Our health depends on four factors: genes. food, lifestyle and stress. As there is not much that can be done about your genetic make up it is the FOOD we consume that deserves our greatest attention.
Our relation with food is paradoxical: essential for survival (cliché), but also emerging as the biggest killer of our times, pushing us towards diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver disease, heart disease, stroke and cancers that account for 70% of India’s urban ailments and deaths.
Scientists have listed these 4 foods as the main health hazards of our time:
1. Sugar
This ubiquitous simple looking white shiny crystal found in every home in abundance that was our commonest calorie support during physical work is emerging as the modern age “poison ” in these sedentary times, dethroned fats to assume numero uno position. Its consumption goes far beyond our calorie needs and by continuously stimulating the pancreatic Beta cells to produce more and more insulin, tires and knocks them out. Excess sugar gets converted into fat in our bodies, which takes refuge in the liver and heart and play mischief.
The problem with sugar is that it has sugared its way and entrenched itself on our tongues and dining tables so deftly that getting rid of it can prove almost impossible. When I asked some of my patients what they offer their visiting guests and relatives, they invariably start their list with: cold (cola) drinks, fruit (quatrrapack) juices, nimbu-paani, tea or coffee (the syrupy ones that we have grown to love), all laced with sugar, and referred to health circles as Sugar sweetened Beverages or SSB.
2. Fast foods, Fats and Trans-fats
Excess fat consumption is undoubtedly bad for heath, but the variety called trans-fats, are the worst toxins for the heart. Fats are converted into Trans-fats when they are heated to high temperatures, reheated (as in the subsequent batches of samosas being scooped out of the frying pan!) or during grilling. They are found in most packaged and pre-cooked foods as well.
3. Packaged, processed foods and food preservatives
Processing and packaging of food has been a modern practice to help preserve food from “spoiling” thus prolonging shelf life. To achieve this the food needs to be “treated” in some way so that germs do not get in and grow in them.
This same property works the other way when these foods reach our intestines: they inhibit the growth of trillions of “healthy” gut flora that protect us from diseases like infections to cancers!
4. Red meat has come under the spot light for several reasons: they are rich in saturated fats and their protein is skewed in its distribution of the healthy “aliphatic” amino acids.
Cancers of several organs especially colon, breast and uterus has been linked to its regular consumption.
Making some hard choices could make you live longer!
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