Diet: The double edged sword

SARS-Corona virus diseased and deceased numbers have reached more than 82,000 across the globe. Discussing about pathogen, carrier or mode of transmission, Symptoms, treatment, precaution and control measures has been extensively analyzed in almost all media. Despite it, some information regarding mode of transformation and treatment are seems ambiguous. Health care professional’s claim virus was initially transmitted from under cooked meat. Similarly, few have been treated with symptomatic treatment and cured successfully due to well receptive immune system. In both these scenario, the importance of diet in physical well being is highlighted. On the similar note, Our Honorable front line workers, Prime Minister, Chief ministers of respective state government, Union and state ministries, secretaries and importantly most of the people functions responsibly towards containment of disease and prevents loss of lives. But few politicians, public are indulging in irresponsible activities like doing politics in pandemic situation, obstructing functions of health care functional , violating lockdown rules etc. Both these responsible and irresponsible action is an outcome of some kind of thoughts generated in the mind of those people. The Mind functions as response to our information diet. In a brief, our physical body needs food diet whereas mind functions according to information diet. In this article, as a matter of duty, I am presenting my view on healthy diet for mental wellbeing with equal importance to physical wellbeing.

Unlike autotrophies, human beings are unable to produce food by their own. Hence, human being completely depends on external source of energy for their physical and mental wellbeing. The amount of energy received from external source is measured through diet system. In general, diet for physical wellbeing is defined as kind and amount of food regularly consumed by a person or animal. Hence, Diet can be classified into balanced and unbalanced diet based on kind and amount of food. Similarly mental wellbeing demands a diet which can be defined as quality and quantity of information regularly gathered by a society, in general, and an individual, in specific.

A food diet system or pattern begins with number of meal per day. Majorly it is three layered system comprising of breakfast at morning, lunch at noon and dinner at night time in a day. This system is regularly intervened with snack breaks. In Information diet system, there is no such universal or majorly acceptable pattern exist. Yet we do reflect some level of commonality in gathering information at regular interval through reading or listening at morning, discussion and debating while having lunch and have good conversation and also listen to music at night time. This pattern also intervened with some heated debate at times. In both food and information systems, professionals and experts suggest taking small but more frequent diet to keep an individual energized and focused.

Breakfast restarts our metabolism. It supports us in many way including better memory and concentration. Skipping the breakfast increases the possibility of diabetes and other health issues. Similarly morning mental diet kick-starts our thought process. In food diet system, number of meal per day is followed by kind of food at each meal. Generally, carb-rich food is preferred at breakfast to become supercharged. But the diet without protein or fiber-less won’t give a sustained energy and make us to feel hungry quite often. This is the reason idly (carb), sambar (pulses – protein), dairy products, sprouts become most opted breakfast in India. Likewise our cognitive part i.e. minds needs information at breakfast to rejuvenate. Hence, our prime information meal also should not restricted to any particular genre like society, politics, history, agriculture, environment or international affair but the mixing up of the most topics. Therefore, reading newspaper for literates and listening to audio or video news for the illiterate people is more advisable in the morning.

Lunch is an important meal of the day yet many people forgo their lunch due to several reasons and this is a bad habit. Lunch helps to maintain glucose level in the middle of the day and acts as a reservoir of energy for the rest of the afternoon. Similarly midday information meal helps to remain active and makes the entire day productive and healthy. Healthy diet at lunch requires specificity of food including more greenies like vegetables, green leaves and protein which digest in moderate phase and act as energy reservoir. Likewise our noon information meal requires specificity to enhance interest and thus concentration. In my opinion reading any books could fodder our midday cognitive meal. Because a book always acts as a knowledge reservoir in several ways as same book throws us new and varied information at each glance.

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Dinner time itself more special in many ways. A perfect dinner meal in addition to pleasant dinner time could solve many physical and social problems or conflicts. It rejuvenates our family bonding or social bonding like friends circle etc (in case of bachelors staying away from their families).It is filled with lot of expectation, joy and hope of all age groups of people. Senior citizens get rid of their loneliness, professional life of young population temporarily ends and heaven of kids play time starts. Hence any light moment could accentuate the impact so don’t express any hard feelings like anger, tension etc in this godly moment. Once the dinner time has been set in mood then enter into food zone. Our food pattern should also in accordance with our feelings. Light food items which mean easily digestible foods are highly advisable. Digestion is a process that varies with age, region, and temperature and thus I left it to your own discretion. As said earlier dinner time is more of cognitive than physical. Our mind is filled with varied thoughts and emotions that have been mounted on the entire day. Any additional information could end up as unbalanced diet so it is better to listen to younger generation especially with children’s so that u won’t flood with any new information. That’s why students are advised to revise in the evening or night.

A next important aspect of diet system is the characteristic of the diet. It plays a dominant role in enhancing our mental and physical wellbeing. Characteristic of diet includes nature of diet, level of cooking etc. Diet with toned down version of any particular taste i.e. spicy, sweet, bitter etc is most preferable to met physical need. Food tastes with too Spicy or salty or sweetened dish will lost its original taste and benefits. Likewise some foods are advised to consume as half cooked eg. Fresh vegetables and some can be consumed as uncooked or with rawness and others must be consumed as well cooked like meat products. On the similar note, Characteristics of information shall be unbiased in many cases and biased or half cooked in some kind of news which includes victims details can be changed or hidden if any minors or other vulnerable section gets involved. But it is highly advisable to avoid some kind of news to maintain good mental wellbeing. Such news is characteristics with biasness against victims or manipulative flavor added news or misinformation or fake news.

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Even after having three meal a day, right kind of food with appropriate nature and characteristics of food there is likely possibility for food poison if we intake right food in wrong combination. Hence combination of diet items also comes into picture in enhancing mental and physical wellbeing. Combination of foods like Curd with egg may cause food poison or glucose rich or easily digestible food to diabetes patient creates adverse effect to physical health. Likewise some combination of foods will reduce the negative impact like Spicy biryani with onion & curd raitha (Acid and base neutralize each other) and full packed south Indian meals with Rasam. On the similar note, Information diet also has some better and bitter combination. Better combination includes Newspaper reading along with discussing it with elders will give some historic and regional perspective to any news eg. Corona outbreak is a news whereas Middle east respiratory syndrome and SARS are historical perspective to Corona outbreak, Nipah outbreak in India was a news two years back which would be enriched with information on various other regions like “bangaladesh” and “S-E ASIA” were also infected with Nipah in past.

Similarly some better combination includes conversation with victims to get more comprehensive details about problem and their suggestion which may turn out to be best effective solution. On the other hand, the bitter combinations are listed as arrogant debate with elders, discussion with narrow minded and prejudice person, dominating the younger generation and forcing them to listen, neglecting the children etc. Another error combination which also cause physical and mental health effects like consuming poor digestive food (like oily food) in the morning which makes an individual a lazy and lethargy; delay in intake of food accentuate blood glucose level highly and thus more chances of insulin deficiency i.e. diabetes. In this way both justice and diet shares same characteristics i.e. justice delayed is justice denied (“Diet delayed is diet denied”). 

Above mentioned characteristics are synonyms to a perfect diet of physical and mental wellbeing. Sometimes the perfect diets are good enough to create problem. It includes intake of same perfect food and ineffective way of utilization of consumed energy. These problems are easily diagnosed and rectifiable at an early stage. Intake of same diet means narrowing of food option which also means neglecting other necessary nutrition’s which will cause malnutrition, over nutrition, hidden hunger or sometimes may cause diabetes, cholesterol problem etc. Correspondingly intake of same kind of information will make anyone as polarized, prejudice, narrow minded and ghettoized which in anyway unhealthy to an individual in specific and to the society in a broader sense.

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According to Law of conservation of energy, Energy can neither be created and nor be destroyed; it can be transformed or changed so the consumed energy through perfect diet must be effectively utilized otherwise it goes vein in slower rate. An effective ways of utilization is necessary to differentiate humans from all other animals which eat only for its physical existence but a human does not live by bread alone and function beyond the physical existence. Accordingly Excess of glucose will convert into fat and thus cause physical illness; likewise excess of knowledge rested within an individual may turn into arrogance. Prominent ways to burn piled up physical energy are physical hard exercise, walking, running, innovative invention, and productive effort towards betterment. Correspondingly the burning of mental excess can be achieved through teaching, learning, inform, listen, debate, discussion etc.

As the topic claims “Diet as a double edged sword”, it is clear that a perfect food and knowledge diet may enhance both mental and physical wellbeing and on the other hand, the unbalanced diet like junk foods are totally useless yet provocative in nature. These junk foods need extra effort to induce digestion. Foods include fried and fast cooked items are more harmful to physical wellbeing which may sometimes cause cancer to health individual. Similarly provocative, 24*7 fast backed news and their debates in channels like N***7Tam*l, Re*****TV etc are of no use to our cognitive development but they are provocative in nature. Hence need extra time and effort to bring us to normal. Therefore it can be better to avoid at the beginning itself.

  Image credit : flickr

Human body is so complex and interconnected. Both mental and physical part acts complimentary and supplementary each other. They impact each other in different degree. So wellbeing of the pair is necessary for every individual to remain healthy but these two alone is not sufficient to define a person as healthy. The social interaction of an individual on top of the couple i.e. mental and physical holistically addresses the health aspect. Individual wellbeing is judged through responsible and responsiveness towards others and social wellbeing is assessed through its cohesive, cooperation and responsiveness. Social wellbeing and individual wellbeing share symbiotic relationship which means a both succumbed if either of one act in discordance way and either one can be achieved individually. Physical and mental wellbeing alone can promote social interaction of an individual and thus a healthy individual. Therefore a diet of food and information can either make or break the society.

Note: Kindly follow the food diet as prescribed by your health professional. Thanks in advance

For any queries regarding the article contact

K.G. Raamachandran

Email: ramachanndran@gmail.com

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