Even if you haven’t bought those roasted namkeens or the packed potato chips, you may be getting duped into less-than-tempting food choices in the market. The culprit? Some foods which seem like healthy choices are nothing but ‘health imposters’, because of the way they’re packaged. Before your hand reaches out to pick them at the supermarket, pause, think and go through its ingredients. After all, healthy living cannot be pursued with artificial flavours.
Snacking has now become a ‘full eating event’, or a fourth meal, averaging about 580 calories each day. One of the main reasons is that packaged foods are easily available and while submitting to our cravings, we forget about its effects on our health and waistline. Packaged foods contribute to the billion-dollar industry; refined grains, salt, trans fats and high fructose corn syrup are the four dangers we face constantly.
Refined grains such as white bread, rolls, sugary low-fibre cereal, white rice or white pasta over whole grains can increase the risk of heart attack by up to 30 per cent. Refines grains also add to the chances of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, diabetes and belly fat.
Many studies show that women and men who eat more whole grains (including dark bread, wholegrain breakfast cereals, homemade popcorn, cooked oatmeal, brown rice, bran and other grains like bulgur (dalia) or poppy seeds(kasa) have 20 to 30 per cent lesser chances of a heart disease.
Salt is no longer a cause only for heart attacks but other chronic diseases, too, such as Cancer, Osteoporosis, Diabetes, Dementia, Sleep Apnoea and Kidney Disease.
Salted foods are linked to a 15% increase in cancer risk. It also increases the possibility of calcium loss, thereby weakening the bone and causing osteoporosis at an early age. Excessive salt intake may promote insulin resistance. Diabetes already puts you at greater risk of hypertension and heart disease and a high salt intake only raises these risks. What happens when you eat more salt than your body needs? Your body retains fluid simply to dilute the extra sodium in your bloodstream. This raises blood volume, forcing your heart to work harder, at the same time; it constricts your veins and arteries. This can raise the blood pressure levels. Therefore, it is advisable to consume salt in small proportions to replace what’s lost to sweat, tears, and other excretions.
Three-quarters of sodium in our diet isn’t from the saltshaker. It’s hidden in processed foods, such as canned vegetables and soups, condiments like soy sauce, burgers, cured or preserved meats like bacon, ham and deli turkey. Patients often complain of skin rashes after eating ‘Chinese food’, as they are high in mono-sodium content.
Trans fats are commonly found in packaged or snack foods. Research suggests that heart diseases and diabetes scale up by trans fats. Trans fats are hydrogenated fats. Food fried in hydrogenated fat has a longer shelf life, extra crispness and is cheaper compared to ghee. No wonder a whole generation of consumers, also known as the Dalda generation, simply swore by them. Households, eateries and bakers embrace them in abundance.
You will find this trans fats everywhere, in chips, cookies, biscuits, cakes, pizzas, confectionery, namkeens, savouries, hydrogenated vegetable oils. Pre-mixed foods, pre-fried chicken, frozen foods, microwave meals, breads and ready-to-eat meals also contain trans fats. Research shows that in India, 80 per cent of trans fats come from eating street food. This means that the unorganized corner shops that sell chaat, samosas, jalebis and bhajias are trans fats culprits as these shops use Vanaspati oil for deep frying.
Keep in mind that when you give in to your children’s demands for fast food, you are letting them enter the danger zone. No wonder then, the sharp rise in the number of 8-9 year olds with cholesterol, diabetes and early stages of clogged arteries is worrying.
Today, the market is completely loaded with high-fructose corn syrup; it costs less to make, is sweeter to taste and mixes more easily with other ingredients. The high-fructose corn syrup is the new-age replacement to traditional sweeteners. Survey shows that Indians consume nearly 63 pounds of it per person per year in the form of drinks and sweets, as well as from other products. High-fructose corn syrup is in many frozen foods. It gives bread the much needed brown colour and soft texture. Research suggests that this liquid sweetener may upset the human metabolism, raising the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Research also shows that high-fructose corn syrup’s chemical structure encourages overeating. It also seems to force the liver to pump more heart-threatening triglycerides into the bloodstream. In addition, fructose may zap your body’s reserves of chromium, a mineral important for healthy levels of cholesterol, insulin, and blood sugar.
Watch what you are eating and be aware of what’s being packaged and sold to you. Recently, the FDA cracked down on many food companies that sold unhealthy packaged foods. Remember, it’s our responsibility to uncover the health food imposters by reading the label and eating minimally processed foods.
Dr Pradeep Ghadge is a Senior Consultant Diabetologist.
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