Climate Change is very real and is already in action. It is our planet calling out for help. The message is clear, if we do not take any action right now to make sure that we have a slightest chance of survival then the time is now. Floods, Landslides and Wildfires are on the rise out of nowhere. Canada is suffering from a heat wave and Germany, China, India and few more countries are suffering from flash floods caused by cloud burst rains. These heavy rains are causing landslides which are disrupting the nearby civilization and many have already lost their lives while a few hundred are missing. This should definitely be a wakeup call for us and necessary actions must be taken in order to bring back the balance to life, because this is nature’s way of showing when the limits are crossed.
Recently, there’s an alarming rate of wild fires catching up in numerous places, and there are places which you would never imagine could catch a wild fire like the colder countries Norway and Siberia. Starting from Australia in 2020 to currently in Canada, Arizona, California, Oregon, Portland in the north and Amazon in the south of America, all in the same year 2021. Contrasting to this, countries in Europe mainly Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, and some Asian countries India, Turkey, China, Philippines, Oman, and the list goes on have been flash flooded by cloud bursts and heavy rains. This is something that has never happened before where one part of the world was burning and droughted and other part with severe flash floods.
Let us see where the problem is. China, India and the United States hold the top three spots for Co2 emission. Efforts must be made by these three countries in order for the rest of the world to follow. UN says emission must be cut by 40% by the following decade or temperatures could rise drastically which can be fatal. Currently the world is under a havoc and is in a state we have never seen before. There are flash floods in some regions and wildfires in other regions. Report from NOAA states that Wildfire activity amid extreme heat and drought has resulted in smoke blanketing much of the United States and Canada. As of July 14, 2021, 68 active large fires in 12 states have burned more than one million acres of land in the U.S. To date in 2021, more than 34,000 fires have burned more than two million acres. This is the most fires in the January to July time period since 2011. July is relatively early to see wildfire activity of this magnitude. NOAA satellites are monitoring the fires, their smoke output, and air quality effects from the smoke. The fires are injecting smoke 40,000 feet into the atmosphere and compromising air quality. New York was under a smoke blanket causing irritation and difficulty to breathe for the residents of NYC. The Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon is currently the nation’s largest active fire. This large, rapidly growing fire began on July 6 and had burned 212,377 acres as of July 14. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality advisory for south-central and north-eastern Oregon through July 16. InciWeb warned that the fire will continue to be extremely active, fuelled by extreme drought conditions, low humidity, and high temperatures. And speaking of the floods in Germany, the problems are more than just damage and destruction. It is now facing Waste Management crisis. July 23 Germany's most devastating floods in 60 years have created mountains of trash, from broken fridges to wrecked cars, piled up on roadsides and in makeshift dumps. Disposing of it could take weeks and local leaders have appealed for help. Amid the stench and fear of disease, the country that pioneered modern waste management is struggling to cope with the tens of thousands of tonnes of wreckage strewn across the towns and villages of its western Rhinelands after the heaviest 24-hour deluge on record. The flooding claimed at least 180 lives. A week on, much of the trash has been heaped into piles so that streets are passable or carted off to makeshift dumps. Then we see heat waves that occurred in British Columbia, Canada killed as much as 1 billion sea animals. This isn’t a small amount and we humans are to blame for the massacre of so many innocent lives. Lebanon is facing Water Crisis. Over 71% of people on the risk losing access to water. UNICEF says water supply system on the verge of collapse. This could skyrocket the prices of water by 200% according to experts. Greenland has lost 152 giga tonnes of ice in the year 2020, this has risen ocean water levels. It has never snowed in Madrid unless you count the ICE-AGE, but it did in 2021 January and not just ordinary snowfall but it snowed on a larger scale with heaps of snow accumulated. And if you don’t live in these regions then you might say why bother? Right? Well, you must because climate change affects you us on a personal level too.
Again, due to lack of awareness in people they believe that climate change only affects polar bears in the poles or animals in the forest or the marine creatures underwater. But no, it affects us on a personal level more than you think. There are so many things that is getting affected by climate change, to name a few. The size of the vegetables and fruits grow into or the flavour and colour of coffee or how long it takes for us to travel to the office depends on climate change. Due to rising temperatures coffee plants are dying and due to heat waves fishes, clamps, sea weed have died. Maharashtra, India in 2019 shared they had a decline in fish catches by 50%. Why do you ask? It’s because of the decline in Phytoplankton aka marine algae which the fishes feed on and hence the decrease in fishes. People after the Covid Pandemic are never more than ever precautious about their health. People have started going to the gyms more, buying all sorts of fancy gadgets to measure their health and consuming food that is labelled as “healthy”. But do these people realise that rising temperatures and climate change is affecting them. Dehydration, Hyperthermia, heatstroke and in extreme cases even death. Things you can do to help with the issue – 1. Do not buy cars: Avoid purchasing vehicles (exception are electric vehicles). Since electrical vehicles are expensive you might as well not buy it and make use of public transport or use online facilities like uber or even better just use a bicycle. Major benefits of using a bicycle – no gas fee, no parking fee, low maintenance cost and YOU STAY FIT!! 2. Take lesser flights: Do not take flights unless extremely important. Choose Skype or Facetime instead or travel by trains but try to decrease your flight trips as much as possible. 3. Upgrade your tech less: Do not upgrade your gadgets like laptops and mobile devices very often just because some minor improvements have been made because the resources used to manufacture chips is a huge blow to the environment. See if you can pull out a few more years on your older machine. Replace the batteries if necessary or shop second hand products which are cheap and still fairly new. 4. Choose the right leaders: Vote politicians based on their duties and actions they take towards the environment and climate change. This is actually the most important point to look at so definitely educate yourself and be more AWARE!! 5. Plant Trees: There is no surprise that trees absorb carbon dioxide Co2 from the atmosphere. We lose trees through forest fires and deforestation. Studies show that a small forest of 50-year-old oak trees can absorb as much as 15,000 kgs (30000 pounds) of Co2 per acre. But just planting trees alone won’t stop the problem, we must ensure to reduce the usage of things that emit greenhouse gases – Nitrous oxides, methane, Chloro-fluorocarbons, and Co2. 6. Investments: Invest in Renewable resource companies and businesses. Divest from those companies that have anything to do with coal and petroleum and other non-renewable sources. 7. Awareness: Be more aware about your surrounding and try to keep up with the current affairs of the world in the environment field. Try to make time and participate in the campaigns and protests that happen towards climate change. They try to educate people who do not understand climate change whilst keeping it fun, engaging and socialising hence you might meet new people with similar interests.
The problem here is awareness and priority. Climate change is still not a priority to more than half of the population in the world. The youth is busy with all sorts of distractions, be it Facebook, Instagram or video games. And the adults are busy quarrelling and debating on religion, politics, caste and race. While those are important topics to ponder upon, we still have a greater threat where all of us have to unite irrespective of their religion caste and race. But what about the government? They must stop corruption and minimalize the rate of crime involved with nature. For example – not giving sanctions to companies and businesses that harm nature or not assigning projects that destroy forests and rivers. I know it is a very difficult thing to do when businesses are using loop holes and manipulation techniques to bypass the laws. And that is why climate change must be looked at an individual level. Think about sustainable development and future while Asking questions to yourself – Do I want a future with my kids and grandkids or Am I living for myself ignoring to notice the CLIMATE CHANGE!!
How many of you look in the mirror and question yourself, Am I Healthy? Am I getting fat? But what you really mean is will the society accept me. That is the truth and deep down you know it. Did you know that Instagram has 140million posts with the tags #health and 176million posts with the tags #healthy. Pinterest now has a separate category for protein showcasing the obsession of health in people. I am all for being healthy, but what I am against is the flawed idea of health that social media teaches us. They say slim is healthy and being healthy is slim with low body fat percentages. We all can agree one the fact that this era is all about body insecurities and we humans have never been more insecure.
The global health industry has grown to such an extent that its worth 10 trillion dollars in 2021 and is only expected to keep growing. How could it possibly get to a stage where it represents 5.8 percent of the global economic output. Well, it did and there is no secret to it. Products ranging from fat burners, energy drinks and protein supplements to medicines that help you sleep well are targeted towards us. Using the art of deception and manipulation the so called “health companies” have only sold you more products than having the slightest concern for your health. They achieve this by tricking our minds to set a body goal that is unattainable through a natural lifestyle and that you will require their products to even imagine of having a sizzling body. Green tea is the highest selling wellness product and is often marketed as natural fat burners. This tea is considered to be the Elixir to health. As of 2020 the global green tea market value has reached 19.9 million dollars and is expected to grow even more in the coming years. The truth is green tea cannot help you lose weight. What it can do is improve your metabolism rate which fun fact any other tea can, be it black, blue, white, English, Oolong, Matcha, you name it. Speaking of antioxidants science says there are equal amounts present in both black and green tea. This does sound very racist to the tea does it not? Hence the question you would ask is should you drink green tea? The answer is simple, Sure, but do not count on it for losing weight as a simple regular black tea is just as effective whilst being cheaper. Here is what else you should not count on, Gluten free products. These products are a huge sham. Science says gluten is a mixture of proteins like Gliadin and glutelin and it is found in mostly all carbohydrates such as wheat, rice and barley. Gluten is not harmful for your health unless you suffer from Celiac Disease or have an intolerance to gluten. If we look at UK’s population, less than 5 percent have this problem yet 12 percent have gone gluten free. Celiac Disease affects roughly 1 percent of the American population yet 20 percent have gone gluten free. Is it helping them in weight loss? Are they getting any healthier? NO! If you want to lose weight, the answer is simple. Losing weight is a game of burning calories, you burn more than your maintenance amount you lose weight. You need to reach a calorie deficit which you can do by eating junk food or healthy food, for instance if your maintenance calorie is 2000 per day and you eat 1800 calories every day for a whole month, you end up losing weight. Similarly, you eat more calories than your maintenance, you bulk up or gain weight. There is no other secret mantra or magical drinks that is going to help you lose weight. Coming back to gluten free, it is taking away the much-needed carbs that helps in fueling your body throughout the day. Moreover, an average gluten free product is 242 percent more expensive than their variant that contains gluten. In 3 years, the global gluten free market is expected to touch 6.47Billion dollars and by 2027 it is projected to cross 43.65Billion dollars. This is not all, the milk cartons that you see labelled as Soya milk and Almond milk are booming right now. We are told that cow milk makes us fat. Instagram influencers and fitness bloggers are misdirecting you to buy these products. Do you not realize that it is they who tell us, the number of calories you consume matters and not where it comes from to lose weight. How could you not notice this? Do not worry, it is not your fault because these charming influencers wrap you in their charm and sell you anything they get sponsored for. What you can do is research before taking advice from them. Almond milk industry is only growing and is estimated to worth 13.3 billion dollars by 2025 and Soya milk industry is estimated at 23.2 billion dollars. Apparently, they are any healthier than cow milk. Science says that composition wise there is no proof that almond and soya milk is healthier than cow milk. When it comes to nutrition density and protein content cow milk wins the race. Clearly this is the healthier option. The only time you would want to purchase Soy or Almond milk cartons is if you are lactose intolerant or a Vegan. Another product that is booming is the protein powder and this is a very controversial one. Some people believe this is a must if you want to have an appealing physique. Youtubers say “go for it, it is worth the investment” and almost every youtuber is promoting a different brand or their own personal brand. But what you need to understand is that protein powder is a supplement. It is taken if you fail to reach the daily protein intake. For a woman its 46gms and for a man its 56gms of protein per day. You can reach this goal by eating eggs, chicken, soya chunks, milk, nuts, pulses and cereals. And even if you do not hit the required amount every day of the week, you will not be terminated or die. You need to understand one thing that professionals take the supplements to look like that and not everybody needs to look ripped. There is no need to spend a fortune on protein powder that is unless you want to contribute to its 5.28 billion dollars market. These brands will never show any risks involved in taking these supplements because even scientists have not found any evidence on its risks, they are too new. Do you know what else is popular? The brown alternatives of products such as brown rice, brown sugar, brown bread and so on. The difference between brown rice and white rice is negligible but cost wise the difference is hefty. There is more to so called “healthy products”, they are called Heathy Snacks. Air Fried, Cholesterol free, low Cal, Fat free, baked…the list goes on. None of these claims matter, ingredients do. Many low-fat snacks have added sugar to taste good. But companies tend to hide it under technical names, for instance MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) will be masked under E621, Carrageenan will be called E407. Sugar is the biggest factor in deciding your health. The so-called protein bars have all kinds of unhealthy sugars to make it taste good. Oh, and vegetable chips are as bad as the regular potato chips, so you might as well eat lays and not worry about your health. A product is allowed to label itself Trans-Fat Free if it adheres to the 0.5gm cap. Either the brands lack knowledge in math and English or they do not care about your health, what is most likely the case here? I will let you ponder upon it. This is just another case of false advertisement. Recently, there has been a rise in demand for vitamin water or “healthy water”. A bottle that not only comes with water but with added minerals. But technically it is just another form of sugar to keep you attached to the drink which is labelled to be water. Each of these bottles is said to contain 8 teaspoons of sugar. This all started when sugar industry hired scientists to conduct research and downplay sugar and devilize fat as the culprit. This was in the 1960s and since then the information is in our subconscious, hence why we believe fat is worse than sugar, but in reality, it’s a specific kind of fat that is bad and sugar is just bad in general. Coco Cola paid 30million to scientists to prove exercise was a more effective way to cut down weight than cutting down on food and drinks.
Finally, know this that nobody in this world cares about your health other than you. The health is in your hands and your hands alone. Before you listen to your idol bloggers and fitness gods, remember they make anything from $200 to 800$ per post. Do not be this Orthorexia person (a person who is obsessed with eating healthy) and not have the right and logical knowledge. Choose wisely on how you decide to stay fit and remember that #Feelinghealthy is a feeling and not appearance. Eat what you love but with the knowledge of what you are consuming. Because your food is what decides how healthy you are and exercise just elevates your process and lifestyle. If you aim to stay healthy and fit, here is what you need to know. Home food is healthy food. Home food is the only tried and tested superfood. You know what is going inside your meals. And if you want to lose weight, go on a calorie deficit. So now stop worrying and let your mommy cook your food. I will leave by saying, “Healthy does NOT mean starving yourself EVER. Healthy means eating the right food in the right amount”
The world produces enough food to feed every single human being. But in the same world 815 million people are suffering from hunger. Why is this the case? Food waste is a big reason. Statistics show that we waste nearly 1.6 billion tons of food every year which is worth $1.6 trillion. An American family spends $2000 on food that they do not consume, that is 40 percent of food that gets produces goes to waste in the US. There is waste at the farm, at the transit, at the supermarket, at restaurants and at homes. Experts believe if we reverse this trend, we could feed 2 billion people that are in need of food.
Food waste contributes to 8 percent of global emission. Did you know that reducing food waste can have a positive impact on climate change? Because when food is wasted so are the natural resources used to grow the food such as water, land and fertilizer. Apart from these natural resources there are more things that account for climate change due to food waste such as transport of food, storage of food, and food waste accumulation in general. Natural resources such as fresh water is required to grow crops and plants, for animal husbandry, poultry etc. and they account for 66 percent of fresh water usage. The next natural resource used to produce food is land. We cut millions of trees to create land for agricultural use which again requires burning of fossil fuels for the machines to operate and the cutting-down of trees release C02 into the atmosphere. Fertilizers are used to keep the pest away and we all know that they cause water, soil and air pollution. The next stage is transportation where fossil fuels are burnt to transport the food across the globe by land, air and water. Then comes the storage of food which requires heating or cooling of temperatures that again uses fossil fuels and energy. Then there is the last stage to food waste that is the food itself. After the food is rotten and decomposed, it releases methane into the atmosphere which is a part of the green house gases. Not only this but more fossil fuels are burnt to transport waste food from houses to pits. You might have realized by now that food waste is more than what you imagined. Next time you think of throwing a left-over muffin or donut or a fruit think about how it will affect the environment. Now that you know the problem, let’s talk about solutions. The main reason for food waste is buying excessive amount of food or buying more than required. You are not to blame completely for it, it is the work of the capitalist minded companies that want you to buy their goods irrespective of your needs. What can you do about it? Ignore the ads and posters that call you to buy their goods. Buy only what is needed for you and your family. This also helps keep the price of the goods to a minimum, because more the demand higher the price. Incase you do end up having excess food, you can offer it to the homeless or stray animals. If you cannot find the homeless or stray, then google “donate extra food near me” and you will get lot of organizations that take away extra food. They then donate to those in need. Some more effective methods to reduce food waste are using smaller refrigerators and eating in smaller plates. Because humans have a tendency to fill up the extra space available even though they might not need to. This can help you store only the right amount of food you need and would also notice the food that is available in your refrigerator and while eating your meals you most likely finish the food on your plate. Now all these steps were for the individual level. What about the grocery stores? They can relax cosmetic standards, mark down products, repurpose food within store, donate to nonprofit organizations, feed animals or compost and use it as bio energy for their stores.
The takeaway is that food waste must be thought about every single day and every single time you have a meal. Respect the food you eat and once you start respecting it you will not throw it away. If somebody asks for food, give them what you think is excess irrespective of its cost because you will most likely throw it away, so it is better to give it to somebody else. “There is food for everyone on this planet, but not everyone eats. “
Death is upon us. The death of glaciers and ice sheets melting into the sea. The death of forests, the death of reefs bleaching white in pain, and the death of people killed by storms, droughts, fires, austerity and the state. By putting all of this together, we can call it climate change. You might be wondering, why are we talking about climate change when the title is capitalism. Well, it is because of the developed countries choosing a liberal economy also called as capitalism, that we have reached this stage today. The stage where our generation is nearing its end.
So, what is capitalism? In simple terms, it is a free economy where private businesses can market their goods without any intervention from the government. Now this is good because companies will keep producing goods that are cheaper than their competition and more advanced. As consumers, we enjoy cheap and advanced products. All of the developed countries fall inside capitalist idea of development. All of this is great to the business companies because they are getting all the profits in the world and this is great for the consumers as well because they can happily use advanced products without having to pay a huge amount. If you notice closely, the charts of rise in green-house emissions, you can see that the beginning of capitalism and the rise of emissions and the rise of capitalism go together. But how has capitalism changed our environment? It has in the form on waste. What do you consider as a waste? Anything that is not of use to us is a waste. And that is what the companies are creating. They are creating useless products and marketing it as useful products. By playing with your minds with the help of advertisements, they make you believe that you must have their new jeans, their new smartphone, their new car etc. Now you might have a perfectly working smartphone, you might have a perfectly working car and you might have enough jeans for an entire week, yet the advertisements make you reconsider. This is just the start, and then they showcase their limited time offers and groundbreaking, earthshattering deals that only is there for a limited time. First, they catch your attention with a brand-new product and then they create a sense of fear that you are losing out or missing out on the latest and greatest using time frame. You are left with no option but to buy their products irrespective of the need. Hence it is not you to be blamed for having extra money, it is the capitalistic mindset of the companies that are trying to sell. It is their greed for profits, it is their ignorant behavior towards climate change and environmental concerns. Let us spread awareness to our family, friends, neighbors and fight this collectively. Because united, we can make it happen!
Finally, on an individual level, you can help the environment by not falling in the rat race for having the latest and greatest to seek attention and social status, and if you are stuck, then analyze yourself, seek help if you need, but do not buy goods for social status. Know one thing, these companies do not care about you. You might see them advertise – “We care”, “Customers are our first priority” and all other nicer things you would want to hear, but what they actually mean is “WE WANT YOUR MONEY”. You need to understand this. The only way to end capitalism is to boycott them and only buy what you need. Buying what you need actually puts you one step closer to having a slightest chance at survival and you are reducing your carbon footprint. This can become easier if you choose to live a minimal lifestyle. Remember that it is you who has the POWER, do not let these companies take it away from you.
March 2019 was a start to a global pandemic caused by a virus that took lives in millions, disrupted lives, increased mental health issues, increased unemployment and the poorer section of the society were affected the most in general. But this article is not about the death or the number of active cases nor about the struggling lives of the poor. It is about the environment and how covid – 19 has brought a “positive” change in the environment.
Let us see what the other side of covid-19 is. Climate change is something that is constantly spoken of since the early 1900s till date but only when natural disasters occur. Politicians make fake promises of taking action towards climate change. And now the recent most natural disaster is the covid-19 virus and it is all we can think about. While leaving the house, we used to check for wallet and keys, but now we check for wallet, keys, mask and a sanitizer. That is how much of an impact covid-19 has made. And because of the pandemic travel restrictions and working from home, the pollution levels in all fields have fallen drastically, be it water, land or air. It is like as if mother Earth took a deep breath of relief after such a long cycle of pain that never stopped. But this is not sustainable and China is already showcasing this. They were the first country to quickly comeback from the pandemic in rebuilding economy. When every other country had a reduction in pollution levels of as much as 14%, China was only at 1.5%. But these figures are a start to building up concern in people. They are finally seeing it that Climate change is real and it is already at the end stage. The covid-19 pandemic crisis was just the mere glimpse of what is yet to come, a bigger crisis of rising temperature and the consequences of it could be immeasurable. There is another huge challenge which the countries have to face post pandemic, that is how to deal with “getting back to normal syndrome”. Experts believe that there will be two kinds of people after the pandemic ends. There will be those that have already adjusted to the new norms and there will be those that will revert back to the pre-pandemic lifestyle. This could be problematic and this where the government must take necessary rules and guidelines to ensure every single citizen are on the same mindset. Let us look at this with an example, ask yourself about what is the first thing you would do after the pandemic is over. I’m certain that majority of you want to go on a world tour or just some tour and have fun, because the pandemic has shown us that life is short. This can be problematic if every single on of you have a similar mindset. This will increase the pollutions at two times the rate because now there are two times more people that feel the same way. People need to understand that everyone’s life had taken a hit and all of us are still suffering in some way or the other. But most importantly the environment has been suffering like this since the age of capitalism, which is not even close to what we are going through. Remember that without a stable and healthy mother Earth, its children will never be healthy. We are the children and it is our duty to take care of our mother. That is the least we can do, and we owe it to her. If you are not able to figure out on how to help mother Earth, do not worry. Start by googling “How can I help towards Climate Change”. Or follow some of these steps given below: 1. Buying second hand/used goods 2. Choosing travel destinations that can be reached with less flights or no flights 3. Choosing to travel on foot/bicycle 4. Choosing public transport over private vehicles 5. Choosing home stays and guest houses instead of resorts and 5-star hotels 6. Most importantly, Maintaining sanitation and hygiene By following the above steps while travelling can help the environment and help you in the long run. Let us use these points to see how it works. So, you have decided to travel and take amazing pictures and post it on social media and just have a great time alone or with family and friends. You decide to buy a camera and you go to a camera store or go onto Amazon to order yourself a brand-new camera. This is where you must stop yourself. Instead, check for used options which are maintained well, which are cheaper than brand new. Or see if your smartphone is enough, because these days phones have gotten so powerful and advanced. This point applies to all sorts of goods from cameras to laptops to clothing to accessories. The next point to keep in mind is to choose a destination that takes lesser flights or no flights at all. Flights alone contribute 7% to global emissions. So, explore your own country through trains and buses or fly to countries that require minimum flying. This not only helps you know more about your own country but also helps the environment. The next point is using your foot or a bicycle to travel. Lately, lot of new full-time travelers are choosing to travel on bikes or by hitch-hiking (which is basically to take drops from random strangers to reach a destination) This must all be too new for some that are starting out. But they believe that “it is the journey that makes it fun while travelling and not the destination”. But this type of travelling is not for everyone, certainly not for the elderly which brings my next point. Travel in public transport. They are cheaper, reliable and cover insurance (can vary from area to area). This can save you a lot of money and sometimes even time if you have already planned your trip. But there will always be some group of people who cannot travel by foot, bicycle nor public transport and the exceptional group of people such as physically challenged and elderly who cannot walk or climb stairs could benefit from private vehicles or tour plans organized by trip organizers. Next important thing to note is that we will require a stay at a certain location. Choosing to stay with locals is the best option as it will allow you to really get to know the culture of the place and eat the culture rich food which let’s be honest won’t be accurate in restaurants. And the downside in living inside hotels can become very expensive as you start visiting famous places due to the demand. Adding to this there are environmental pollutions that hotels make that is burning up electricity for fancy lightings, food waste, water wastage, Air pollution by all the air-conditioning and this happens on a huge scale, because hotels have more than 500 rooms. So, you can save the cluster and pollution by opting to stay in home stays or guest houses. The last thing you need to worry about is hygiene. After the current pandemic, I am certain most of you already have a hygienic routine, which is good. But try to take care of nature to. The basics such as not littering, using recyclable products, sanitation inside toilets, all these things that protect the environment must be followed.
The conclusion is to look at things from a positive perspective, but also be aware of the negative side. This mindset can help you grow in life and let your surroundings grow simultaneously. Coming to climate change, it is a crisis of an event, hence treat it like a crisis. Make it a priority and remember that you do not have to be an activist to fight against climate change, you only have to be a responsible citizen.
You say “Just one bite” and you end up eating the whole thing. It doesn’t just stop there, you most likely will feel like eating more. If you have noticed this sort of a behavior while having sweets, have you wondered why. Do you know why you feel so addicted to sugary sweet things? Do you know why they do not make you feel full even though you have eaten a whole pack of chocolate bar? But you feel full after eating just 2 big bananas.
Let us look at it mathematically, A pack of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Silk Chocolate Bar consists of 730 calories for the 120gm pack that costs about 148 Rupees, whereas a Big Banana consists of 100 calories and you can eat about 7 of them to match a Chocolate bar. And 1kg of Banana (7-8units) cost varies from 22 rupees to 35 rupees. We did the math and nobody in their right mind would think about eating 7 bananas at one go, unless you are a professional athlete and you are bulking. Yet we never consider about the 1 packet of chocolate bar, even though they are the same calories as that of 7 Bananas. What’s funny is both of them are sweet yet most people will pick up the chocolate bar instead of 7 Bananas. This is why we see millions of kids becoming overweight and obese every year. The chart is only rising and rising at an alarming rate, and there is no way to slow this down unless the parents make their children strong mentally. You might be wondering, what does food have to do with mental strength? Bitterly, it is all about the mental strength. Let us look at how Capitalism and Marketing is affecting you mentally. Let us say, a brand hired your favorite celebrity to “market” a product as a Brand Ambassador and even though the product is not good for your health, the brand will market it as “healthy”. The brand knows its unhealthy, your favorite celebrity who marketed it knows its unhealthy, but the victim is you. Without proper awareness and research, you believe in the ad and you consume it and it does not stop there. Two people watching you eat and reviewing it will start consuming it eventually, your family members and your friends. This is the power of marketing and how the brands are making millions. The more you spend on unhealthy products, the double and quadruple times you will have to later pay on hospital bills. #InvestmentGoals right? Let us look at the problem from a scientific perspective whilst keeping it simple. Sweetness or the sugar is nothing but Glucose. But there are 2 more elements that are present in glucose – sucrose and fructose. These are the only 3 things you need to consider while consuming anything that is sweet. Glucose and sucrose are the good side of sugar, that is all the fruits and vegetables. Also notice how they are rich in fiber. Even our Fiber consumption has gone down since the 1960s. And Fructose is the bad side of sugar and this is present in everything that is refined and processed. Why is it bad? It is bad because fructose is a hepatotoxin (alcohol without the buzz). And unlike glucose and sucrose that get converted to energy after consumption and is used by the entire body, fructose stores it in your stomach (fructose is not processed by the brain, hence making you feel hungry even after eating two packs of chips) resulting in a fat gut which is wobbly and soft which is also known as obesity. It builds up after every time you ingest fructose into your body. There is fructose in soft drinks, energy drinks, biscuits, cookies, chocolates, chips, jams and sauce and the list go on. Glucose and Sucrose are considered good because they have been there since the very beginning of the Earth. They are known to be digested easily after consumption. Whereas fructose has also been in fruits and vegetables, but at a very low percentage which had almost no impact on the health. This is why you must have heard from your parents or grandparents that the life was better before Ice-creams, biscuits and McDonalds. They were right, it indeed was. In the pre-sugar era, most parts of the world used dates, coconuts and sugarcane juices or solidified jaggery as sweeteners. After 1960, the Americans introduced sugar to the entire world and later fructose that was a cheaper alternative to sugar but sweeter and deadlier. Since then, the rise of obesity has only been climbing up. The worst problem to consuming sugary/fructose added products is the addiction stage. Once you consume it, you will want to come back to it and the cycle goes on and you might not even see it as a threat. The FDA (The Food and Drug Administration) duty is to keep checks on bad food and regulate rules but will not tell you about chronic threats, they will only keep a check on instant threats and hence cocaine is banned and fructose which is a slow killing poison still in use. But there are some countries that do keep a check like the Nordic countries have added huge taxations on fructose products encouraging people indirectly to buy healthier options. Scientists from the brands that sell sugary products often publish reports on how fat is bad for your health and provoke you in buying “FAT-FREE” or “LOW-FAT” products. These scientists never showcase how bad fructose is even though they know it, and they also know that without the use of fructose their products will not taste good and nobody would come back to purchase them. They use fat as the devil and hide fructose under it. Whereas we all know there are two sides of fat, the good and the bad. Yet people till date think twice before buying milk, the regular or the low-fat milk. The cream which is the fat in milk is so essential, having plenty of nutrients but people still believe drinking low-fat milk will keep them fit and skinny. This is what happens to people with low awareness or half information about nutrition, because false knowledge and half truth is more dangerous than ignorance. Let us come to solutions now. What can we do? It is simple, buy products that do not have fructose in it. What are those products? Everything that is not processed or packed inside a tin. Cook your own meals because home food is the true Super Food and nothing even comes close to being as healthy as home food. This way you can eliminate all the fructose products while cooking, for example – jams and sauce and taste makers and white refined sugar, cheap quality honey and ready-made noodles, cup noodles and pastas, canned foods, milk shakes, bakery foods and the list goes on but you get the idea. High intake of these products on a regular basis can lead to the damage in kidney and liver developing metabolism syndrome, hepatomegaly (enlarged liver), type-2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, inflammation, hepatic insulin resistance, obesity. What to consume then? Everything that is grown fresh, raw and has fiber in it, for example – green leafy veggies, all fruits, jaggery(brown) coconut sugar, dates sugar, using any of these as sweeteners will not be fatal. Increasing fiber and protein intake will boost your metabolism and this is the key to burning fat.
The takeaway is that, the next time you worry about losing weight or not being able to cut down on fat percentage even though you workout everyday, know this that a calorie is not a calorie and fructose is not glucose. Because you could be eating 1000 calories worth of fructose products hence the no result. For instance, if your maintenance calorie amount is 2000 calories a day and you consume exactly 2000 calories, you will have the same weight but not the same fat percentage. You will look more bloated and put on more fat as you store more and more fructose in your body. So, go through your kitchen and analyze the fructose added products, eliminate sugar completely and alternate it with sweeteners such as jaggery(brown) which is as sweet as sugar but has more nutrients and costs almost the same. The next best alternative is honey and Coconut sugar and Dates sugar but they can be expensive. If you truly want to live a healthy, fit lifestyle then practicing fancy diets like keto diet, low-carb diet, low-fat diet will not work. They are all marketing gimmicks and that is the reason their products are so expensive and also the reason why the health industry is booming. The simple logical explanation given by science itself is to consume all the nutrients (carbs, proteins, fats, multi-vitamins, iron, zinc, calcium). You can higher or lower the consumption according to your body’s need and deficiency but consuming all the nutrients is the key to Healthy Lifestyle.