Right living is essential for achieving a long and healthy life. Irresponsible living is the breeding ground of diseases, pain and suffering. It burns out the highly sensitive organs. Yoga is always fruitful in keeping the body healthy and pollution free. The inner body has been created in such a way that it equips it for survival under unfriendly and difficult circumstances. If we treat our body carelessly and roughly we would weaken it on one hand and the mind will degenerate on the other.
Food and diet is important. It’s our basic need. It must be balanced both in quality and quantity. One must eat everything, but not daily, and never too much. A bit of many things will be sufficient. The things that grow in a particular season only should be taken to make one’s diet balanced. That is what the people say, advise; and that is what people don’t follow. Food must be taken only when the first intake has already been chewed. In general condition food is digested in about four hours. One should not keep ones stomach empty. Something must be eaten after every six hours. Only such things should be eaten which can be digested. Undigested food weakens the body.
What is food chain in general terms is the food web in its real form. It seems to be a very simple system but in fact it’s very complicated. It’s not easy to know which living organism depends on whom for food; because each living being depends on more than one thing, object, organism for its food; and because the leftover of one being is the food for another; and his leftover for yet another; and so on. That is what makes it complicated.
Food chain or web can be treated as eternal food exchange among a series of living organisms. They are all associated in a feeding relationship; or even dependent on each other for food and thus for survival. The most wonderful thing is that one organism feeds on the other just below it in the chain of numerous food-material and innumerous organisms.
Most commonly the green plants are in the middle to balance each other. They feed on dead organisms and decomposed things; and almost all living beings: man, animals, birds, insects, and pests; depend directly or indirectly on them. Plants and plant products are eaten by herbivores; which are in turn consumed by carnivores.
Many parasitic organisms and plant parasites are also part of the chain; and different food chains are interconnected to form a food web. Other food chains are based on decomposers: organisms that feed on dead organic remains of plants and animals.
We are destroying the food chain in an indiscreet manner. We are throwing the garbage in drains which deprives the animals from their much needed food. When in the drain the cereals and other things decompose they give bad smell and give birth to germs for the growth of diseases. In that process we stop the flow of the drain. There are some simple questions; civic sense may follow the question. Are we human beings? Are we intelligent? Have we wisdom? Should we survive?
In the food web some ‘beings’ eat their off-spring; snakes for example; and some off-springs feed on their mothers; crabs for example. Are we not like crabs and snakes?
The treatment of food to prevent its deterioration and to maintain its quality and nutritional value is called food preservation; and the process through which it’s preserved is called food processing.
Breakdown of food tissues is caused by enzymes, either contained within the food or produced by micro-organisms such as bacteria, yeasts and fungus which grow in the food. These organisms also produce unpleasant and sometimes harmful substances. Oxidation and dehydration contribute to spoil food. So, food preservation is needed.
The principle of food preservation is to alter the condition of food so that the activities of micro-organisms are stopped. One of the oldest methods is drying or dehydration used for meat, vegetables, cereals, milk-products etc. Freezing is now widely used for both industrial and domestic food preservation. Heating kills micro-organisms and is the principle of pasteurization, sterilization etc. Further growth of micro-organisms is prevented if food is sealed in airtight containers, such as cans (canning) or bottles (bottling). A wide range of chemicals is added to food to inhibit microbial activity but this process is very dangerous, as all the norms are hardly maintained and the chemicals turn poisonous. Smoking has also been used to preserve meat and fish. Sodium benzoate, propionates, nitrates, nitrites, sulphur dioxide and sulphites are used by modern food industries that enhance colour and texture to food. This makes the pulp of the fruits and vegetables tasteless and unhealthy; even poisonous.
Food poisoning is an acute illness arising out of eating contaminated food. Vomiting and diarrhea are the usual symptoms. Salmonella is the bacterium that most commonly causes food poisoning which is known as salmonellosis. The symptoms begin between 12 to 24 hours after eating the contaminated food. Another kind of food poisoning is due to a toxin (poison) produced by staphylococci. The symptoms occur within one to three hours after taking the contaminated food. Clostridium bacteria may also cause food poisoning. The most severe form is known as botulism. It’s a rare and serious form of food poisoning from the food containing toxin produced by the bacterium clostridium botulinum. The toxin affects the cardiac and respiratory centres of the brain, and results in death by lung or heart failure.
Physical labour is the most essential requirement for good health and strength. Muscles and bones will not grow strong; breathing will not be regulated; blood will not be purified; strain will not be tolerated and hands and legs will not get powerful without physical labour. One must indulge for four hours (may be two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening) in such works in which sweat start flowing. There is no question of ego or wealth, it’s the need. After looking at own or others’ de-shaped body one must opt for physical labour. Gyms will not do for usually gyms are indoor activities while outdoor activities are needed.
