Living Life: To Eat Flesh or Plant?

Life is such a sucker at throwing surprises. Some people spend their whole lives trying to run away from who they are only to realize when it’s too late – think of people who bleach their skins to look lighter, those try to ‘maintain standards’ that they really cannot understand. Others never get the opportunity to discover that they are running away from themselves. Men especially in the pursuit of affluence fall to the temptations of flesh – in this case, the desire to eat products of flesh – meat, eggs, milk and the like. .More especially in Africa where traditionally, leaves and fruits were treasured and meat eaten in good moderation, where culture dictated what men ate and could not eat, in these days where socio-cultural class is largely dictated by money, people are eager to copy ‘western lifestyles’ to show ‘class.’ Rwandans and Africans who have come in the way of some wealth now spend their leisure time indulging in meats – roasted pork and nyama choma, not to mention goat, and the like. We shun the vegetables, we do not like to eat the fruit, and we despise the roots. When one closely watches western eating habits, we see that poor people eat the fatty burgers while poorer people go for the range of fruits, vegetables and meats. In the range of coloured fruits and vegetables, is the protection against almost every known disease known; while in the meats are today’s most dreaded lifestyle diseases – the cancers, diabetes, hypertension and the like. We shun the good protein sources like the white meat in fish and the plant protein in bean, peas, edible mushrooms and the like. In the battle of living life, the advantages of plant food far outweigh those of the animal products. No wonder research shows that vegetarians live longer on average compared to non-vegetarians. However, the key is providing a careful balance, otherwise known as the famous balanced diet. Nobody can argue about the richness of milk, meat, eggs, but too much of it becomes detrimental. It reminds me of that biology lesson in primary school that eating more than two eggs in a day is a waste, just as eating fruit after a full meal is a waste. The challenge is to achieve a healthy, balanced and affordable nutrition. I wish you a nutritious meal this Sunday! kelviod@yahoo.com