Our bodies are designed for movement and manual work, like a highly tuned car. Tragically, in the West the hard work habits of the past have disappeared in favour of high technology. In the past 50 years our lives have changed so much and so fast that it is difficult for us to keep up with how our bodies are being affected.
Why walk if you can ride in the comfort of a car? Why get up to change the TV channel if you can use the remote control? We have labour saving devices to do our housework.
We can talk to neighbours on the telephone. Shop on the net. Hey! You don’t even need to walk to the post box to post a letter — you can send an e-mail!
It is a fact of modern life that our bodies are not getting the exercise they used to get in the past. If we don’t use our bodies they go into decline — they get stiff — muscles waste. Food gives the body energy. If we don’t use that energy, we put on weight. Weight slows us down!
It almost seems as though all this high technology is designed just to keep us sitting on our bottoms, turning into couch potatoes. In the modern, high-tech world, we must accept that to keep our bodies supple, healthy and strong we must take exercise, and we must make time for it. Exercise must have a place in our lives. If we value our future good health, we have to find time for exercise. Exercise must be part of our daily routine. We keep our teeth healthy by routinely brushing them.
We keep our bodies healthy by routinely doing a little exercise. You can always make time for things that are important to you, and your health comes first!
So, you don’t feel like exercise? Fine, do it anyway!
Move! That! Body!
Food Watch
Vitamin Intake
Taking a good quality multivitamin is especially important in the Middle East, as many of the fruits and vegetables are well-travelled and have lost some of their vitamin content in the process. No matter how good you think your daily food intake is, take daily vitamins as well. You never know which nutrients you might be missing, and taking a multivitamin every day is easy and painless. Vitamins and minerals contribute to your long-term health and well being. In addition to a multivitamin, a calcium pill is also a good idea, especially if osteoporosis runs in your family.
Recipe of the Week
Prawn and Feta Pasta
Serves 2
Ingredients
Fry 1 small onion, finely chopped, and 1 crushed garlic clove in 1 tsp. olive oil until soft.
Add 1 small can chopped tomatoes with mixed peppers. Crumble in 60g Feta cheese, plus 60g prawns, drained, and stir until the cheese melts.
Cook 85g pasta shells (dried weight) for 10 minutes.
Drain well and add to the tomato mixture. Serve with large green salad; drizzle with 1-teaspoon fat-free dressing.
Weight Watch
Long-Term Health Should Be the Goal
Our society puts a lot of importance on the way we look. The upside of that is that more people than ever are working out and watching their diets. The number one reason for exercise and a healthy diet should be because you want to live a long life.
Ask Alva
I always read your column and I really like your health tips. I have a very slow metabolism and I am overweight. Is there any way that I can make my metabolism faster? Vivian Forouzan
Some specialists believe that our metabolism can slow down and change as a result of going on many diets, and especially when yo-yo dieting, as the body feels it is under siege. However, if you stick to a sensible nutritional diet, it will return to normal. The best way to boost your metabolism is to take regular exercise since exercise tones the body and increases muscle, which in turn burns more calories. The more you exercise and the fitter you are, the faster your metabolism. If you are beginning to exercise for the first time, don’t overdo it. My Mini-Morning Workout is an ideal starting point and you can obtain a free copy of the programme by emailing to [email protected]. Alva
For all your weight concerns and questions e-mail Alva Carpenter at:
Selected letters will be replied to in this column.