MODERATION : KEY TO GOOD HEALTH
Beware of bombardment of Scientific advices
The ‘Times View ‘/ “Counter View” published in Delhi
We live in an era when people are far more conscious and fussy in the matter of health and dieting habits than our predecessors were , thanks to expanding channels for information dissemination. Naturally, people, in their efforts to remain healthy, go strictly by the book in the matter of their diets without being aware that the rules of the book keep changing . Once confused , they start relying on hearsay which , in turn, begets a chain of damaging myths about what is a healthy diet and what is harmful, as in the case of latest revision on eggs. The end result could be that they may render themselves weak and vulnerable to diseases or suffer obesity by following sedentary lifestyle assuming it to be good for the health. .
While the research to ascertain the nutritive value of almost all the edible commodities goes on , it is seldom that we are able to keep track of the latest recommendations about all the commodities all the time .We thus go by the popular perceptions about their nutritive features which may be the perpetuation of prevailing trends based on earlier study that has now been turned upside down by latest research . Eggs , for instance , used to be considered earlier highly nutritive for healthy people and a tonic for convalescents. And then came the scientific research that restricted its consumption to only two eggs a week, for, it contained a high degree of cholesterol, depriving people of even the calcium that it contains. And , now the latest revised opinion of the experts turns it upside down reducing the earlier findings to mere myths .
What happens in such a situation. While at one point of time eggs became untouchables, a formidable source of high cholesterol and, as such, a grave risk of heart attack , now , after the discovery that they have less cholesterol , added with common assumption that the white in it is all calcium and hence healthy, there will be open license to consume them more and more This is a dangerous and hazardous to health..
In my opinion, while Times View rightly emphasizes that ‘Healthy diet a must’, Mr Ajay Vaishnav , in his counterview, is not wrong either when he expresses the view ‘Eat as you wish’. In fact , for evolving a sensible approach we have to adopt the finer points of both the views. We should take healthy diet with the best of our knowledge but should not over do it assuming it to be containing nothing but nectar, for our knwldge may not be complete. It may contain harmful elements, howsoever minimal they may be. Taken in moderation, the intake of harmful remains nominal.
I am inclined to agree with Mr Ajay Vaishnav’s view that “ In to days’ world , people are being bombarded with ‘scientific advice’ on their health and food habits . Studies are being produced a dime a dozen on these issues , making neurotics of people who would otherwise be healthy naturally. Every now and then, new research comes up with a fresh set of dietary suggestions, which challenge and dethrone the results of previous studies, there by adding to the general confusion .” It looks that by advising us to “eat as you wish’’, Mr Vaishnav perhaps pointing to the food habits that may have the least dependence on scientific advise alone. We should go by our own menus provided we eat in moderation. The age old virtue of moderation in eating habits , seems to be the secret of good health . This means eating everything but in moderation , so that while its healthy contents are absorbed by the body , its unhealthy elements can be easily repulsed by the cleaning system of our body.
