Food. Glorious food.....I bet you're singing now, lol.
As a 70's child I grew up on a primary diet of meat and three vege. A treat was a Chinese feed from the bistro at the local pub, or KFC once a fortnight on pay day. McDonalds didn't arrive in my home town until I was in my early teens.
Everyone we knew had at least a vegetable garden and often chickens in the back yard.
Sweets were nearly always home baked.
The 70's and 80's also saw an explosion in processed foods on supermarket shelves and increased fast food restaurants.
And we lapped it up.
I think the previous generations saw the convenience of food as a godsend especially after years of working so hard to put food on the table. But at what cost?
As a child I was a typical picky eater but was also expected to eat what was on my plate. Gradually over the years my interest in food and healthy eating increased.
The word diet originally referred to the typical food eaten by a person, animal or community, not as a restriction of food. I am not going to debate the pros and cons of the many many different "diets". I do believe that a little bit of everything and not too much of anything, and the less processed the better.
I eat fairly well, but I could do better. One of my biggest problems is a general disinterest in lunch. I can literally have a cup of tea and a biscuit (I blame dad for that little habit), consequently by evening I'm peckish and it's wine o clock with cheese and biscuits.......
As I mentioned in the Alcohol blog, I'm much better at abstinence than moderation. Savouries are by far my Achille's heel, I can polish off a big packet of chips (the Gobbledok has nothing on me, lol) in a sitting, love cheese, olives, sundried tomatoes.... I can live on antipasto. Oh and I love a plate of hot chips and gravy. Don't get me wrong I can eat sweets too but I'm much better at moderation with sweets.
As I've gotten older my palate has increased and I eat a much wider variety of food. And I do love the influence of so many cultures on the variety of food available in Australia. I also believe the act of eating brings people together.
Poor diet is linked to a range of health problems including and not limited to; heart disease, cancer, dementia and diabetes.
I think we underestimate the addictive quality of food, especially junk food. And we need to stop demonising food groups, and look at our eating habits as a whole.
Balance.
We wouldn't expect our car to run well on dirty or the wrong fuel, so why do we think less of our body?
What are your bad habits? Is eating better a priority? What are the challenges you face to eat better? Do you think it is more expensive to eat healthy?
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