"People tend to eat the same amount of bulk, no matter what the calories" - Jennifer Sacheck of Harvard Medical School People tend to eat the same quantity and, more often of the same quality of food daily. This is not healthy and it begins to show as age increases. To break the dietary monotony, people in all age groups eat things which are tasty; often fatty, sweet or spicy. Add to that aerated drinks and coffee. The net effect is an increase in the waist line, associated thyroid problems and more serious diabetic complications. The exponential increase in consumption of carbonated soft drinks, paired with the simultaneous decline in milk drinking over the years in most nations across the world has seen new and more severe forms of weight related issues emerging. Coca cola seems to be winning the battle of liquid dominance against the milk booths in the last few decades. What this translates to in terms of sugar intake and consequently, weight gain, is startling. Both milk and soda, in the form of lactose and sucrose are sweet, but soda is sweeter, and today's people are hooked on sugar. Sweetness is the new definition of the quality of food. If one looks around in any supermarket, it is evident that most packages containing edible stuff have some element of sugar or fat associated to it. As quoted in a recent study done at Harvard, "An average Human living in the US consumes 16% more sugar today as compared to what he would have done in the 1960s". The condition is the same, if not worse, in most Asian countries as well. The major cause of weight gain in most these cases was cited to be heavy sugar and fat intake. Ingredients like salt, sugar and oil form an essential part of every cooking style. It might be Continental, Chinese, Mexican or the plane Mac style, they are all very rich in fats, sugar and salt. During digestion, the carbohydrate in our food is converted to glucose and then absorbed into the bloodstream to provide energy. Unfortunately, certain types of refined carbohydrate are absorbed too quickly and raise blood sugar levels to a very high count. This in turn causes the body to "overreact" and depress blood glucose levels below normal. This fluctuating effect causes all sorts of problems for our mood and appetite, and is a perfect recipe for weight gain. Sugar and fat are addictive. So is the consequent weight gain. Apart from the increase in the cholesterol level, which is very damaging to the heart and the body in general, it also leads to a feeling of drowsiness. This in turn makes the body sluggish and it becomes a vicious cycle. This cycle is well documented in medical and psychological literature. Healthy food often seems very bland to our taste buds. To counter the blandness, we carve for food like sugar or salt. They are in the form of processed refined food like canned soup, candy, sweets and ice-cream. They consequently take the maximum time to digest in the body. The way to offset the effect of the increased intake of fatty, sweet and salty food is to exercise, controlled diet and a regular and healthy diet regime. If ignored, it will tell heavily upon ones health. |
