Starting with a prologue
Life unfolds in challenges, each one seasoned with a different flavor. The one you face in the present always seems much harder than those you aced in the past. It is akin to a line graph that grows steeper as it moves forward.
We tend to believe in getting wiser as we get older, and it feels comforting to pass on advice (often unheeded) to a younger generation. But that has no correlation with us moving around faster! The biological clock tends to slow us down, and the challenge of staying fit becomes stronger.
Consider the current scenario of being on your toes all the time to keep yourself healthy. Wasn’t it easier decades ago to discipline a toddler in the terrible twos or to make a child sit at the study table and finish homework on time? I think it was!
The Story
Food could be the love of your life, and you may be longing to enjoy everything tasty on earth. Age, however, can turn it into a long-distance relationship. With the flow of knowledge comes awareness, and health-conscious individuals on the threshold of 50, 60, and beyond are often heard discussing what they should eat and what they should avoid. As much as I am tempted to claim that I do not belong to that bracket, honesty takes the front seat, and I step forward to accept reality.
“Age is just a number” is a saying we have heard since time immemorial. That holds true when it comes to cultivating a creative hobby or learning something new that raises your happiness index. No pun intended, the statement does not age well when it comes to picking up any food and gulping it down. In bold caps, it must be asserted: AGE IS MORE THAN JUST A NUMBER! Your metabolism has slowed down, and remember that the human body is not as forgiving as your mom who might have let you off when you sneakily gorged on those unhealthy, greasy chips.
Ignorance is bliss sometimes! In the spring of youth, or even in the golden thirties, one might confidently ask a ridiculous question: “What is A1C? Is it the name of a battery, like the double A or triple A ones?” It does not sound funny at all once you realize that A1C is the blood test that measures your average blood sugar levels over the past two to three months.
With talks about A1C making the rounds in our age group, my better half has become overtly conscious. Self-taught, with utmost sincerity and dedication, he has in recent times become a nutritional guru. No points for guessing, I am the lone student to whom he imparts his lessons. The relationship in this regard is not reciprocal. While I have miserably failed (so far), with my limited knowledge, to induct him into practicing pranayama, his advice on food and diet has had some impact on me.
Happenings here and there!
I have learned that eating a fresh salad before a meal aids digestion, helps manage weight, and stabilizes blood sugar. Henceforth, I have followed this rule.
On one instance when laddoos and modaks were offered to Lord Ganesh, a suggestion was offered. I was told that eating almonds before indulging in the sweets will not only slow how quickly the body digests carbohydrates but will also help prevent a sharp spike in blood sugar. Similar incidents keep happening. In some ways, I am quite nuts about nuts, so I do not mind at all!
If something tastes like heaven, it is almost certainly nutritionally sinful. Unfortunately, I have a sweet tooth, and the determination to refrain from pampering my taste buds with sugary delicacies is weak. This is especially true when a tempting array of desserts sits before me in a café.
Can smartness sometimes get the better of me? It certainly can. At the cash register, I confidently ask for my favorite dessert and avoid looking my husband in the eye. In other words, I bypass him. After all, it would be rather impolite for him to cancel an order already placed. I justify it by telling myself that it is perfectly acceptable to eat something unhealthy once in a while.
The Epilogue
The journey has continued so far with reasonable restrictions yet without depriving ourselves of the things we love to eat. Sacrifices (perhaps too strong a word) are made here and there, but they have not been stifling.
The self-appointed wellness coach, who is far more disciplined than I am, believes in balance in all things and practices it as faithfully as he can. Just a few days ago, he had a serving of a rich Indian dessert, which is a rare event indeed. This was promptly followed by a brisk walk. Later, at the dinner table, he was pleased to see a serving bowl filled with karela. The preparation was praised to the skies, rife with his enthusiastic sharing of the health benefits of bitter gourd. He was gushing with relief about how it would counteract the effects of the sweet he had enjoyed earlier.
Well little did he know that yours truly, the chef, had added a generous tablespoon or two of jaggery to tone down the bitterness of the dish. A bitter truth, quite literally, in this case!
rashmi writes 