Walking into the gym today there was a pizza box and two sodas on the sidewalk, how ironic! Notwithstanding the lack of social responsibility of the people that left said pizza box and sodas at our doorstep of health, the first thing that came to my mind was it likely cost less than $10 total for what appeared to be dinner for two devoid of any real nutritional value. But it certainly was affordable, easy, and quick…fitting perfectly well with a lifestyle in which time is not made for adequate food choices.
In light of everything going on in the world today, you would think there would be far more attention to nutrition and exercise. That is something we can control! Most of us do not need to be told that exercise and good diet choices will make us healthy, and that the more we improve our health the easier it will be for us to combat disease and bounce back when infected or injured. A healthy diet is also typically a more environmentally sustainable diet and, again, in light of diseases jumping the species barrier, we should be focusing on sustainable eating. Moving to a healthier diet (whole foods, mostly plants, nuts and seeds, minimally processed foods and low added sugars) is not necessarily easy but also not difficult if you make the time (check out this post for some more detailed ideas).
We make choices every day, and making small changes in diet will gradually add up over time. I am not suggesting to not eat pizza, rather, just don’t do it every day and maybe wash it down with water instead of sugar and caffeine.