The Optimise Health Blog

 Here in the UK many still practise the Christian tradition of Lent: the discipline of giving something up to consider living simply, frequently a food item and for health benefit. The idea is to mimic the 40 day fast undertaken by Jesus in the wilderness, when he was tested by the devil and tempted to prove he was ready to start his mission. In England we start by making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday - to use up the sweet stuff in the larder so we are not tempted to eat it again for the duration of lent and to fuel the fast. Today the focus may be more about the challenge of reining in appetite or curbing bad habits like smoking or eating treats to excess and less about Christs' 40 days and nights in the desert being stalked by satan. Interestingly most ancient traditions held in them the concept of feasts: I.E. celebrating a particular event or time of year with a party and food. This meant eating special luxuries or taking pleasure in rarer foods or harvest time...

Much of the current obesity epidemic is due to convenience and priority decisions based on lack of time. Over the decades we have spent a greater percentage of our day time at work, often using time saving short cuts when we come to cook dinner by using pre-prepared foods or just eating out. Many processed foods or pre-prepared items contain much higher levels of salt, fat and sugar than would normally be in food we cook from scratch ourselves. Snacks are a good example of this, taking crisps as the main culprit, which often contain a significant supply of your RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of salt and fat in one small packet. Cooking sauces are another source of excess salt and fat. Processed foods like pizza, pies, ready meals are just a few on the list to reduce in your diet if you want to keep a healthy weight and reduce risks of cardiovascular disease. These time saving devices may ultimately shorten your life so in the end you really havent saved time, merely con...