As nature intended
He consciously felt his diaphragm contract allowing expansion of his rib cage, which ushered air into his waiting lungs. As the oxygen transaction concluded in the lungs alveoli, the relaxation of the diaphragm expelled the carbon dioxide result. He was now exhausted. This voyage had commenced seemingly eons ago and he yearned to breathe oxygen the way nature intended. He glanced around the plane’s interior. Truly a feat of human engineering.
The unintrusive hum of the turbines, proof of the simultaneous intake, compression, combustion and exhaust to produce maximum power of the engines all of the time. Though now the air felt dry and stale. Forty percent of the aircraft’s air is filtered through a HEPA system while 60% is piped into the plane. Not exactly as earthly evolution intended.
As the pilot commenced the descent into Gaborone airport the excitement level mounted. It had been a long time since his hands had touched African soil. A budding education and corresponding poverty as he tried to pay his student loans ensured that international travel was until now only a fantasy. His tired neurons now sprung to life as he knew his family would be waiting for him. The years had surely cultivated new and unrecognisable faces and he wondered if they in turn would recollect him. But genes, the building blocks of all living things are indeed curious.
For you see, those who share similar base pairs, evolution has ordained will always know each other. In a shared laugh, in their unique maxillary structure and their accentuated antegonial notch. It was with relief and joy he was received with open arms and accompanying greetings and laughter. Remarkably, emotions have a unique ability to brush away any physical symptoms. Surrounded by his family’s love, his fatigue had disappeared into the African atmosphere.
Yeah, you guessed it. It was me, I was finally home. We had all settled into the car for the short journey to my hometown of Lobatse. My eyes, now overflowing with dynamic energy, scrutinised the landscape. I was used to Southern Ontario’s undulating rolling hills, accentuated by lush farmland and multi-lane highways. Here I might have landed on not just a different continent, but a different planet. The winter landscape featured unembellished trees immersed in a sea of beige and sometimes crimson soil. Grey and brown coloured rocks completed the picture.
The hills seemed close enough to touch. The whole atmosphere was primal. It was exhilarating. As we entered the driveway to my Uncle Naseer and Auntie Khairoon’s house, preparations for a braai had already begun. It was again with warm-hearted greetings from additional family and friends that I ended my odyssey. In Canada, a braai or barbecue, as it is referred to there, consisted of turning on a gas barbecue and cooking meat over heated lava rock. Here it was a considerable production. Multiple braai stands, with countless bags of charcoal and swirls of activity filled the night. A multitude of braai items and salads filled my plate. The bouquet was captivating. As I took a bite of a lamb chop, I realised less force was needed than I had anticipated. Instead of necessitating a forceful contraction of my masseter muscle, I found the meat seemingly melted in my mouth.
The succulent offering had been infused with the most delectable of seasonings. My taste buds had relayed a rapid and urgent communication to the gustatory complex in my brain and waves of serotonin had already been dispatched. In other words, I was in culinary heaven. Needless to say, I ate too much that night. While an occasional indulgence might be okay, it is prudent for overall good health to control what we consume. As we move on in life, this may necessitate a predetermined diet. But what diet is best? On January 3, US News and World Report published its annual best diet rankings.
For the sixth year in a row, the Mediterranean diet was named the best overall diet out of the 24 diets examined. This diet emphasises basic, plant-based cookery, with fruits and vegetables, healthy grains, legumes and seeds, a few nuts and a large emphasis on extra-virgin olive oil dominating each meal. Other fats, like butter, are rarely, if ever, consumed, while sugar and processed meals are kept for special occasions. Numerous studies have showed that following a Mediterranean diet can lower your risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, dementia, memory loss, depression and breast cancer.
The diet has also been linked to stronger bones, a better heart, and a longer life.
The popular keto diet, as well as the modified keto diet, were placed 20th out of 24 diets, followed by Atkins, SlimFast and Optavia. These diets stress on high-protein or high-fat meals with few carbs and are ranked low because they are exceedingly restricted, difficult to follow and remove whole food categories. Though, should somebody be getting married in a couple of months, the keto diet ranked first as a shortterm weight loss solution. Experts quickly added that these diets are NOT healthy as a lifestyle.
As I quickly became reacquainted with my beloved African home, I realised that food and produce here are by and large as nature intended. A little bit of work and it is not difficult to find free range fed meat and organic produce. And while I reserve the right to indulge in a medium rare fillet steak occasionally, I strive to exercise and eat healthy. Time for a lentil, bean and chickpea salad drizzled in extra-virgin olive oil. Want one?