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Eat healthy to stay healthy

With mushrooming of eateries in the city the access to junk food has increased, writes T. SARAVANAN

PHOTO: K. GANESAN

JUNK FOOD Still finds favour with public.

For any visitor to the Temple City, early morning welcome song is the clattering sound from roadside eateries.

The city may have streets without a grocery store but there isn't one without a teashop or a tiffin centre.

The overwhelming public patronage for such eateries, however, is a cause for concern.

Medicos warn that sustained consumption of junk food can result in serious health hazard for the individual.

The junk food culture is new to Madurai where people have traditionally followed good food habits with emphasis on physical work.

Notes Dr. V.R. Sudhir, a diabetologist: "Undoubtedly there is an explosion of fast food joints and people too are keen for a quick munch. Each street now boasts of such eateries while chaat corners too have pervaded. The availability and affordability of food is much higher today. Number of food festivals organised in the city have increased. Unlike earlier, the access is easy. Teashops serving oily vada, samosa and chutney are common and people are simply lapping it up."

Not a healthy sign

By any standards it is not a healthy sign. Ask Dr. Ramesh Ardhanari, a Gastroenterologist in Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre, he says: "Low calorie diet is a must. Eating junk food once a day is no problem but it should be adequately compensated with physical work and the next diet should include more fibre-rich food. But it is better to avoid junk food, as the roughage is very low. In many Western countries, low intake of fibre-rich food has resulted in high incidence of colon cancer. Hence proper balance of diet is important."

But what is a balanced diet?

"It can be one which contains different types of food in right quantity and proportions so that the need for calories, proteins, minerals, vitamins and other nutrients for an individual are adequately met," explains A.L. Ayub Naveen, Proprietor, Raaj Aroma Food Court.

"People fail to understand that the quantity of food intake is directly proportional to the amount of physical work. When we see the menu card, we order as if there is no tomorrow. And then we force ourselves to finish everything, over-eating in the process," remarks Dr. Sudhir.

There is another false notion among people that being plumb is being healthy.

But that is not true. "Generally, to satiate hunger your stomach should be full. For which volume of intake is also important. A slice of pizza is small in volume but rich in calorie. Hence, moderation of food is must. Gluttony is always bad," cautions Dr. Ramesh Ardhanari.

Traditionally, Dravidian people are of small built when compared to Aryan population.

The tendency to overeat has landed them in trouble as most suffer from obesity problems.

Invasion of cultures

"The main problem lies in the invasion of cultures. Conventionally, we are not accustomed to having junk food. But in the name of modern thinking, all oily, fried stuff enters our stomach. Snacking tendency should be curbed if people want to stay healthy. Eating intermittently should also be stopped," advises Dr. Sudhir.

There is an inequality between intake and expenditure.

"The food absorption level and the basal metabolic rate differ from person to person. The problem of obesity surfaces here. It could be overcome by eating a lot of green vegetables to create more roughage. Vegetables like brinjal and ladies finger, besides spinach are a must addition in your diet. The notable miss from our diet are fruits. Fresh fruits are always good for health," Dr. Ramesh Ardhanari prescribes.

Under such circumstances the restaurants and eateries have greater responsibilities in helping the public choose right kind of diet.

"Earlier, people had the habit of consuming fresh vegetables such as radish, onion, ladies finger, cabbage. But some how, this habit has waned. Hence, we have added different types of salads in our menu and even recommend them to our regular customers. The inclusion of salads/ raita helps in meeting the vitamin requirements and also satiates a customer's taste. Meal plan should give maximum nutrients, considering an individuals like's and dislikes and should provide variety. Besides, we also garnish our dish with fresh vegetables to add more fibre content to the food," Mr. Ayub Naveen says.

But for a person, who is obese and is reported to have complications such has high blood pressure, diabetes, knee pain, back pain and breathlessness, Bariatric surgery can be a better option.

Surgical option

"Bariatric surgery is generally advised for a person whose body mass index exceeds 35 and who fails to respond to the dietary restrictions. It is definitely not a cosmetic issue but a heath care matter. The surgery reduces the capacity of the stomach or bypasses the length of the small intestine. The patient recovery to normalcy is remarkable, as even an acute diabetic patient stands a chance of getting better by 80 per cent. In hypertension cases the return to normalcy percentage is 80 and in case of those with knee and back pain it is 90 per cent," according to Dr. Ramesh Ardhanari.

Whatever be it, there is no remedy like self-control.

Each individual should understand his or her body and eat accordingly.

Afterall, we eat to live and not live to eat.

TIPS TO STAY FIT