Desktop Workers! Eat it Right!

Desktop dining has now become a common phenomenon with approximately 65% of working professionals typically having lunch at their desks on a regular basis. Pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, muffins, momos, and doughnuts are the most preferred meals of this group of busy workers who generally, in order to clock-in extra working hours, avoid extra spends and get hooked to these high fat, sugar and salt diets because of lack of options. This increasing trend of consuming quick-tasty-junk at desk when combined with compulsive snacking, caffeine overdose, and minimal water intake plays a massive havoc on our body.

This unhealthy food habit in sedentary office life is a risk factor for several lifestyle diseases such as:

• Obesity
• Cardiovascular diseases
• Stroke
• Lipid disorders
• Depression
• Anxiety

Since our body switches-off the fat-burning process when sitting for a longer period of time, we really need to mind the calories and correct our eating habits while at work.Though we require less calories during this period of minimal physical activity, our body needs a well-balanced and proper nutritional diet to function optimally and prevent malnutrition.

The initial area of focus should be on giving our diet a complete makeover by planning in advance for healthy meals and snack options for the entire week. This proactive planning would limit our urge of compulsive binging and thus,help in controlling the habit of going for unhealthy meal options.

Foods to Include in Daily Diet:

• Complex carbohydrates (whole grains, cereals, pulses, beans, legumes, fruits, vegetables etc.)
• Good protein sources (eggs, lean meat, poultry without skin, fish and low fat dairy products)
• Healthy forms of fat (yogurt, cheese, skimmed milk, nuts, olive oil etc.)
• Dietary fibers and nutrients (dry fruits, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, granola bars etc.)
• Sufficient quantity of water

Foods to Avoid in Daily Diet:

• Processed foods (white flour bread and pastas, chips, candies, processed meat, canned food etc.)
• Food with high-cholesterol content (egg yolk, bacon, butter, seafood, red meat, sausages, cheese, cakes, pies, and cookies)
• Unhealthy fat (foods rich in saturated fats like beef, lamb, pork, coconut oil, palm oil etc.)
• Empty calories (foods with no nutritional content like sweets, soft drinks, and high fat salad dressings)

A nutritious and balanced meal gives us a sustained energy flow and optimizes brain oxygen level without getting too hard on our digestive system. This provides fuel to our brain and energy to our body, improves our cognition, and helps us stay focused – all of which increase our productivity and performance at work.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions understands the need to make smarter diet choices while sitting for longer working hours. We aim to increase awareness about the negative health impact of unhealthy eating and suggest the ways to healthy eating. Let’s improve our eating quotient and make the right choice.