Heart Disease
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2.41 Experts estimate that we eat much more than twice the salt we should and we can do that without even touching the salt-shaker. The sodium hides in processed foods as preservative for longer shelf life and to make bland or bitter food taste better. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for adults of sodium intake by the medical profession is 2,300 mgs. which translates into 5,750 mgs of salt (about a teaspoonful) because sodium content of salt is 40%. In fact on average 75% of the sodium in modern Westernised diet comes from processed foods, with just 10% coming from the salt we add during cooking or at the table, and remaining 15% occurs naturally in food. However, there is another school of thought that although sodium is an essential nutrient for the body, no one fails to get enough from natural sources such as wholegrains, pulses, legumes, fruits, vegetables and salads. They say you only need 200 mgs of sodium a day to keep body fluid in balance. Yanomamo Indians of Brazil survive with less than 200 mgs of sodium per day. At the opposite extreme, average daily intake of sodium in northern Japan is more than 10,300 mgs. Some of us in India may be consuming more than 5,000 mgs of sodium a day.
2.42 Starch (Maida) – With more and more people adopting Western and urban lifestyles refined grains have largely displaced the healthier wholegrains. During the refining process, the outer coating of the wholegrain i.e. bran is removed. Since the nutrient rich germ is attached to the bran, even the germ is ripped off, leaving mainly endosperm or the pure carbohydrate starch (maida) minus the fibre, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. Thus refined foods are devoid of the goodness of wholegrains and provide mainly carbohydrates for quick energy.
2.43 Eating starch has almost the same effect on blood sugar levels as eating table sugar. Ideally, you do not want your blood sugar level to rise too high because it causes sugar to attach to the outer surface membranes of cells. Sugar, by itself, is harmless, but after being attached to membranes, it is converted into sorbitol, which damages cells. That is why diabetics who carry high blood sugar levels can suffer extensive nerve damage with many associated complications. To add to their unhealthy woes, the foods containing starch are generally prepared either with a lot of refined oils, saturated fats or more dangerously with hydrogenated oils (transfat). They terrorise and traumatise your metabolism and set the foundation for the development of a whole range of degenerative diseases like obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and food allergies.
Unhealthy Soft Fizzy Drinks/Colas
3.44 A recent study (2012) suggests that people having fizzy drinks daily are at a higher risk of getting heart disease than those who don’t. Also people who drink diet sodas everyday have a higher risk of bursting blood vessels. What is alarming is that even children, who consume 40-70 ml of soft drinks a day, may put on 3-5 kilos every year and lead to heart and other problems later in life. What you do and eat when you are a 10 year old shows on your heart when you are 40 years old.
3.45 A can of cola without any nutrients contains 7-8 spoons of sugar, daily intake of which can lead to obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems. Essentially acidic in nature, soft drinks harm the bacterial lining in the intestines. Their high phosphorus content makes the bones weak and brittle. The artificial chemical flavours, colours and preservatives in soft drinks are detrimental to the body. Therefore, wisdom lies in avoiding commercial soft drinks and opting for home-made healthy natural drinks such as nimboo pani, raw mango drink (panha) and of course the exilir of life – water.
