Taha Shah Badussha, who garnered fame for his intense performance as Tajdar in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar," recently created a stir with his first appearance at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. In a revealing conversation, the actor shared an interesting aspect of his trip—skipping meals so he could network with film commissioners. For Taha, the chance of rubbing shoulders with industry bigwigs was more important than this basic need for survival.
Networking Over Nourishment
In an interaction with Zoom, Taha Shah shared how he did not relax even for a bit at the extravagant film festival. In fact, he revealed how every film commissioner was a must-meet for him, more important than ensuring food in his system, as he would just keep giving his card from one person to another. "They are not going to help me get work tomorrow morning, but you never know," he added. Taha had strategically made his choice to forgo sleep or food for work. "When I was at Cannes, I did not actually eat. If you have to go for food, you have to take out one and a half to two hours, go out, order a meal, finish and come back. I either eat food or make contacts; I chose the latter. Food I can have later also," he elaborated. This reminiscence describes the dilemma many face in such high-stakes situations: immediate career advancements over basic needs.
The Physical Impact of Skipping Meals
Allowing a meal to pass may seem like a minor inconvenience at first thought, but doing so can actually have important effects on the body. Understanding these effects is critical, especially for people like Taha who may have to prioritise work over food.
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Blood Sugar Drops
As per Dr Rajiv Kovil, Head of Diabetology, Zandra Healthcare and Co-founder of the Rang De Neela initiative, one of the immediate impacts of skipping meals is a drop in blood sugar. This can result in sensations of fatigue, dizziness, and the inability to concentrate. The brain, which uses glucose as an easy fuel source, will try to function properly only with consistent nourishment. For someone suffering from diabetes, skipping meals becomes even more dangerous because it puts them at risk for dangerously low blood sugar levels.
Slowed Metabolism
When you skip meals once in a while, it may not have a significant impact on your metabolism. However, when you fast for longer periods, it can significantly slow your metabolism. When the body senses that the food supply is dwindling, it goes into conservation mode. Metabolic activities are slowed to save energy. This not only prevents effective weight loss but often results in one gaining weight once they resume ordinary eating.
Disrupted Hunger Hormones
Our bodies’ hunger and fullness are signalled by a network of hormones in our bodies. When one keeps ignoring the urge to eat, there is a problem with this network that usually involves the digestive system, insulin, leptin, cortisol, and ghrelin. Prolonged hunger, as a result of skipping meals, can raise the body's ghrelin –the hormone signaling hunger- levels and reduce the level of leptin – that signals satiety. This can make it quite hard to manage eating.
Causes Overeating and Unhealthy Cravings
Long bouts of starvation often lead to intense cravings, usually for high-carb and sugary foods. This is likely to make one eat too much when the food becomes available, given that the body tries to replace glucose as quickly as possible.
Psychological and Physical Health Risks
Chronic meal skipping can lead to worse outcomes on one's relationship with food. Drastically cutting down on calorie intake often opens the gateway to eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia. Furthermore, psychological pressure from constant hunger reduces the inherent pleasure and satisfaction extracted from eating.
Bottomline
Although Taha Shah's dedication to his job is praiseworthy, his Cannes experience serves to underscore the potential negative consequences of skipping meals. With such intense schedules, ways to nourish the body sufficiently while pursuing professional goals must remain paramount. It is important to stick to a regular, balanced diet for both physical and mental health to be in such a state that one can perform at optimum levels in any situation. For individualized advice, one should consult with their health care provider or a registered dietitian.