My love-hate relationship with food

My first bite of cronuts that my sister-in-law Missy gave to me was heavenly. The melt-in-your-mouth chocolate in between the flaky layers of the croissant reminded me of Ferrero Rochero. I didn’t even care to know what was inside it, though it felt that a bite might have been too much for me. OK, so that’s the logical side of me talking. But really? I want more! If my will power fails me, and more often it does, I just go for it. 

If Superman’s weakness is the kryptonite, my defenses are down when it comes to food, especially breakfast. When my co-hosts in Umagang Kay Ganda tease me about my appetite, they are speaking from experience. I like stealing pieces of ulam before it is set on the dining table. I do the taste test. 

There’s no debate that I love food, both the good and bad stuff about it. And that’s where the dilemma comes in. 

I grew up in a family that does not care about the nutritional value of food, eating the typical adobo, sinigang, fried pork chop, etc. We even had a regular supply of chocolate in our refrigerator, which my kuyas, my Papa Nick and I would equally divide amongst ourselves. I attended school where I could easily buy a bar of Twix caramel chocolate during break time, and my favorite recess snack was lasagna or baked macaroni.

My palate is ordering me that anything out there is free for the taking. No flashing red sign — no warning of the health risks. It’s green and go. Alleluia, a feast for my craving stomach! 

However, because of information that is readily available, and because of the privilege of hosting Salamat Dok, I have become more aware of lifestyle diseases and their relation to our food choices.

Cardiologist and health advocate Dr. Tony Leachon provided me with some data that should get us thinking twice about the stuff that we put into our mouths:

A 2011 data released by the National Statistical Coordination Board reveals that 27 percent of Filipinos are overweight in the year 2008 — a 17-percent increase since 1993. There is an increasing problem of overweight and obesity among children. Among children with ages five to 10, seven percent are overweight and 5.2 percent are obese.  

There are 10 million diabetics, and 25 percent are hypertensive due to salt intake among Filipinos. Lifestyle diseases are killing three out of five Filipinos a year, 300,000 lives a year, 800 a day! 

Much of it is due to the kind of food that we eat and drink, plus our lack of physical activity. 

It’s no wonder that the number of diabetics is increasing with six out of 10 adults drinking sugary beverages per day. Our high fat diet is also high in calorie.

Hypertension, diabetes and obesity are prevalent in my family, among my friends and in my workplace. I am a hundred percent sure that the person reading this knows of someone suffering from a lifestyle disease. It has become quite common that it has lost its shock value. Hypertension is taken for granted until we hear of someone who suffered a stroke. Diabetes is pushed to its limits until the complications, renal failure and dialysis happen.

Obesity is taken as an aesthetic issue that has to be dealt with liposuction and other radio frequency devices, or fad diets! 

I know all these things, I’ve witnessed it, and yet, why am I feeding myself and my family all that junk?! (It’s echoing in my head.) 

“We have to start good habits to get rid of bad habits,” Steph, my trainer, told me about exercising. It’s hard to get started with exercise, even more difficult to be consistent with it. And perhaps, our eating habits, the consumption of junk food, need to be unlearned. This requires effort, and we have to be deliberate and mindful of our food choices. A medical website forwarded to me by Dr. Tony says:  â€œHabit is one of the most powerful predictors of eating behavior. When behavior is habitual, people require little information to make decisions, intentions are poor predictors of behavior and behavior is triggered by situational cues.”

Even if we want to eat healthy, it does not happen because of our old habits. 

My alibi for buying junk food — burgers, pizzas, etc. — is its accessibility. But we can try to be more mindful. 

So, I opt for the lutong bahay over fastfood, but little did I realize that even my carinderia food is unhealthy, when I tried cooking it myself. I tried cooking with little patis and a little more, and then a little more, until it tasted the way my tastebuds were accustomed to. The few tablespoons of patis became too much for my healthy standards. 

Yes, I didn’t know this and sorry if I sound like someone from outer space when it comes to cooking. Clueless me. Until you cook the food yourself then you would not know how much salt or oil is in your food! So, I thought, vegetable was healthy. Stir-fry it? I don’t think so. But I will keep on trying. 

Some like to argue, that if we’re too picky or conscious about eating healthy, then you will not be able to eat anything because everything around us is either genetically modified, processed or has mercury content. You may not die of the effects of chemicals on food, but you will die of starvation! 

I’m not hardcore when it comes to eating, meaning, I can’t do raw food or go vegetarian — yet. My aspiration is merely to have less salt, sugar and oil in my diet, and more of vegetables and fruits, which is my next goal in living healthier. I believe that healthy need not sound boring. This means, I may have to learn how to cook. (I could use some divine intervention for this!)  

For a balanced meal, Dr. Tony advocates the healthy food plate. Half of your plate should be a serving of veggies, one-fourth is carbs and one-fourth is protein. Healthy eating begins at home. Good luck to all of us. In the meantime, there are very few restaurants that I know that offer healthier, low-salt options. Accessibility-wise, I’m thankful because Café Espresso in ABS-CBN offers healthier meals and serves brown rice, too. Pancake House, with all the comfort food in its menu, also has a healthy option. I love the resto’s salmon and brown rice. It also has steamed salmon. Yummy. I love its pan chicken, but it also serves grilled chicken with all sorts of spices as an option. Kudos to Kenny Rogers for its healthier menu. Bizu provides options for egg white and wheat bread focaccia. Do help me add more healthy restaurants to my list. I hope big fastfood chains will someday follow suit.   

So, we know that inaccessibility to good food is one of the culprits of unhealthy eating. Do not make matters worse by filling your pantry with junk food. Of course, all your will power could fail you! To break the habit of eating unhealthy, encourage your friends to also get into the habit. As for counting calories, I find it such a tedious process. We must not deprive ourselves, but take everything in moderation — less sugar, less salt and less fat. Let the natural flavors of the ingredients come out. Savor every bite. When we eat, let it be about quality not quantity. 

Ah, thinking of food already makes my mouth water. Eating is a pleasurable experience, and it should stay that way, minus the guilt.  

(E-mail me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @bernadette_ABS.)