EDITORIAL: Healthier eating a must

THE saying goes, “You are what you eat”, and if indeed this is true, a number of Barbadians may not be too happy to identify with what they have on their plates on a continuous basis.

 

The weekend is a time where Barbadians loosen their belts to make room for pudding and souse, pork chops, fried chicken, burgers and hotdogs and fries, macaroni pie and a host of other not so healthy foods. It is likely that during the height of the recently climaxed Crop Over season, where some Bajans feted to the max, that fast foods perhaps were the food of choice for many, who would not have had the time to concoct a proper meal, brimming with vegetables on the side. So it stands to reason that most Barbadians are not eating as healthy as they possibly could, at present.

 

Now we have all heard of the need to exercise more and eat right, but how many of us really take this to heart? And speaking of the heart, we have heard in recent weeks about the rise in the incidence of cardiovascular disease, not only here in Barbados, but across the region. Noted cardiologists have pointed out that the profile of the patient who gets heart disease is changing and younger persons are being affected. Now this is cause for concern. 

 

Combating heart disease and other diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, could very well start with the very fork we place into our mouths. If we take time to consider what it is that we are feeding our bodies and how we truly feel after we eat a few of the mouth-watering dishes that yes, taste nice, but in fact do us no good, we could possibly take steps to change what we eat and how we eat. You see, most persons will acknowledge that they know they need to change their bad dietary habits, but they often find themselves struggling when it comes to taking action to make any necessary changes.

 

Truth be told, Barbadians like tasty meals. Therefore, the time has come for more nutritionists to produce easy to fix, nutritious meals that do not taste bland, to encourage more Barbadians to eat healthy. The time has come for the government of Barbados as well, to go a step further than the sweet beverage tax and to truly implement some measures that will enable Barbadians to purchase a real “basket of goods” that can do the body good. The “from the farm to the table” concept needs to be pushed a bit more as well, since the younger members of the population especially, have grown so accustomed to eating and drinking out of boxes and cans and containers.

 

In this fast-paced hectic working environment, we know that not all workers can prepare meals from home to take to work. However, workplaces can ease the burden by providing a canteen or lunch room that offers healthy snacks and meals and actually allowing workers enough time to properly digest a meal.

 

We really need to stop paying lip service to this whole issue of eating healthy and recognise that by taking small steps to feed the body better, we can begin to see improved results, even at the societal level, when it comes to this whole issue of chronic non-communicable diseases. Couple this with some well-planned physical activity and we could truly be onto something – a healthier way of life.