So many times we are told that our parents and grandparents had robust health, that they never fell sick as frequently or that we didn’t see chronic illnesses in them. Were they truly healthier and fitter? Yes. Why? Because they kept it simple, doable and ended up being active. For us, there’s much to learn — and reclaim.
There’s immense wisdom in how our parents lived and ate. Try adapting some of them.
The Simplicity of Their Meals: Food as Medicine
Our parents ate fresh, home-cooked meals made from seasonal and local ingredients. Millets like jowar and bajra, native rice varieties and hand-pounded dals were staples.
Meals were mostly home-cooked, using traditional fats like ghee, coconut oil and mustard oil — far from the refined oils and seed oil blends of today. Pickles, papads, chutneys and buttermilk supported their digestion, not harmed it. They didn’t count calories — they followed hunger cues.
Today’s fast foods, preservative-laden convenience foods, meal replacements, protein bars and synthetic supplements and packaged meals lack this vitality, disrupting our digestion and health.
Their Relationship With Food Was Scientific
They followed natural fasting windows — no late-night snacking or eating at odd hours. Dinner was often finished by sunset, not post-Netflix. In most households, lunch was the heaviest meal, aligning with the time when metabolism peaks and enzymes work best. Breakfast was light, dinner was even lighter and digestion was respected.
Today, the trend is reversed: skipping breakfast, bingeing at dinner and eating in front of screens. The result? Sluggish digestion, toxin buildup (ama) and inflammation.
Mindful Eating, Not Mindless Munching
They sat down calmly, cross-legged, ate with their hands — often in silence — creating a deep connection between body and food. Touching food with the hands activates enzymes, salivary glands and builds awareness. Eating slowly allows the body to register fullness and helps better assimilation. Today, we eat distractedly — on phones or in front of screens — which disconnects us from satiety and causes overeating.
Seasonal Wisdom and Local Superfoods
Our parents naturally adjusted foods with the seasons: cooling foods in summer (buttermilk, mint, raw mango), warming in winter (jaggery, sesame, bajra) and easy-to-digest meals in monsoon (khichdi, ginger). Aligning your food to your geography and season builds immunity.
Movement Was Built Into Life
Before gyms and 10,000-step trackers, our parents were naturally active. They moved all day — squatting to cook, walking to the market, grinding spices by hand. This balanced their blood circulation and metabolism. Contrast this with our reality: hours in front of screens, sitting at desks, elevators over stairs and workouts squeezed into 30-minute windows — often driven by aesthetics, not function.
Natural Healing Over Medication
Our parents didn’t pop a pill at the first sign of a headache or indigestion and in self-limiting conditions. They simply rested, kept their diet light. Today, we pathologize every symptom and depend on over-the-counter solutions.
Mental Agility and Emotional Resilience
Our parents had stronger emotional immunity — less anxiety, more adaptability. Their problems were real but their coping was more rooted. They were emotionally stronger — not because they had fewer problems but because their lifestyles supported resilience.
Respect for Rest
Sleep was sacred. They rose with the sun and slept early, in sync with the circadian rhythm. Today, we sacrifice sleep for screen time, leading to fatigue, hormone imbalance and burnout.
While we can’t go back in time, we can move forward with awareness. Let’s not wait till disease strikes to value it.
(Dr Mehta is holistic health expert)
Our parents ate fresh, home-cooked meals made from seasonal and local ingredients. (Source: Getty Images) 
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