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Research has demonstrated that more and more people in the West are falling to man-made illnesses each year brought about by unhealthy diets, negative mindsets, and bad habits. It may appear that the Chinese have been able to gather a greater respect and better understanding of the human body that allows them to live not only healthier but longer lives as well. The following is a list of why this is so:
1. The Chinese consider food as medicine and use them as such. They would rather eat the right foods than take toxin- loaded medications to cure their ailments. For instance, the Chinese eat garlic as a way to neutralize the effect of toxins in their body and chillies to aid digestion and treat colds.
2. The Chinese do not view food as an enemy unlike in Western countries where women starve themselves to death in order to attain the thin emaciated look of highly paid but sickly looking supermodels. The Chinese use food not as a means to gain unwanted weight but as a way to nourish themselves.
3. While the West has exercise, which is shunned by many like a plague and is seen as a sweat-fest, the Chinese practice tai chi, a very gentle activity that is in tune with the natural tendencies and rhythm of the body. Tai chi’s gentle and slow movements make it an activity that practically anyone can do at anytime and anyplace. The easy slow easy pace helps declutter the mind and uplifts the spirit. Maintaining natural body-mind balance is emphasized rather than in correcting the damage done by over eating.
4. The Chinese have Green Tea that can help eliminate free radicals known to damage and age the cells and cause cancer.
5. The standard American diet tends to be very dry and the liquids being ingested are mainly alcohol or carbonated drinks that accompany a meal. The Chinese always accompany their meal with a soup based dish that’s loaded with nutrients and also fills the stomach before the meal which can help prevent over eating.
6. The Chinese eat until they are comfortably full and satiated. People in the West tend to eat too little or too much. When a person’s personal goals are not based on satisfaction, need, and health he may find himself changing and chopping with the whims of the diet industry whose sole purpose obviously isn’t for the benefit of our health.
7. Compared to our genetically modified and processed foods that are bereft of nutrients and cause health problems later, the foods eaten by the Chinese are a lot fresher when they arrive on the table. As a result, they get the full dose of goodness from their meal.
8. In a typical Chinese diet, vegetables play a more prominent role than meat (protein) and carbs (rice, potatoes, etc.). Vegetables are considered meals in their own right.
9. The word calorie has no equivalent word or meaning in the Chinese language.
10. Compared to people in the West, the Chinese are generally fitter and slimmer although they are known to actually take in more calories from their meals than people in the West do in their diets. Also the Chinese were generally not necessarily more active than the people in the West. This is because the foods the Chinese eat are packed with more nutrients and calories compared to the empty calories people in the West regularly eat. Hence, there was never an issue about weight and general health was better.