Sunny Health

Chinese New Year is a big party for the foodies. Regardless of age group, interests and belief, it is hard to dispute the fact that one of the highlights of this traditional festive event is food. Even for those who are supposed to be dieting or monitoring their health, it is difficult to resist delectable offers of discounted reunion dinner buffets and traditional sweet treats sold by the tub just about everywhere in Singapore.

Understandably, it’s just not like Chinese New Year without the food.

However, before you use that as an excuse, bear in mind the nutritional contents of these delicious but fatty foods.

Tan Tock Seng Hospital published a list of popular CNYgoodies and their contents:

If these figures don’t make much sense, compare their amount of calories to what’s consumed in a regular bowl of white rice, which is about 200kcal. One bak kwa encompasses about the bulk of a regular meal, with possibly more sugar!

That’s not to say you should abstain from it, but you should eat within your regular limits. For example, just have five pineapple tarts instead of polishing off half a tub in a day.

“But that’s too little! You could barely taste it,” you say.

Recently, I read an insightful story that was published in Shui Yue, a magazine by the Sagaramudra Buddhist Society.

The gist of the story is as follows - A monk asked his disciples to choose a grape each from a bunch of grapes. When they’d each picked a grape, he asked them to take five minutes to each eat a grape. Well, who takes five minutes to eat a grape? Most of us can finish at least five grapes in five minutes! The disciples bemoaned the difficulty of the task; some wish they’d picked a bigger grape. Nonetheless, they tried, and they discovered that as they nibbled slowly, the grape tasted sweeter than ever because they had more time to savour it, and that was even more enjoyable than eating five grapes in five minutes. Obviously, the article has a deeper meaning than eating habits, but appreciating the little details in life is highly relevant to good dieting habits as well.

The more you eat, the fuller you get, but that doesn't necessarily satisfy your taste buds. That is also why health professionals state that it is healthier to eat slower, not only because you digest your food more easily by chewing more, but also because you tend not to eat more than you need to.

Why not take your time to truly enjoy your meal, while scoring health points and saving expenses?