Ian Somerhalder feels proud to have been stopped by a stanger who wanted to commend him on his healthy grocery shop.
The 40-year-old actor – who is married to ‘Twilight’ star Nikki Reed – has revealed via a lengthy post on his Instagram account that he was stopped when he was out grocery shopping and praised for his basket being filled with colourful fruit and vegetables, although he was shocked to be told it was a "strange sight" because he always buys those types of foods.
Speaking on Instagram 14.3 million followers, Ian wrote: "I hope I don’t come off as an ass… A woman just stopped me in the grocery store and told me that she had never seen a basket like mine. I told her that I have never NOT seen this type of basket in my grocery-shopping behavior. A few others chimed in saying that it was a very strange sight! WTF? A strange sight? I’m in a grocery store. It’s food.
"It got me thinking and really fired up … I hear in the news constantly, in legislative bodies debating and the public complaining out right bitching about healthcare costs, drug companies and doctors and what rising costs do to our society, our lives and our economy. I know our system isn’t great. Yet, the public poisons itself daily with bad food choices.
"Food is medicine and medicine is food. It’s a fact. If we want to see our healthcare system changed, be a healthier society- and it will. How does that sound? Logical right? I don’t mean to sound like a d**k – or preachy but this is nuts: how is it, that grown professional people in a major American city have never seen a grocery basket full of normal & healthy foods that just all happen to be green or not processed. We’re so far down the rabbit hole of packaged and ‘convenient’ foods that our society is paying the price & so is our future. (sic)"
‘Vampire Diaries’ star Somerhalder also stated that it is time for people to start paying attention to what food they are consuming and what benefits it has for them, likening meals to putting the correct fuel in a car.
His post continued: "No one in our government is helping us be healthier through education. Why would they? Sick people are GREAT for business … It’s pretty simple: If you want to look well, feel well and BE well- just eat well. Obviously exercise as well, as much as you can. Everything else will start to fall into place. My mom raised me on no money & mostly as a single parent yet, she still ate well & exercised and it shaped my life. We make excuses why we can’t find the time to take care of ourselves and we end up past the point of no return… Why is that? How is it that we can’t see that: Happy and healthy people make a happy and healthy world.
"It’s hard to see that through a fog of prescription drugs, energy drinks & strong sleep aids. It’s hard I know, but its time to change. You wouldn’t put the wrong gas in your car, so why would you put wrong food in your body? We MUST take responsibility for what we put into our bodies starting now. We can do it. Ok. I’ll stop. Thnks (sic)"