inevitably lead to a healthy lifestyle.
Fast food
However, the fast-paced nature of the world has created a culture in which a home-cooked meal is too time-consuming, and people now turn to fast food as a quicker alternative. Although this may be quicker and more convenient, the long-term effects are unforgiving; heart disease, obesity, and diabetes are all illnesses that can be contracted through poor dietary choices.
Fast food restaurants usually offer quick to-go meals that are heavy on the inclusion of fats and carbohydrates, and low on vitamins and other essential nutrients. These fast food meals are fast-burning meals, meaning that your body burns up the calories in such food faster, resulting in one becoming hungrier quicker. This leads to overeating and weight gain. Coupled with the lack of time or motivation to exercise, this could lead to conditions such as obesity.
Another significant ingredient in fast-food is sugar. Extremely high levels of sugar in snacks and drinks have increased the rate of diabetes across the world. This has been worsened by a culture that enjoys deep frying and covering in chocolate sauce every possible meal they can find, leading to a gluttonous society.
Short-cuts to get healthy
It is absolutely crucial to understand that there are no short-cuts to becoming healthy. However, this has not stopped individuals from resorting to ‘easy’ methods such as gluten free meal replacement shakes and liposuction treatments to remove excess weight. Extreme diets, including starvation diets, have become popular short-cuts that may show results within the first week or so, but worsen the problem by leading to binge-eating situations.
This unhealthy practice sends your body’s metabolism into shock and inhibits its proper functioning, leading to either extreme weight gain or extreme weight loss.