by Gaurav Mahendru

Created on: May 26, 2009

What are the things that come to your mind when we think of things that make us what we are?

Food is one of the items. What we eat decides how long we live and it determines the quality of life. Our diet decides our response to disease, stress, accidents, and immunity to change in environment or how our body reacts / manages a change in diet.

The point is how many of us understand the role food plays. Should we be careful as to what we eat? I believe we should be very careful as to what we eat. Especially in these times it is all the more important to be careful what you eat. Considering that everything we do depends upon whether we have good health which in turn depends on our diet.

It may sound going too far for some people; some may argue that they do not know the meaning of the technical terms that is used on food items. However it is imperative that we are given a greater say in deciding what we eat. If we do not care as to what we are eating then we are putting ourselves at great risk. We are putting our blind trust in the hands of people who are cooking. I doubt even the ones who cook would know what choices have been made. For that matter even the sellers in supermarkets consider this more of a fuss as even they are not sure how things would improve if we start to mention all ingredients on the packaging itself.

People around the world hardly give due consideration to what we have been eating as individuals and the results are for everyone to see. It shows the lack of concern to our own health and the health of our loved ones.

Let us ask ourselves some simple questions. How many people around us are healthy? How many people around us consider themselves healthy?

It is high time that people understand the importance of the food that we eat and our food habits to get a better understanding of our very basic need. I understand a vast majority are disenchanted because they have blindly fallen for the advice we see on television or what we read in books and magazines. That has not taken us anywhere. It is high time we make some effort and take the matters in our own hands. It is about time we demand that all dishes in restaurants mention the contents and quantity in detail for us to understand and make a educated decision about the choices that we make. We need to ensure that all of us understand that Health is indeed Wealth and that ultimately only we can decide what is good for us.

Therefore I would say, Absolutely Yes. We should have detailed description of the contents, calorific value etc on each food item so that we may make an informed decision

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