Good Health Is No Accident – Dr Robin Roberts, Bahamian Urologist
They had lentil soup with carrots, potatoes, celery and onions. They had salad of coleslaw with apples, raisin and tamarind sauce. They had baked Cornish hen, with peas & rice, baked fish, steamed baby carrots, boiled cassava and boiled plantains not fried! They had fruit salad with cantaloupe, honeydew melons, grapes, strawberry and kiwi with a light yogurt sauce. They also had lemonade!
But they did not have many eaters. In fact about 80% of the food served this day ended up back in the kitchen – all of this in the midst of a Nutritionist admonishing this audience on why it was important to eat healthy – she was the luncheon guest speaker.
You see we were attending a health and wellness fair and the organiser being true to their program provided participants with a lunch that was healthy and nutritious but the participants were also true to form and showed their lack of appreciation for a healthy meal – “it shoulda’ had salt!”
The nutritionist made several points during her presentation that I would like to share with you:
Firstly, “You are what you eat.” This point was very well dramatised by a commercial I saw recently that showed persons having donut and coffee for breakfast. As they left their respective table, they all had donuts hanging from their bottoms. A lady then tried entering a turn-style but was prevented from doing so by the donut that was attached to her bottom – her breakfast!
There has been a lot of discussion about what foods Bahamians should eat and the Ministry of Health recently ran an extensive campaign. They used a local goatskin drum as a visual guide to depict the food guide pyramid.
The drum was created to show an easy visual of how we should make our food choices and still get variety, moderation and balance. Unfortunately, many have the inverted pyramid that places the fats and sweets at the bottom of the pyramid. But you can fix this by ensuring that that two-thirds of every meal is plant and one-third is animal.
Secondly “Your Lifestyle not your hereditary” determines your health. Most of the diseases that affect us are the result of choices we make and have very little to do with our family tree. As you well know there are certain diseases that occur with greater frequency among persons of colour such as sickle-cell anaemia, diabetes and prostate cancer.
However, we do have the power to make the nutritional choices that would reduce the risks of certain diseases that may have been inherited. Diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.
But are you giving heed to the message! Consider these questions:
1. How many persons do you know who have high blood pressure, cancer, heart disease or diabetes?
2. Do you believe these diseases are preventable?
3. Do you eat five servings of fruit per day?
Are you doing what it takes to protect your health? If not, then why aren’t you doing what is required of you to protect your health?
Its not because you don’t have the knowledge, you’ve heard these messages before, you’ve got literature and books in your home on the subject, you’ve seen signs around town! So knowledge is not power because you don’t lack the knowledge, what you lack is the will power to act, based on the knowledge you have. Knowledge is not power until you take action!
This health and wellness fair resulted from frightening trends that are evident in this pool of persons. Trends that have resulted in substantial claims dollars being spent on illnesses that are the result of life style choices; trends that are typical of our Bahamian society; trends that will continue unless you realise today that your health is your business and responsibility!
The formula for enjoying a disease-free retirement is no secret but there is one problem – only one in twenty who knows the formula will do something with it because knowing and doing are two different things. You’ve got the knowledge; now use it to make your retirement, golden years!
“Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals open your eyes!”-Leonardo DiVinci.
Glenn Ferguson is a popular Speaker, Coach and Syndicated Writer, helping you to manage your two most valuable resources- Time and Money, to insure your health and financial well-being. Email: glen@investinginyou.org Tel: 242-327-2453 Fax: 242-327-2456
By: Glenn S. FERGUSON, The Nassau Guardian
