Why unhealthy eating habits are deadlier than cigarettes🚬?
Eating lot of processed foods, sugar, salt and empty calories is like stabbing yourself. But our body can heal itself, if we stop stabbing it!
Non Communicable Diseases
Only when our bodies self defense mechanism fails and we continue hurting our bodies with the food we eat, that we get diseases. Top killers of people, which are cancer, heart diseases and diabetes, are all to a large degree, preventable.
Our bodies 5 defense systems are:
- Angiogenesis
- Regeneration
- Microbiome
- DNA Protection
- Immunity
By following a healthy lifestyle, we will not only be able to avoid immature death but more importantly, increase the active lifespan. Eat food as if it's medicine. Food helps fight diseases by making our defense systems stronger.
Processed Foods
The worst kind of foods are the ultra process food items made in factories. If you read its ingredients, most of the things mentioned sounds gibberish. They use so many artificial chemicals and we don’t know their effects on human health. Take for example trans fats which was introduced in early 1900s as a better artificial alternative to butter(animal fat) and now it’s banned in most countries. Artificial sweeteners have the same history as trans fat. High intake of sugar does not lead to diabetes but impaired glucose tolerance does. And artificial sweeteners harms the microbiome which leads to impaired glucose tolerance. So the thing which is promoted to diabetic people causes more diabetes, 🤯.
Even if these chemicals are found naturally in fruits and vegetables, they could still be harmful. Take for example, nitrites which are naturally found in green leafy vegetables but only when it is used with red meat (for preserving) that it leads to cancer. So a substance which is not harmful in its original form can become harmful if taken as a supplement or used in a different way.
Some examples of ultra-processed foods are:
- Sweetened breakfast cereals
- Coke and energy drinks
- Flavored candy bar with long ingredient list
Certain types of food (it may be different foods for different people) elicit a brain chemistry response virtually indistinguishable from that elicited by known addictive stimulants such as gambling or opiates.
We should eat home-made foods, as much as possible. And choose less processed foods over ultra processed foods, like barn bread over white bread.
Personalized Nutrition
Whatever diet you are told to follow for its numerous benefits, it is totally bad for you. Because each and every individual is different, and so are there bacteria in the gut.
In one study, 65% of the participants got there blood glucose level spiked from a bowl of rice and only 35% participants got a spike from an ice-cream.
There are many apps being developed like ZOE that gives personalized recommendations for what food to eat depending on the results of unique gut, blood fat and blood sugar responses.
Gut Microbiome 🦠
Trillions of microbes live in our gut. In a human there are 30 trillion human cells and more than 39 trillion bacteria cells, but they are small so make up 1–3% of the total mass.
Not only do these bacteria produce health supporting metabolites, but they also control our immune system, influence angiogenesis, and even help produce hormones that influence our brain. Many recent studies have shown the numerous benefits of healthy microbiome. Whether cutting edge medicines like immunotherapy for cancer will work or not, depends on the bacteria in there gut. Those patients which were given antibiotic before or soon after immunotherapy, failed to benefit from the medicine because one bacteria was missing in there gut which was present in those patients in which immunotherapy worked.
What’s bad for microbiome:
- Processed preserved meats
- Artificial sweeteners
- Ultra processed foods
Fibers and naturally fermented foods are good for our microbiome.
Food is Made Up Of
All food that we eat can be broken down in two broad categories, macronutrients and micronutrients. Proteins, Carbohydrates, Water and Fats are macronutrients.
Carbohydrates and fats are broken down to create energy by our body while proteins and micronutrients are needed by different parts of our body.
Protein
Proteins are complicated molecules, about 20% of our body weight is made up of them. Protein are a chain of amino acid. All proteins are made up of just 20 amino acids, of these eight can not be made in our bodies so they have to come from the food.
They are the building block nutrients for growth and development. Also manipulate how we feel and behave. Amino acids are precursor to neurotransmitters.
Carbohydrates
Are compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which are bound together to form variety of sugars. When we eat them, they are quickly digested to create energy or stored as fat.
Carbs come in three types:
Fiber is not digested by the body so it becomes food for the microbiome and helps to increase the good bacteria in our body.
Fats
Are also made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen but in different proportions. Which makes the fat easier to be stored in the body. Fat is made up of building blocks called fatty acids. Carbohydrates and fat are principal fuel reserves of our body. First carbohydrates are burned and only when it’s not available fat is consumed for energy.
Fats helps you absorb some vitamins and minerals. Fat is needed to build cell membranes, the vital exterior of each cell, and the sheaths surrounding nerves. It is essential for blood clotting, muscle movement, and inflammation. For long-term health, some fats are better than others.
There are three types of fat:
- Saturated
- Unsaturated (Mono and poly) — Abundant in nuts, extra virgin olive oil, fatty fish, chia seeds.
- Trans fats or hydrogenated oil — This is an artificial form of fat which is very bad for your heart and liver. It is banned in many countries. Some trans-fats are naturally found too.
Micronutrients
Vitamins are simple organic chemicals while minerals are inorganic and come from soil or water. There are 40 micronutrients that our bodies can’t manufacture so are needed from outside. Those chemicals that are body can manufacture are called hormones.
For nearly all vitamins and minerals, the risk of taking too much is as great as taking too little.
- Zinc — Zinc promotes immune functions and helps people resist infectious diseases including diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria. Also needed for healthy pregnancies.
- Calcium
- Copper — essential for brain health.
- Selenium
- Sodium — essential for brain health.
- Manganese
- Molybdenum
- Iron — Needed for Red Blood Cells. Too much or little both leads to lack of energy. Iron is critical for motor and cognitive development.
- Fluorine
- Iodine
- Potassium — Electrolyte, needed to keep the heart beating smoothly.
- Vitamin A — Needed for vision, healthy skin and fighting infection. Abundant in: Eggs and Dairy products
- Vitamin B1 (thiamin)
- Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
- Vitamin B3 (niacin)
- Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)
- Vitamin B6 group: — essential for brain health.
- Vitamin B7 (biotin)
- Vitamin B9 (folate) — is essential in the earliest days of fetal growth for healthy development of the brain and spine.
- Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) — essential for brain health.
- Choline — Central role in making neuro-transmitters and keeping our brain running smoothly. Abundant in: Liver, Brussels sprouts, lima beans
- Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) — helps make several hormones and chemical messengers used in the brain and nerves. Vitamin C improves the absorption of non-heme iron. Vitamin C is also involved in the body’s immune system by stimulating the activity of white blood cells.
- Vitamin D — Vitamin D builds strong bones by helping the body absorb calcium; helps immune system; required for muscle and nerve functions. Also a hormone as our bodies can manufacture it, given the right environmental conditions.
- Vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols)
- Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) — enhances bone health and its strength
- Vitamin K2 (menaquinone)
- Vitamin K3 (menadione)
Eat to Beat Diseases 🍴
When we learn about the bad effects of some food we become depressed and start thinking what to eat, is there anything out there even good? While in fact there are hundreds of food that we should eat. The right approach is to eat more kinds of food. As every fruit, vegetables, seeds, meat and other kinds of foods has there benefits and stand on their own against medicine.
Dr William Li shares the different health benefits of 200 different foods in his book, Eat to Beat Diseases. He researches foods just like major drug research is done to test the responses in human body of the medicines being developed.
When we start eating more fruits and vegetables then definitely we would eat less of processed foods and meat.
Moreover there are many benefits in the leaves of vegetables and skin of fruits that we throw away. For example carrot 🥕 tops have more vitamin C than the carrot root. Lemon peel have a high amount of fiber and vitamin C.
6 Food Groups
- Vegetables 🥕
- Fruits 🍏
- Cereals and starchy vegetables 🌾
- Legume
- Milk products 🥛
- Fish, meat and eggs 🐠
We should explore, on a regular basis new foods and recipes from each category to keep ourselves healthy.
Problem with Meat 🥩
In USA and some other countries, due to the way chickens and four legged animals are turned into final products, it’s best to avoid them. From not slaughtering the animals in Islamic way, the blood remains in the meat. Blood is the perfect medium for germs and bacteria to grow in. Cooking kills the germs but they get into our bodies while handling raw meat. That’s why they must be handled very carefully:
- Store raw foods separately from ready to-eat foods in the refrigerator to prevent cross-contamination.
- Thoroughly clean chopping board and utensils used for cutting up raw meat in hot soapy water before using them for preparing foods to be eaten raw (e.g. vegetables, fruit).
- Keep vegetables separate from raw meat, chicken and fish while shopping, preparing and storing.
- Do not partially cook products and finish cooking them later; meat, fish and poultry must be thoroughly cooked before storage in the refrigerator
- Never serve cooked food in plates and utensils that have held raw meat, poultry or seafood.
- Keep meat in separate container and store them near the bottom of the refrigerator to prevent the dripping of meat juices on other foods.
- Keep the purchasing of chilled and frozen foods until the end of a shopping trip to avoid warming or thawing of these products
- Make sure to frequently wash and dry kitchen towels, sponges and cloths and to replace sponges regularly.
After wrongly slaughtering the animals, it is processed to increase its shelf life. To do this many harmful chemicals like nitrites are used as preservatives. If you buy pre cooked then it is cooked at very high temperature which results in formation of carcinogenic substances.
Over Eating
Our body is very adaptable, if we eat more calories than we need then it will be stored as fat and used up when more calories are needed and we have eaten on that day less calories. But the problem is that we eat more food than needed, everyday. So the fat keeps accumulating on our belly which leads to many diseases like:
- Heart Diseases
- Asthma
- Diabetes
- Alzheimer
But no need to do dieting to reduce fat because if we drastically reduce the food intake, then we will unable to fulfill our body’s requirements for micronutrients and reduce the basal metabolic rate. To reduce fat one should focus on vegetables and fruits as they have low calories and have fiber which make us feel full. Also increase workout’s quantity and quality.
Intermittent Fasting from sunrise to sunset also helps in reducing weight.
Just having a mindset for taking care of our bodies can have huge benefits. We should try to keep track of the calories we eat each day. I see people living just to eat. Everyday at least one meal they have is at a restaurant. We should eat to live, not the opposite.
Be Proactive
It doesn’t make sense to care for our body only when it’s sick. And spend tons of money to get it fixed by getting a surgery at the hospital. But not taking care of it when it can fight off the diseases by itself without any medical care.
We should be grateful and take care of our selves when our defense systems and rest of organs are working fine.
Listen to the podcast about this topic, in Urdu: Search T-Syed in your podcast app. Google Podcast, Apple Podcast Don’t forget to leave rating and review. Thanks.
