Diet or DIE-IT!

Within the last few decades there has been countless discussions, arguments and debates regarding the perfect dietary lifestyle to follow in order to achieve perfect health. Consequently, people around the globe have been flummoxed into pondering which diet plan to follow?what sort of foods to be taken? how regularly should one eat?

With the advent so these questions lingering around peoples minds, especially those people who are so inspired by the present 'size-zero' models or those who munch on crunchy chips in their body-tight track suites watching Aerobic workouts on televisions, the debates and arguments have yielded enormous types of diet-plans . Atkins-Diet plans, 1800-Calorie-A-Day diets, Low-Carb Diets and the list is endless.

I do not question the practicality or effectiveness of these diet-plans, since they have been engineered by professionals, however, I have seldom met anyone who has actually benefited by following any one of these diet regimes. The most prominent reason being that people are unable to regularly keep-up with these diet plans. Either they are too complex for a common man to comprehend and keep-up or they seem too harsh a punishment for one who is accustomed to enjoying the 'sweet' delicacies of life.

It is evident that dedication to any such diet-regime is a must but how can one deny himself the luscious pleasures of a hot, baked, cheesy pizza or even a mouth-watering, juicy, well-seasoned double beef burger with extra cheese dripping from the sides along with large freshly fried soft and tender French Fries and an Up-sized ice-cold Pepsi.

Other, and equally important, reason is that after, more-or-less, successfully trimming into shape, people switch back to their original dietary habits and gain more than what they had shedded off. And when they urge themselves to revert back to their diet-plan they are unable to. Annoyed and frustrated, they unleash the hungry beast inside them craving for those scrumptious meals they had been denying themselves. Consequently, people around them noticing the abrupt change often ask: "I thought you were trying to get into shape?" To which they confidently reply: "I am. The shape I've selected is a triangle!"

People usually question, "Should we cut down on eating meat and take more fruits?" Ever heard of Logistical-Efficiencies. Well, here is an example, What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Need to add green leafs in your diet? Beef is  a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable).

I always believe one should eat whatever he desires. Eating is a leisure that God has bestowed unto us and one should not deprive himself. However, there is this thing called 'balance'. A balance should be maintained in almost every aspect of your lifestyle, even eating. If you off-set that balance you are bound to title the equilibrium on either end and the further it tilts the harder it gets to put it back in place. Instead of following any particular diet-plan, it would be essential to make one yourself. You know what you need to eat and how much. One should Eat to Live not Live to Eat

Would you like to have a Broccoli or a Brownie?

Recently I visited Al-Noor Hospital to seek some medical attention for my elder brother’s wife when I happen to read through a poster on the wall comparing a Cup of hot steamy, green, cauliflower-ish Broccoli to a square piece of soft, creamy, chocolate dripping Brownie for their nutritive contents and advantages. As evident as it could be, 1 cup chopped Broccoli had minimum amount of calories and fat per serving when compared to a square piece of Chocolate brownie, with chocolate sauce dripping from its side. I have managed to gather some nutritive data from http://www.nutritiondata.com/ and duplicate the bar-graph depicting the calorie vs. fat.

The very end of the poster read in big red fonts “... HEALTH MATTERS MOST, YOU DECIDE?” Well looking at that poster it really did not leave much of a choice for anyone to decide over a Brownie or a Broccoli. After going through the poster i was set aback onto why anyone would chose Broccoli over Brownie. Yet, I feel that I should bring about justice to this dilemma and present analysis on Health and Taste for you to decide.

Health Wise:

One could find enormous data on the internet and even contemplate themselves the nutritive advantages and disadvantages of Broccoli over Brownie. Since out of my experience, it is relatively easy to comprehend graphical data rather than tabulated valves, I have opted to use graphical notation to help you better understand and make sound judgment. From one of the sources over the internet (http://www.nutritiondata.com/) detailing the nutrient content is as follows:

Brownie:

A brownie of the Nutritional Target Map is located on the lower left hand-side indicating less nutrients and less filling, that is one would need to eat more brownies to have their stomachs filled and even more to fulfill their daily nutrient intake.

A brownie on the Caloric Ratio Pyramid is located on the Top right side indicating High content of Fat, Carbohydrates and Less content of Proteins, that is small serving shall fulfill more than your requirements of carbs and Fats.

Broccoli:

Contrastingly, a broccoli on the Nutritional Target Map is located on the Top Left Corner indicating More Nutrients and More Filling that is small servings can make up a complete diet and fill your stomachs too.

On the Caloric Ratio Pyramid it is located on the lower right corner indicating More Carbohydrates and Less Fats and Proteins, you can have as much broccoli as you want without being worried of getting fat.

Well this analysis is self-conclusive that a Broccoli out weights the Brownie is all aspects of complete nutrition, diet and fullness!

Taste Wise

This definitely is the least talked about yet highly imperative criteria that governs the dietary habits of anyone. The Taste effect has not been analyzed in any circumstances yet! I have made an effort to take it out to survey the ‘Taste Effect’ and developed a few statistics based on that.

The survey is conducted on different groups of people based on ethnicity and ages (the number of people from each ethnicity and age group were kept constant as a control) were quizzed a simple Question “Broccoli or Brownie?” and the results charted below:

Ethnicity Test
Out of the lot that was surveyed (Pakistanis, Europeans and Indians) by far almost everyone opted for having a brownie instead of a Broccoli. And surprisingly, the percentage of Indians that wanted a brownie over Broccoli was more than any other ethnicity.

Age Test

The results were then sorted with respect to age and even though the likeness for Brownie was less as the age was higher the percentage ratio was still high for Brownie rather than a Broccoli.

Final Verdict:

It definitely is ones free will; or rather right, to chose a Broccoli over a Brownie, however as statistics reveal most people would prefer to have better tasting food than a more healthier one. Thus, a brownie submerged in dripping chocolate sauce would be more preferred than a soft boiled steamy vegetable like Broccoli.