Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Vegetarianism for Vibrant Health – A Kerala Perspective
In the views of modern science a healthy body requires 1) 62 percent oxygen, the source of which is fruits, vegetables, pulses and milk. 2) 21 percent carbon which we get from butter, ghee, pulses, grams, cereals and roots. 3) 9 percent hydrogen an element that is abundantly available in fruits, vegetables and milk. 4) 3 percent nitrogen. Besides pulses and nuts, meat egg, and fish contain nitrogen. We also require 2 percent calcium and 1 percent phosphorous, which we get from unrefined food products.
Vegetarian food is good for health. It creates a disease free situation in the human system. Complete immunity from disease can be obtained by taking fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits build and rebuild body tissues. They tone up the body and prevent diseases. It is completely false to believe that for body building one has to eat meat and other non-vegetarian animal proteins. Man can depend completely on plant proteins for fat body.
It is again not correct to say that man cannot live without meat and meat products. There are people who live solely on fruits and vegetables and have never touched or tasted meat. It is also baseless to believe that meat is the source of protein. The pure sources of protein are green leaves, green vegetables, grams and pulses. The protein present in plants is primary in nature and good for human health. Meat and flesh are the products of leaves and vegetables and therefore, are secondary.
Vegetarian food prevents dreaded diseases like cancer and AIDS. When compared to meat eaters the veggies are 30-40 percent less prone to heart ailments, high BP, and hypertension. In vegetarians the cholesterol level will be much lower than in meat eaters. The percentage of cancer is 25-30 less among vegetarians. When we include large amount of fruits and vegetables in daily food, the incidence of cancers in breast, spine, prostate, gall bladder, colon, mouth and stomach can be controlled. Vitamin C, vitamin E and carotinoid etc are anti oxidants which can resist cancer and heart disease. The mental condition and brainpower of veggies are better than non-vegetarians, says an US study.
We have to include fresh fruits fibrous vegetables, jaggery and honey in our daily food and avoid the consumption of tea and coffee. This would increase one’s life span.
The consumption of carrot, orange and tomato will prevent cancer. These natural foods contain beta-carotene, which is an anti carcinogen.
Man principally eats a vegetarian diet. From time immemorial Indians have been considered to be vegetarians. Vegetarian diet stimulates blood circulation and steps up the vital process of assimilation and elimination. This food style purifies the blood, tones up the nerves and rejuvenates the body. It thus increases immunity of the body system and prevents many diseases.
Vegetarian Food
Provides vibrant health
Ensures easy assimilation and elimination
Enhances immunity and resist diseases
Enhances vital energy and ensures vital economy
Part of Indian way of living
Tones up nerves and rejuvenates body
The study shows that the best medicine against cancer is vegetables and fruits. It reduces the chances of cancer afflictions in colon, rectum, breast, prostate, stomach and lungs. The leafy vegetables and fresh fruits, which contain vitamin A and vitamin C, control cancer. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, mango, papaya, tomato etc contain natural elements besides dietary fibers. The dietary fibers and anti oxidants found in fruits and vegetable can prevent cancer. Several studies show that if go on eating non vegetarian food in the present manner by the year 2015 the rate of heart attack among the people would increase two times and the number of cancer patients would go up to three times. It is a warning to modern youth.
Vegetarian food is a preventive food medicine. The more you eat the more will be the resisting power and higher will be the natural immunity among the people. It is hundred times safer than meat. If we practice vegetarian food habits during our childhood our older days would be healthier and happier. While growing old, one realizes that the best is yet to be. After all words worth says “Child is Father of the man”
The production of meat is a very costly affair. The study conducted by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) proves that the cost of production of meat is much higher than the cost of production of potato. We can cultivate 22417 kg of potato in a hectare against 185 kg of meat in the same area of land. In order to produce 1kg. meat it consumes 2861 liters of water whereas to produce the same quantity of vegetables we need to use only 209 liters, that is, less than 10% of water is sufficient to produce same amount of vegetables.
The study shows that the change of food from vegetarian to non vegetarian will increase the scarcity of food products. In India in a year 50 lakhs tonnes of meat is consumed. It is estimated that it will increase to 200 lakhs in 2020. Presently we use 5.5 crores tones of milk. It will increase to 28 crores tones in 2020. In order to produce one kilogram of meat we have to feed the animal with 10kg cereals as cattle feed. In 2020 if we want to produce 200 lakh tones of meat we need to feed 20 crores tones of cereals. The present production of cereals is only 20 crores tones. This condition would enhance our existing food scarcity and famine.
Vegetarian Diet for Purity and Chastity
Vegetables and fruits contain very low quantity of cholesterol. Hence it is good for heat. A vegetarian diet in general is cardio protective as it has more of potassium, and phosphorous and less of sodium in it. A hearty vegetarian food is good for a healthy heart. According to the Physicians committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) vegetarian food is good for young women. It reduces the menstrual disorders and controls the cholesterol in the body. “Eating diet rich in vegetables and fruits, wholesome grains, low fat diary products help prolong life. Eat more fruits and vegetables and live ling “Says Dr. Arthur Schatzkin, National Cancer Institute, Maryland. According to Dr. Banita Falkner and Thames Jafferson, University of Philadelhia, “Fruits with multiple nutrients – minerals, potassium, calcium, magnesium etc. lowers BP.
Vegetarian diet is necessary for purity, chastity and for perfect control of the appetite and passion which are the sources of great temptations, says Mr. Bramwell Booth, the Chief of Salvation Army. According to him meat eating is one of the causes of drunkenness. It favours indolence, sleepiness, inertia, indigestion and constipation. It also succumbs its victim to miseries and degradation. Mr. H.P. Fowler also supports this view. According to him eating dead food leads to indulgence, drinking, and increase in animal passions. The errors in feeding increase irritability, which will culminate into insanity. Indigestion is always the result of incorrect feeding
Vegetarian Diet for Vigour and vitality
Vigour ,vitality and endurance are the products of vegetarian food. The sports person’s strength and stamina can be obtained from vegetarian food. There are several sports persons who proved their excellence and endurance by virtue of being vegetarians. Flesh eaters may be vigorous but the vitality and tenacity of veggies is incomparable. Vegetarian diet is the storehouse of energy. It takes much time for digestion and releases the energy very slowly. Hence veggies can work for long with less food and without discomfort. Like an elephant vegetarians can carry heavy weights on a frugal diet of fruits and fresh vegetables. The unusual strength of elephant is mystery to meat eaters. One can find extra ordinary workers who work hard in the farms and factories sustaining on a vegetarian lunch
Gandhi’s Dietetic Experiments
According to Mahatma Gandhi leafy vegetables available in abundance and in wide varieties are the natural source of minerals and vitamins. He says that the leaves of radish, carrot and turnip can be taken raw as the valuable minerals in them would be wasted while cooking. According to him, cooking is not only a costly affair but it also renders the food tasteless.
The Gandhian diet consists of 14 ounces of unpolished rice/wheat 3 ounces of grams/pulses, 3 ounces of green leaves, 3 ounces of roots, 3 ounces of vegetables, 3 ounces of fruits 10 ounces of milk, two ounces of jaggery and 2 ounces of oil/ghee. Gandhiji believed that this much quantity of balanced food could provide 2600 calories of energy for a human being
Diet rich in iron like green leafy vegetables, onions skins tubers and roots like potatoes apples, jaggery; fresh fruits and leafy vegetables which contain folic acid; the protein rich pulses, soyabeans, groundnut, milk and milk products are the best food for modern youth
Vegetables – the complete Food
Vegetables become the natural source of vitamins and minerals. All the essential mineral salts are available in a young carrot in addition to the very useful cellular roughage which helps in purging the system. Vegetables provide the body with such minerals as potassium, iron, magnesium, sodium, manganese, silicon and iodine as well as the Purgatives like sulphur, phosphorous and chlorine. Vegetables are a rich source of calcium which is essential for our bones and teeth
Ever so many studies have been conducted as to the proper diet of human beings. It has been found that proper food is one which contains panchabootas in its proper proportions. All these natural elements are essential for the metabological strength of the body. Food should be natural. Only natural food contains carbohydrates, proteins, fat and minerals in its required quantity and quality. Quality of the food is determined by its freshness, wholesomeness and its life content. Vegetarian food satisfies all these conditions. The very word vegetable which has its root in Latin, vegetus means fresh, wholesome and living. If we include 75% of fruits and vegetables, 20% cereals and pulses, 2% fat and 3% of protein in our food it becomes a complete food. We can conduct a healthy life with out any fear of ill health.
How nutritious is our vegetarian diet? According to Dr. D.K.Dixit “ the people in Europe who abstain from flesh are a better and more intelligent class and in a number of notable athletic contests requiring endurance, the vegetarians have invariably come off victorious”. Now nutritionists have veered round to the view that a combination of cereals and pulses plus fresh and green vegetables comprise a nutritionally balanced and economic diet. The use of milk and curds along with wheat and ‘daal’ can further upgrade the richness of protein. The sprouting of cereals and pulses remarkably reduces the bulk of the cereal food. This aids in achieving adequate consumption. The amount of vitamin B is frequently doubled and the level of Vitamin C increases even tenfold. When the sprouted stuff is eaten raw the benefit will be multiplied.
What Scientists Say About the Values of Vegetarian Food
Vegetarian food is ideal for health in as much as meat eating and fast food habits are cankerous to perfect health. Modern scientists are vehemently against the modern food habits and fast paced life style. Sickness is the result of dietetic errors, and stress is the outcome of fast paced life styles. When we combine both we get stress induced diseases.
The excess fat in food causes severe heart ailments. High fat content in the food increases the level of cholesterol which in turn increases the incidence of heart diseases. “Stop taking fatty food” is the only solution to severe heart problems, Advises cardiologists. “Cigarette smoking is injurious health”. This is a statutory warning to smokers. There is no two opinions that smoking poses serious health problems, not only to the active smokers but also to the passive smokers. Dr.M.D.Foreman points out that cigarette smoking are associated with increased risks of mio - cardiac infarction and sudden death. At times passive smoking becomes more dangerous to women and children. It is astonishing to see that the number of women smokers is on the rise in the country. Smoking is the major cause of coronary heart diseases and the affected persons should avoid smoking at any cost.
We cannot think about our food without oil. For centuries in Kerala we have been using coconut oil for cooking. But frying the food was uncommon formerly. Pouring the oil over the food when it is ready to use was the typical practice of the Keralites. It is considered comparatively safe and good for health. It is not the oil but the way in which we use it that causes health problems. Heating the same oil several times is injurious. “ whatever oil we use reduce the quantity. Do not use the same oil several times. Select oil which does not contain omega 6. limit the average intake of oil to 30 grams a day.
Coffee, tobacco and salt are not good for BP patients. Fast food consisting of fried and dried food, and animal flesh are detrimental to the heart. Doctors advice the inclusion of steam cooked items and leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, sprouts, pulses etc in the diet of heart patients.
The physicians are of the opinion that protein rich food like milk, meat, egg, fish, and pulses are not healthy for nephrological troubles. Kidney patients have to control the protein rich products. They advise people to cultivate fruits and vegetables in their kitchen garden using natural methods. He wants the patients to include more seasonal fruits, and locally available vegetables like lettuce, ladies finger, bitter gourd, cucumber, drumstick, banana flower in their food. He warns the people to check on their frequent family outing so that they can abstain from hamburger cheese, bread jam, butter, meat rolls and such other food that are killing us at least to some extent.
The eminent Oncologists are of the opinion that our traditional food is good for health. Fatty food is as fatal as dried and fried food . Traditional Kerala dishes can control breast cancers. The steam cooked country food is the best prevention for cancer. Meat eating and drinking has become a menace to modern man. Fresh fruits and locally available vegetables which contain a lot of fresh dietary fibers can prevent cancer.
According to some physicians acidity is seen more often among people who lead a stressful life and those who go for wrong food habits. Wrong eating habits include fatty meals, eating too much at a time, a drink before the meals, and a smoke after drinks like tea, coffee, chocolate mix, cola etc. which stimulate acid secretion in the stomach lead to acidity and peptic ulcer.
Is the westernize life style causes high incidence of cancer? The doctors who treat cancer patients have no doubts about this. According to him the westernized life style is the major cause for the high incidence of cancer among our people. Keralites who abandon their natural food in order to indulge in fast food fail to understand the dangers of porogenic hydrocarbon contained in the fried food. The fibreless carbonated fast food is the fertile litter bin for cancer.
An American Study says that the food we take in modern times is more in quantity and less in quality. The study conducted by Dr. Moris H.Ross substantiates that moderation in eating will ensure longevity and health. It can completely control many diseases like diabetes, BP, arteriosclerosis etc. The study also reveals that those who include fresh fruits, fibrous vegetables, honey etc. and eschew tea tobacco and coffee can not only increase their life span but also conduct a healthy and happy life.
Studies conducted in Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemology in Berlin showed that the uric acid content is comparatively low in the blood samples of a vegetarian. They are also less prone to heart diseases and arthritis. Their kidneys functions very effectively.
Dr. Frederik Stare of Harvard University says that adults normally need only about a gram of salt a day. It is estimated, however, that most people consume 10-15 grams and much of it is already incorporated in the food they buy. The National Research Council confirms and agrees that heavy salt users tend to consume 14-30 times more than the body requires. Too much salts impairs digestion, over works the kidney, causes nervous disorders, over stimulate and make the body obese.
Research from one of the leading Institutions for nutritional research, The Max Plank Institute of Germany showed that many vegetables, fruits, seeds, nut and grains are excellent source of complete protein. Soyabeans, sunflower seeds, almonds, potatoes and most fruits and green vegetables contain complete protein. Pavo O. Irola also supports this view and says that food which contain all essential (8/20) amino acids are called complete food. Proteins in vegetables and many seeds and nuts are biologically superior to animal proteins.
Meat based meals are not ideal, says the US Department of Agriculture. The recommended food pyramid has grains and cereals as the base, fruits and vegetables on the top and, a small amount of meat, dairy products, fatty food, oil just above that. But vegetarians should supplement their diet with iron, zinc and B vitamins.
The high raw diet, a way of eating where 75% of your food is taken raw, not only reverses bodily degeneration which accompanies long term illness, but also retards the rate of ageing, besides making you energetic and emotionally, says Leslie and Susnnah Kenton ( Raw Energy).Mother Nature has given us a group of compounds called antioxidants. Like a bullet proof vest, anti oxidants protect the cells by scavenging free radicals, binding them, and carrying them out of the body. Anti oxidants can be minerals, vitamins enzymes or “anutrient” compounds. The best known anti oxidants are vitamin C, Vitamin E, selenium and beta carrotines
In the views of modern science a healthy body requires 1) 62 percent oxygen, the source of which is fruits, vegetables, pulses and milk. 2) 21 percent carbon which we get from butter, ghee, pulses, grams, cereals and roots. 3) 9 percent hydrogen an element that is abundantly available in fruits, vegetables and milk. 4) 3 percent nitrogen. Besides pulses and nuts, meat egg, and fish contain nitrogen. We also require 2 percent calcium and 1 percent phosphorous, which we get from unrefined food products.
Vegetarian food is good for health. It creates a disease free situation in the human system. Complete immunity from disease can be obtained by taking fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits build and rebuild body tissues. They tone up the body and prevent diseases. It is completely false to believe that for body building one has to eat meat and other non-vegetarian animal proteins. Man can depend completely on plant proteins for fat body.
It is again not correct to say that man cannot live without meat and meat products. There are people who live solely on fruits and vegetables and have never touched or tasted meat. It is also baseless to believe that meat is the source of protein. The pure sources of protein are green leaves, green vegetables, grams and pulses. The protein present in plants is primary in nature and good for human health. Meat and flesh are the products of leaves and vegetables and therefore, are secondary.
Vegetarian food prevents dreaded diseases like cancer and AIDS. When compared to meat eaters the veggies are 30-40 percent less prone to heart ailments, high BP, and hypertension. In vegetarians the cholesterol level will be much lower than in meat eaters. The percentage of cancer is 25-30 less among vegetarians. When we include large amount of fruits and vegetables in daily food, the incidence of cancers in breast, spine, prostate, gall bladder, colon, mouth and stomach can be controlled. Vitamin C, vitamin E and carotinoid etc are anti oxidants which can resist cancer and heart disease. The mental condition and brainpower of veggies are better than non-vegetarians, says an US study.
We have to include fresh fruits fibrous vegetables, jaggery and honey in our daily food and avoid the consumption of tea and coffee. This would increase one’s life span.
The consumption of carrot, orange and tomato will prevent cancer. These natural foods contain beta-carotene, which is an anti carcinogen.
Man principally eats a vegetarian diet. From time immemorial Indians have been considered to be vegetarians. Vegetarian diet stimulates blood circulation and steps up the vital process of assimilation and elimination. This food style purifies the blood, tones up the nerves and rejuvenates the body. It thus increases immunity of the body system and prevents many diseases.
Vegetarian Food
Provides vibrant health
Ensures easy assimilation and elimination
Enhances immunity and resist diseases
Enhances vital energy and ensures vital economy
Part of Indian way of living
Tones up nerves and rejuvenates body
The study shows that the best medicine against cancer is vegetables and fruits. It reduces the chances of cancer afflictions in colon, rectum, breast, prostate, stomach and lungs. The leafy vegetables and fresh fruits, which contain vitamin A and vitamin C, control cancer. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, mango, papaya, tomato etc contain natural elements besides dietary fibers. The dietary fibers and anti oxidants found in fruits and vegetable can prevent cancer. Several studies show that if go on eating non vegetarian food in the present manner by the year 2015 the rate of heart attack among the people would increase two times and the number of cancer patients would go up to three times. It is a warning to modern youth.
Vegetarian food is a preventive food medicine. The more you eat the more will be the resisting power and higher will be the natural immunity among the people. It is hundred times safer than meat. If we practice vegetarian food habits during our childhood our older days would be healthier and happier. While growing old, one realizes that the best is yet to be. After all words worth says “Child is Father of the man”
The production of meat is a very costly affair. The study conducted by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) proves that the cost of production of meat is much higher than the cost of production of potato. We can cultivate 22417 kg of potato in a hectare against 185 kg of meat in the same area of land. In order to produce 1kg. meat it consumes 2861 liters of water whereas to produce the same quantity of vegetables we need to use only 209 liters, that is, less than 10% of water is sufficient to produce same amount of vegetables.
The study shows that the change of food from vegetarian to non vegetarian will increase the scarcity of food products. In India in a year 50 lakhs tonnes of meat is consumed. It is estimated that it will increase to 200 lakhs in 2020. Presently we use 5.5 crores tones of milk. It will increase to 28 crores tones in 2020. In order to produce one kilogram of meat we have to feed the animal with 10kg cereals as cattle feed. In 2020 if we want to produce 200 lakh tones of meat we need to feed 20 crores tones of cereals. The present production of cereals is only 20 crores tones. This condition would enhance our existing food scarcity and famine.
Vegetarian Diet for Purity and Chastity
Vegetables and fruits contain very low quantity of cholesterol. Hence it is good for heat. A vegetarian diet in general is cardio protective as it has more of potassium, and phosphorous and less of sodium in it. A hearty vegetarian food is good for a healthy heart. According to the Physicians committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) vegetarian food is good for young women. It reduces the menstrual disorders and controls the cholesterol in the body. “Eating diet rich in vegetables and fruits, wholesome grains, low fat diary products help prolong life. Eat more fruits and vegetables and live ling “Says Dr. Arthur Schatzkin, National Cancer Institute, Maryland. According to Dr. Banita Falkner and Thames Jafferson, University of Philadelhia, “Fruits with multiple nutrients – minerals, potassium, calcium, magnesium etc. lowers BP.
Vegetarian diet is necessary for purity, chastity and for perfect control of the appetite and passion which are the sources of great temptations, says Mr. Bramwell Booth, the Chief of Salvation Army. According to him meat eating is one of the causes of drunkenness. It favours indolence, sleepiness, inertia, indigestion and constipation. It also succumbs its victim to miseries and degradation. Mr. H.P. Fowler also supports this view. According to him eating dead food leads to indulgence, drinking, and increase in animal passions. The errors in feeding increase irritability, which will culminate into insanity. Indigestion is always the result of incorrect feeding
Vegetarian Diet for Vigour and vitality
Vigour ,vitality and endurance are the products of vegetarian food. The sports person’s strength and stamina can be obtained from vegetarian food. There are several sports persons who proved their excellence and endurance by virtue of being vegetarians. Flesh eaters may be vigorous but the vitality and tenacity of veggies is incomparable. Vegetarian diet is the storehouse of energy. It takes much time for digestion and releases the energy very slowly. Hence veggies can work for long with less food and without discomfort. Like an elephant vegetarians can carry heavy weights on a frugal diet of fruits and fresh vegetables. The unusual strength of elephant is mystery to meat eaters. One can find extra ordinary workers who work hard in the farms and factories sustaining on a vegetarian lunch
Gandhi’s Dietetic Experiments
According to Mahatma Gandhi leafy vegetables available in abundance and in wide varieties are the natural source of minerals and vitamins. He says that the leaves of radish, carrot and turnip can be taken raw as the valuable minerals in them would be wasted while cooking. According to him, cooking is not only a costly affair but it also renders the food tasteless.
The Gandhian diet consists of 14 ounces of unpolished rice/wheat 3 ounces of grams/pulses, 3 ounces of green leaves, 3 ounces of roots, 3 ounces of vegetables, 3 ounces of fruits 10 ounces of milk, two ounces of jaggery and 2 ounces of oil/ghee. Gandhiji believed that this much quantity of balanced food could provide 2600 calories of energy for a human being
Diet rich in iron like green leafy vegetables, onions skins tubers and roots like potatoes apples, jaggery; fresh fruits and leafy vegetables which contain folic acid; the protein rich pulses, soyabeans, groundnut, milk and milk products are the best food for modern youth
Vegetables – the complete Food
Vegetables become the natural source of vitamins and minerals. All the essential mineral salts are available in a young carrot in addition to the very useful cellular roughage which helps in purging the system. Vegetables provide the body with such minerals as potassium, iron, magnesium, sodium, manganese, silicon and iodine as well as the Purgatives like sulphur, phosphorous and chlorine. Vegetables are a rich source of calcium which is essential for our bones and teeth
Ever so many studies have been conducted as to the proper diet of human beings. It has been found that proper food is one which contains panchabootas in its proper proportions. All these natural elements are essential for the metabological strength of the body. Food should be natural. Only natural food contains carbohydrates, proteins, fat and minerals in its required quantity and quality. Quality of the food is determined by its freshness, wholesomeness and its life content. Vegetarian food satisfies all these conditions. The very word vegetable which has its root in Latin, vegetus means fresh, wholesome and living. If we include 75% of fruits and vegetables, 20% cereals and pulses, 2% fat and 3% of protein in our food it becomes a complete food. We can conduct a healthy life with out any fear of ill health.
How nutritious is our vegetarian diet? According to Dr. D.K.Dixit “ the people in Europe who abstain from flesh are a better and more intelligent class and in a number of notable athletic contests requiring endurance, the vegetarians have invariably come off victorious”. Now nutritionists have veered round to the view that a combination of cereals and pulses plus fresh and green vegetables comprise a nutritionally balanced and economic diet. The use of milk and curds along with wheat and ‘daal’ can further upgrade the richness of protein. The sprouting of cereals and pulses remarkably reduces the bulk of the cereal food. This aids in achieving adequate consumption. The amount of vitamin B is frequently doubled and the level of Vitamin C increases even tenfold. When the sprouted stuff is eaten raw the benefit will be multiplied.
What Scientists Say About the Values of Vegetarian Food
Vegetarian food is ideal for health in as much as meat eating and fast food habits are cankerous to perfect health. Modern scientists are vehemently against the modern food habits and fast paced life style. Sickness is the result of dietetic errors, and stress is the outcome of fast paced life styles. When we combine both we get stress induced diseases.
The excess fat in food causes severe heart ailments. High fat content in the food increases the level of cholesterol which in turn increases the incidence of heart diseases. “Stop taking fatty food” is the only solution to severe heart problems, Advises cardiologists. “Cigarette smoking is injurious health”. This is a statutory warning to smokers. There is no two opinions that smoking poses serious health problems, not only to the active smokers but also to the passive smokers. Dr.M.D.Foreman points out that cigarette smoking are associated with increased risks of mio - cardiac infarction and sudden death. At times passive smoking becomes more dangerous to women and children. It is astonishing to see that the number of women smokers is on the rise in the country. Smoking is the major cause of coronary heart diseases and the affected persons should avoid smoking at any cost.
We cannot think about our food without oil. For centuries in Kerala we have been using coconut oil for cooking. But frying the food was uncommon formerly. Pouring the oil over the food when it is ready to use was the typical practice of the Keralites. It is considered comparatively safe and good for health. It is not the oil but the way in which we use it that causes health problems. Heating the same oil several times is injurious. “ whatever oil we use reduce the quantity. Do not use the same oil several times. Select oil which does not contain omega 6. limit the average intake of oil to 30 grams a day.
Coffee, tobacco and salt are not good for BP patients. Fast food consisting of fried and dried food, and animal flesh are detrimental to the heart. Doctors advice the inclusion of steam cooked items and leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, sprouts, pulses etc in the diet of heart patients.
The physicians are of the opinion that protein rich food like milk, meat, egg, fish, and pulses are not healthy for nephrological troubles. Kidney patients have to control the protein rich products. They advise people to cultivate fruits and vegetables in their kitchen garden using natural methods. He wants the patients to include more seasonal fruits, and locally available vegetables like lettuce, ladies finger, bitter gourd, cucumber, drumstick, banana flower in their food. He warns the people to check on their frequent family outing so that they can abstain from hamburger cheese, bread jam, butter, meat rolls and such other food that are killing us at least to some extent.
The eminent Oncologists are of the opinion that our traditional food is good for health. Fatty food is as fatal as dried and fried food . Traditional Kerala dishes can control breast cancers. The steam cooked country food is the best prevention for cancer. Meat eating and drinking has become a menace to modern man. Fresh fruits and locally available vegetables which contain a lot of fresh dietary fibers can prevent cancer.
According to some physicians acidity is seen more often among people who lead a stressful life and those who go for wrong food habits. Wrong eating habits include fatty meals, eating too much at a time, a drink before the meals, and a smoke after drinks like tea, coffee, chocolate mix, cola etc. which stimulate acid secretion in the stomach lead to acidity and peptic ulcer.
Is the westernize life style causes high incidence of cancer? The doctors who treat cancer patients have no doubts about this. According to him the westernized life style is the major cause for the high incidence of cancer among our people. Keralites who abandon their natural food in order to indulge in fast food fail to understand the dangers of porogenic hydrocarbon contained in the fried food. The fibreless carbonated fast food is the fertile litter bin for cancer.
An American Study says that the food we take in modern times is more in quantity and less in quality. The study conducted by Dr. Moris H.Ross substantiates that moderation in eating will ensure longevity and health. It can completely control many diseases like diabetes, BP, arteriosclerosis etc. The study also reveals that those who include fresh fruits, fibrous vegetables, honey etc. and eschew tea tobacco and coffee can not only increase their life span but also conduct a healthy and happy life.
Studies conducted in Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemology in Berlin showed that the uric acid content is comparatively low in the blood samples of a vegetarian. They are also less prone to heart diseases and arthritis. Their kidneys functions very effectively.
Dr. Frederik Stare of Harvard University says that adults normally need only about a gram of salt a day. It is estimated, however, that most people consume 10-15 grams and much of it is already incorporated in the food they buy. The National Research Council confirms and agrees that heavy salt users tend to consume 14-30 times more than the body requires. Too much salts impairs digestion, over works the kidney, causes nervous disorders, over stimulate and make the body obese.
Research from one of the leading Institutions for nutritional research, The Max Plank Institute of Germany showed that many vegetables, fruits, seeds, nut and grains are excellent source of complete protein. Soyabeans, sunflower seeds, almonds, potatoes and most fruits and green vegetables contain complete protein. Pavo O. Irola also supports this view and says that food which contain all essential (8/20) amino acids are called complete food. Proteins in vegetables and many seeds and nuts are biologically superior to animal proteins.
Meat based meals are not ideal, says the US Department of Agriculture. The recommended food pyramid has grains and cereals as the base, fruits and vegetables on the top and, a small amount of meat, dairy products, fatty food, oil just above that. But vegetarians should supplement their diet with iron, zinc and B vitamins.
The high raw diet, a way of eating where 75% of your food is taken raw, not only reverses bodily degeneration which accompanies long term illness, but also retards the rate of ageing, besides making you energetic and emotionally, says Leslie and Susnnah Kenton ( Raw Energy).Mother Nature has given us a group of compounds called antioxidants. Like a bullet proof vest, anti oxidants protect the cells by scavenging free radicals, binding them, and carrying them out of the body. Anti oxidants can be minerals, vitamins enzymes or “anutrient” compounds. The best known anti oxidants are vitamin C, Vitamin E, selenium and beta carrotines
