Health - Our Green Health

Why is Eating Healthy Important and Where to Start?

12/04/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

Why is eating healthy important? In these days of confinement this question gets far more attention. That is because to sit at home all day comes with the imminent risk of over-eating and under-exercising.

It takes quite some self-discipline to eat healthily and to stay in motion when locked up inside four walls.

But what is ‘to eat healthy’? Does this mean that we have to eat healthy foods and drinks? Most dietary professionals also suggest certain food consumption behaviors. For example, we need:

The Quality of Food Determines Life Expectancy

14/09/202105/04/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

The quality of food determines life expectancy. However, the quality of food can as well be a savior as a menace. This is best understood in the contribution of food to the rise, and the subsequent standstill, of life expectancy during the past century and a half.

Average life expectancy almost doubled. This great achievement I have always attributed to the presence of clean water and better health care. This is only true to some extent. The rise in life expectancy must be mainly attributed to the mechanization of food production in the US.

There are Many Ideal Protein Alternatives for Cow’s Milk

31/03/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

There are many ideal protein alternatives for cow’s milk. When we were young we drank three glasses of cow’s milk a day. And we ate a lot of cheese and yogurt.

Dairy products were considered extremely healthy. Of course, what we ate and drank when we were young brought us where we are now. Nevertheless dairy has lost much of its appeal.

Over the years, many myths about cow’s milk have been dismantled. The ‘wrongs’ of cow’s milk are diverse. Cow’s milk can cause nasty respiratory and digestive problems. And why should you bother to drink cow’s milk when there are so many ideal protein alternatives.

To Dream is Mandatory for our Mental and Physical Health

06/01/202229/03/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

The absence of dreams will most certainly lead to an unstable mental state, to dream is mandatory. And as dreaming is a way to process our days it can reduce stress and hence have a positive influence on our physical health.

You have to dream several times a night. On average, dreams will last 20 minutes. This is more or less the same for everyone who is healthy.

However, no matter how mandatory dreams are, they remain lies.

How to Sleep Better and Faster when you’re Aging

06/01/202224/03/2021 by Hannie Mommers

For years I browsed the internet and read books about how to sleep better and faster. Although I am still not the gold medal winner of sleepers, my sleep did improve. And now that I am aging I am more and more convinced it is very important to sleep deep and long enough.

One of the fears of a lot of aging people is to get dementia. It sure is one of my fears. My father, grandmother and an aunt had Alzheimer’s.

One of the reasons people can get it is through sleep deprivation. My father has been in shift work for years. Of course, nobody knows if this was the cause why he got the disease. Yet, it is mentioned in the list of risk factors.

What are 7 Healthy Eating Habits when You want to Be Active?

06/01/202218/03/2021 by Hannie Mommers

Healthy eating habits? In the Netherlands, when we were children, we ate 2 sandwiches with chocolate sprinkles or peanut butter for breakfast. The same for lunch. And at the end of the day between 5 and 6 pm the warm meal: potatoes, meat, and vegetables.

The same every day.

Later, when Tom and I had our son and wanted to be a healthy family, we changed some of these habits. Only fruits for breakfast, sandwiches with cheese for lunch, and more variation for the evening meals, alternating the usual Dutch food with rice, pasta, salads, and such. Changing the time to a hipper 7 to 8 pm.

How to Lose Weight without Hunger in a Practical Way

12/08/202103/03/2021 by Hannie Mommers

The problem with many diets is the feeling of hunger. This gives you the idea that you are punishing yourself and you run the risk of snacking in between. Comfort food.

If you want to lose weight, it is important to find a solution that is permanent. So how to lose weight without hunger is an important part of that solution.

Losing weight doesn’t necessarily have to be about eating. There are other ways too, such as exercising or simply walking every day.

What is Sustainability in Food and How Can we Achieve it?

24/01/202228/01/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

What is sustainability in food and how can we achieve it, is the central question I addressed in my previous 2 articles. In this article, I will explain why governments, the agrifood industry, supermarkets, and scientists, do a lousy job when it comes to the citizen’s sustainability agenda.

In my first article, of this series of 3, I argued that we don’t really suffer from food anxiety depression.

In my second article, I stated that in general, we consider our food to be safe.