TIPS TUESDAY: HOW YOUR DIET AFFECTS YOUR HEALTH

It is often said that we are what we eat, but how many of us actually try to eat healthy? And how possible or should I say feasible is it these days? With there been more working mothers now and no maids, our diet has taken a turn for the worst. I was having a discussion with one of my senior colleagues one day not too long ago, and the turn of the discussion scared the living daylights out of me. It seems I've directly poisoned myself for a long time as I'm sure most of us have.

The discussion started with the constant clinical failures we were having with the treatment of malaria even though it didn't always prove so pathologically (as in when symptoms of patients were compared to laboratory investigations of the same patients). To speak more plainly, patients returned to clinic after treatment with the same non-specific symptoms of malaria of body pains, easy tiredness and just a general feeling of unwell after initial treatment, and most times after tests were repeated, the malaria parasites seemed to have cleared from their bloodstreams. Usually, another antimalarial drug is prescribed for patients who claimed to have more severe symptoms while multivitamins were given to others. It was a cause for serious concern.

So, it happened that a nurse was happy after she apparently had found a permanent cure for the constant tiredness she had. When I inquired about the details, she said she had been read a book "the haleluyah diet" and was following it strictly. The book is basically about eating lots of fruits and vegetables, no meat only fish and also natural foods but in minimal quantity - she explained. It was at this point the senior colleague I mentioned earlier came into the discussion, with the opening remark "our problem stems from eating lots of packaged foods. This definitely got my attention. The explanation was that, packaged foods came with lots of preservatives especially those with long expiry dates.

Currently, because of globalization (you often hear sayings like "the world is a global village"), Foods produced in different parts of the world are now very readily available at other parts. Countries like China have made it even more affordable so that foods that were considered food for the rich are now common placed. That however, is not my main problem here, the more the merrier isn't it what they say? My problem is that with this globalization, the effects is foods, even perishables are now packaged with very potent preservatives so they can stand the test of time from manufacturing till it's eventually consumed; the test of travel from one far continent to another with alternating temperatures of sea and air travel. The time it spends in the shops before it finally gets to its consumers.

These days we hear of increasing rates of cancers and the world is generating resources and fighting against it everyday. The rate of hypertension, diabetes and obesity including childhood obesity is on the rise. Can we stop for a minute and think? What if these preservatives are toxins? I'm pretty sure some are. My colleague explained that the preservatives are not digestible and as such remain in the intestines and line the intestinal walls preventing proper absorption of the foods we eat and leaving us with very little nutrients. Some facilitate storage and increase in the fat stores. Others are just plain toxic. I always knew there was a correlation between cancer of the colon (gut) and canned foods but I never got it quite so explained.

Back to the beginning about living in such trying times as we do, with work taking up so much time that we have barely enough to sleep, how do we add cooking all natural foods all the time? My personal solution, it's next to impossible but not if you try GENUINELY!!! I decided to stop buying frozen meat, canned foods e.t.c. But there are some things I can't help like eating biscuits for example, even when you bake them yourself, the ingredients have been preserved. For those, I decided to increase my fruit and vegetables intake. They contain antioxidants which help fight the toxins and helps to detoxify your system. Also a mild laxative once in 3 months helps to wash out the coatings of the preservative on the intestinal wall. Green tea is another great invention of the Chinese. It also serves as detox.

This is just my version of how to get around this problem. What about your friends and readers? Let me know your thoughts and solutions, would love to read about them.
Cheers.....