June 2024
Today, I want to share with you the profound importance of a balanced diet and why it’s truly essential.
During a recent discussion Sabina, our new trainer, asked what nutrition really meant, and a silence fell upon our group. None of us was truly familiar with the concept. However, through our collective conversation, we came to understand that nutrition is about providing our bodies with a balanced diet—a combination of foods that are crucial for our well-being.
For us, a balanced meal means incorporating vegetables, fruits, rice, corn, milk, and ghee from our own village. These are not just ingredients; they are the essence of health and vitality.
Our bodies require three types of food to thrive:
- Strength-giving foods: Foods rich in carbohydrates like rice, corn, wheat, barley, millet, and sources of healthy fats such as ghee and oils provide the energy our bodies need.
- Bodybuilding foods: Proteins from pulses, chickpeas, soybeans, and essential nutrients found in milk, curd, fish, meat, mushrooms and eggs are vital for our physical growth and development.
- Protective and disease-preventing foods: Vitamins and minerals from greens, cucumbers, carrots, nuts, oranges, and other fruits and vegetables strengthen our immune systems and shield us from illnesses.
Lack of awareness about balanced nutrition can lead to wastage of the food we grow and unnecessary expenditure on market-bought food. By blending homegrown and locally sourced products, we have not only saved money but also brought happiness to our family.
When our trainer pointed out in our meeting, that limiting salt intake to no more than 5 grams a day could help reduce high blood pressure, I immediately implemented this at home. Today, my husband passionately encourages everyone to embrace the practice of using what’s available in our kitchen garden and to cultivate vegetables suited to each season in their own small gardens.
Hello Readers,
My name is Sabina Achami. I have been part of the WAWCAS Program for two years now. Taking over this blog from Nar Bahadur has been a privilege for me, and I am excited to share the inspiring stories of hardworking women like Saraswoti Sarki with all of you.
Thank you for reading and joining me on this journey.