It’s no secret that the human body is like a natural machine. Isn’t it a wonder, how all the vital functions in the body gets regulated much like on an automated mode? The digestive system works to assimilate various types of foods we take, the respiration is going on, the brain heart, kidneys, lungs, intestines, liver, pancreas; and all the other tissues and organs-all, function in several ways and also in a well-coordinated manner. The level of automation in the human body is unmatched and marvellous.
However, like every machine, the human body machine also has its limitations. The human body not only requires an upkeep and maintenance but also rejuvenation, regularly. The most important thing to remember is that every human body also comes with an expiry date. In other words, our bodies are born on a day (our birthday!), we grow (with each year), head toward senility to finally die. In the time between the birthday and death day, the human body requires the right level of nutrition, care, exercise, rest and rejuvenation to keep functioning to the optimum level.
The root of chronic health issues in present times
The present world is highly fast-paced as compared to what it was three centuries ago. In these times, every person is susceptible to stress, high work pressure, low physical activity, and on top of that, we are not careful enough about our diets. It is not uncommon to find individuals that resort to junk food or fast food, which lacks the right nutrients and fibre. All this adds to malfunction in the body. The slyest enemy that has crept in our food system is chemical-laden products. Our food is laced with harmful chemicals like preservatives. Even food crops are sprayed with herbicides, pesticides and the chemical fertilisers for higher productivity. The worse is GMOs are entering the markets. The poison of chemical products will play its role wherever it finds space, especially when it gets absorbed by the crop whose products we consume. That is why the use of natural-based fertilizers and ecological pest resilience techniques of traditional agriculture are so important and can give a solution to chemical-based conventional food crop growth practices.
What’s on your table?
You might be taken aback that the sweet and innocent-looking white sugar and table salt on our dining tables have truly deleterious effects on human health. White sugar is attributed not only to weight gain, but many scientists are now revealing that sugar causes inflammation in the blood vessels of the body. This inflammation leads to constriction of vessels, excessive production and deposition of cholesterol leading to clotting in the blood vessels.
While margarine and butter were blamed for centuries for problems like hypertension and cardiovascular issues, the real culprit-white sugar in our kitchen cabinets remained elusive, and still, not many people know about this fact. Similarly, the chemically refined free-flowing table salt is laden with substances our bodies do not take lightly. These additives are no good for our body, which has to work extra hard to remove them from the system.
Natural salts like sea salt or rock salt are rich in minerals and ions that our bodies require for functioning well at the cellular level. No wonder, the natural salts have healing properties. As per Ayurveda, Himalayan rock salt or Sendhav namak is the healing agent for several types of diseases.
Our ancestors, a few centuries ago had a much stronger and robust physique and better immunity than what we have today.
An incredibly straightforward way to achieve health
Just by adopting a healthy lifestyle regimen can do wonders. Include activities like yogasana that stimulates all our vital organs; consume fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains, fibre-based foods like millets. Using desi ghee (especially from cow milk), organic cold-pressed oils (produced by traditional methods of oil extraction) like mustard oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, we can attain a state of health. Moreover, our diet should be properly cooked and includes all six tastes to be pleasant and have a wholesome nutritional level. Having a stress-free mind is a pre-requisite here (more on it later).
The body requires a well-rounded natural diet for its functioning. A correct posture and practice of appropriate physical exercise are equally important. This will naturally keep lifestyle ailments at bay.
