Excessive use of meat on and after Eid may cause serious health hazards

Rawalpindi:Eating excessive amounts of meat may cause a number of serious health hazards including heart disease, kidney disease, osteoporosis (softening of bones) and cancer though majority of our population is either unaware of the fact or takes the matter lightly and eats too much meat on and after Eidul Azha.

Studies show that people who eat too much meat are 20 per cent more likely to develop cancers. Pancreatic cancer, colon cancer and breast cancer have been linked to heavy red meat consumption. Meat contains lots of saturated fat and cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease. Meat may also contain high levels of hormones, which can trigger reproductive problems and early-onset of puberty in children.

According to health experts, one should eat not more than 250 grams of red meat in a day and the fat attached with red meat should not be used as a replacement of oil or ghee as this is a more dangerous form of fat and can lead to hypertension and heart disease. Spicy stuff like brain masaala, head and trotters should be avoided by those having high cholesterol.

It is worth mentioning that kidneys work to remove excess proteins from the body and eating too much protein in the shape of meat can put a tremendous burden on the kidneys that may lead to kidney damage and even renal failure in some cases. High dietary protein levels cause the body to excrete more calcium, which can contribute to osteoporosis. Excessive use of red meat, salt and chillies can increase stomach acidity also.

The use of excessive amounts of meat on and weeks after Eid may pose serious threats to health of even healthy persons. Experts suggest that meat should not be stored in refrigerators for more than 10 days instead one should try to eat only fresh meat. Excessive meat may increase uric acid level, leading to increased incidence of gouty arthritis.

Health experts say that red meat preferably should be used with vegetables and yogurt. Eating too much red meat may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. To stay healthy, one should try to reduce the red meat consumption to less than two to three servings per week and the practice should be followed on and after Eidul Azha.

Experts say that it has been observed that most people have a habit of smoking after meals, eating fruit immediately after meals, drinking tea, taking walks and sleeping immediately, which are bad practices. Experiments prove that smoking a cigarette after a meal is comparable to smoking 10 cigarettes (chance of cancer is higher). Eating fruits immediately after a meal may cause the stomach to be bloated with air. Tea contains a high content of acid. This substance will cause the protein content in the food we consume to be hardened thus difficult to digest.

Walking after a meal may cause the digestive system to be unable to absorb the nutrition from the food we take. Similarly, if we sleep immediately after a meal, the food will not be able to digest properly and this will lead to gastric problems and infection in the intestine. Meal should be taken at least two hours before sleep.