Look before you eat — rich food brings disease
Ivninderpal Singh

THOUGH human beings have adapted themselves to a wide range of naturally occurring foods, the types of food and mix of nutrients in terms of carbohydrates, fats and proteins have remained relatively constant.

In the second half of the 20th century, major changes in the nutritional composition of the diet have taken place in developed countries. But along with signs of prosperity, adverse health effects due to the intake of an excess of energy-dense foods rich in fat and free sugars but deficient in complex carbohydrates, have come to the fore. Researchers have demonstrated a close relationship between the ‘affluent’ diet and the emergence of a wide range of chronic non-infectious diseases, particularly coronary heart disease, various cancers, diabetes, gallstones, dental caries, gastrointestinal disorders, and bone and joint diseases.

Such health problems along with the already existing nutritional deficiency diseases were also observed in developing countries as a result of urbanisation.

In India also, people living in urban areas are no longer relying on the home-grown produce only but are using packed food materials.

Studies have revealed striking differences in the dietary patterns of urban and rural dwellers. It has been seen that the urban elite in the developing world experiences higher rates of cardiovascular diseases and cancers.The most frequent of the cardiovascular diseases are obliterative atheroschlerosis, arterial thrombosis and hypertension. A diet rich in lipid and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol makes the human body more prone to such diseases.

Studies indicate that drinking alcoholic beverages and tobacco is causally related to the cancers of the mouth (oral cancer), pharynx, oesophagus and upper part of larynx. A direct association between breast cancer mortality and the intake of energy, fats and specific sources of dietary fats, such as milk and beef has also been found.

Diets high in plant foods, especially green and yellow vegetables and citrus fruits, are associated with cancers of the lungs, colon, oesophagus and stomach, though mechanisms underlying such effects are not fully understood yet. A cholesterol-rich diet also results in the formation of gallstones, predominantly cholesterol gallstones.

Dental caries is also associated with the dietary changes of increasing use of products containing sugars. Sucrose has greater cariogenic potential than starch. Studies reveal that cooked staple starch foods such as rice, potatoes and bread appear to be of low cariogenicity, but the addition of sugar to cooked starch foods increases the development of caries.

Alcohol consumption has also many adverse health effects, most of which are associated with the age of the person and the amount consumed. In middle age and old age, alcohol consumption increases the risk chronic diseases, particularly of the liver and brain.

The additives used to preserve the nutritional quality foods, maintain the safety of of food by inhibiting the growth of bacteria, make food look more attractive and improve the taste, also contribute to the deterioration of health and make the human body more prone to diseases.

Thus we can say that by regulating the dietary intake, one can keep oneself away from disease.

How about cycling to college, work?
Anshula Gupta

OF late, people are becoming more interested keeping themselves healthy and fit. To remain healthy, it is essential to adopt an exercise like brisk walking, cycling etc daily for a minimum 30 minutes.

But, we find very few who opt to pedal down under the blue sky and in open air to the market or workplace.

Why is it so? It is because our self-esteem hurts in riding a bike? Flaunting an autowheeler has become a fad, especially in the Northern belt, making roads congested and accident-prone, creating chaos at the roundabouts and enhancing parking tensions day by day.

Why do people, especially from the educated and affluent classes, consider the bicycle to be an inferior vehicle? Those of us who tend to ape the West should know that the sale of bikes in the USA has gone up more than sevenfold during the past few years.

In Belgium, Sweden and Holland, you will see 90 per cent of residents sailing on their bicycles, tinkling their bells in joy. Japanese too, do not believe in the show-off policy. And it is a common sight to find in their cities, young, highly paid working mothers carrying babies in their front baskets and biking down to the creches on way to work.

The prevalence of heart and artery problems has increased in our country during the past few decades, particularly among the urban population, and this risk is 20 times higher than the Japanese.

The daily 30 minutes of exercise required for your fitness can be broken into chunks of 10 minutes each, with everyday activities like using the stairs and not lifts and cycling instead of using cars/scooters. A lot of people do not realise that physical activity in general, rather than setting aside time, is really what is important.

We have examples of officers holding high positions who cycle down daily to their workplace, are more active in their duties and ultimately lead more healthy and satisfactory life.

Our present college going students being in the peak of their youth are bursting with energy. Unlike the past, students adopting pedalling as the mode of transport are rapidly declining.

Displaying wealth being the mantra, the young generation is turning more and more leisure prone, likely to create medical problems for them later.

An energy-efficient vehicle, a cycle goes four times ahead with one push of its pedals than the distance you would cover by foot with the same effort. It also keeps going when pedalling is stopped, unlike walking where you halt when your steps halt. That is why biking is very purposeful, hitting two birds with one stone, when along with exercising you can visit anywhere further down.

Walking limits your exercise to lower limbs movement and burns 6 calories/minute while in normal biking, we consume 19 calories/minute which helps in reducing the flab faster.

The whole body exercises while biking, including your abdomen, upper limbs and muscles tone up for the balance to be made.

Besides, during cycling, there is a free movement of joints, especially of the knees and ankles, with no pressure or strain of body weight on them unlike in jogging or brisk walking. This free movement of joints perks up all muscles and ligaments involved in strengthening the joints more, making them less prone to degenerative problems with age. The only caution required in cycling is during unfriendly weather conditions like severe heat or humidity.

Lots of fancy bikes have been flooding the market in the past decade. Bicycles are also coming well-equipped with front and rear shock absorbers, making your ride more smooth and comfortable.

Cycling down off and on instills confidence and conviction in your own personality instead of relying on sleek automobiles to advertise your certainty and strata to your society.