A healthy diet is the guarantor of prosperous life. Creating awareness about appropriate diet among masses, which varies from person to person, is direly needed these days, said Wasim Akram, former captain of Pakistani cricket team and brand ambassador for Changing Diabetes in Pakistan, on Monday.
He was speaking at Fit4Health awareness campaign ceremony. The campaign was launched by Alliance for Diabetes and Liver Diseases (ADLD).
Wasim Akram said the more eating more is not an art all but to eat right food is actual art. “Right diet means which is suitable for his or her body”, he explained adding that while eating any food we should must keep in mind amount of calories, nutrition, fats, protein and other ingredients for instance, he added, there is 25 calories in one ‘Gulabjaman’ while majority of us are not know about this.
The event was attended by large number of audience including Principals and faculty Members of different private and government schools of twin cites. They were briefed about the importance of inculcating the concept of healthy living among school children from young age.
Wasim Akram suggested that instead of facing any kind disease you should evaluate diets carefully to find one that’s right for you. “Do so not tomorrow but today”, he said.
Besides this, he maintained, the usage of diets that eliminate fat or carbs or those that tout super foods is also equally necessary.
The former cricketer said that doctor’s advice in devising diet plan is also necessary. “And you can discuss with doctor how to exercise safely, especially if you have physical or medical challenges, or pain with daily tasks”, he suggested, adding that if you consider your preferences, lifestyle and weight-loss goals, you’ll likely find a plan you can tailor to your needs.
He said that skip a fad diet for the next few months and you should concentrate on filling your body with healthy food as a way of life. “Not only will eating these healthy foods aid in weight loss, but they will improve your overall health and wellbeing,” he added.
While highlighting the benefits of some fresh fruit, Wasim Akaram said that lemon is a very small item “This is very simple but versatile fruit. It goes way beyond anything you could imagine as far as a super food because it is a therapeutic citrus. One lemon has around 100 percent of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C”, he recalled adding that this fruit is an anti-inflammatory and cleanses the system from bad toxins in the body.
“If you drink a glass of warm lemon water each morning, you are setting your body up for a healthy digestive system and helping your immune system. It also works as a blood purifier. Lemons are positively full to the brim with calcium, potassium, pectin fiber, and other nutrients. Besides, one glass of juice has less than 25 calories”, he said.
Addressing the event, Chairperson ADLD, Prof. Dr Saleem Qureshi said, diabetes is a situation that needs to be addressed urgently as it poses a great burden on the economy of Pakistan. “An initiative like Fit4Health which focuses towards creating awareness among the youth, is certainly a step in the right direction”, he said.
The co-chair ADLD, Dr Musarrat Iqbal said that the objective of this collective initiative is to create awareness among students about adopting a healthy lifestyle from an early age to address the increasing trend of diabetes & obesity. Lifestyle modification, physical activity and healthy diet can delay or prevent onset of type 2 diabetes. We are already a little late”, she said.Fit4Health is running in collaboration with Novo Nordisk Pharma (Pvt) Ltd and endorsed by the Ministry of National Health Services Regulation and Coordination. Rashed Rafique Butt, Vice President and General Manager of Novo Nordisk Pharma (Pvt) Ltd was also present the event along with the Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan, Mr Rolf M. Holmboe.
