To eat or not to eat? This is a question
that confronts us daily, as we go from home to work, work to home,
and back again. We have designated times for breakfast and lunch.
Dinner would be the only place where we really have any freedom
as to the time we consume our meal. But do we really want something
to eat? Are we really hungry? Or do we eat simply because the time
to eat has arrived?
With generations prior to the 20th
century, eating was an opportunity to stop and rest, and actually
consume nutrition because your body told you it needed nourishment.
Physical energy expenditures had used up whatever resources you
had provided earlier. Physical work and a real lack of nutritional
supplements kept the body in constant need of nourishment. That
is a time past. Today, with the advent of the computer, physical
activity is no longer a part of the work equation. We no longer
lack for vitamins and minerals, thanks to the boom in the vitamin
market.
Information is more readily available
for us to learn about our individual needs, and regulate what we
consume. But consumption and “programmed eating” is
more rampant than ever. We watch television, and see something good
to eat. What do we do? We go to the refrigerator and hunt something
to eat. Our body hasn’t notified us of any real hunger. But
our visual senses say, hmmm, that looks really good. I believe I’d
like to consume some food.
There is a real difference in what
we need to eat to stay alive, what we need to eat to stay healthy,
and what we want to eat thanks to advertising and designated lunch
hours. What we need to eat to stay alive is such a small portion
of food; it surprises even the most prepared reader. Your body must
consume only five to six hundred calories and lots of water to stay
alive. When faced with life-threatening situations, your body will
revert to a “starvation” mode. In other words, it cuts
back on bodily functions to just bare minimums necessary for life.
In this way, it cuts out any excess need for extra calories.
The calories intake necessary for
healthy functioning is a level unique to each individual person
and can range from around 1200 calories to over 2000. The amount
of food we need to satisfy the advertising and programmed eating
habits is over 3000. In other words, thanks to advertising and “It’s
time to eat lunch” programming, we consume at least 1000 more
calories than we need each day. This is why our nation is facing
an obesity epidemic and our children need medically prescribed diets
to lose weight.
If we could take a week and pay
attention to what our body really says to us about its needs, we
would be a healthier society without a lot of effort. It is because
we listen to the advertisements, the restaurant menus, and the call
of “it’s lunchtime, where are we gonna eat?” that
we have problems now.
To Eat, or Not to Eat?:
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