Bad dietary habits may spoil Eid

Rawalpindi
The majority of our population is habitual of following bad dietary habits, including eating too much meat on the festive occasions like Eidul Azha, without knowing that it may be dangerous for their health and can spoil the festivity.
Eating excessive amounts of meat may cause heart disease, kidney diseases, osteoporosis (softening of bones), and cancer and can cause a number of serious complications among chronic patients.
It is generally observed that most of our population is unaware of the side effects of eating too much meat and bad dietary habits. A significant proportion of our population eats excessive amounts of meat not only on Eid days but days after the festive occasion of Eidul Azha.
Studies reveal that people who eat too much meat are 20 percent more likely to develop cancer if they eat a lot of red meat. Pancreatic cancer, colon cancer and breast cancer have been linked to heavy meat consumption. Meat also contains lots of saturated fats and cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease. Meat may also contain high levels of hormones, which can trigger reproductive problems and early-onset puberty in children.
Your kidneys work to remove excess proteins from your body, so eating too much protein can stress them out, leading to kidney damage and even contributing to renal failure in some cases.
High dietary protein levels cause your body to excrete more calcium, which can contribute to osteoporosis. Excessive use of red meat, salt and chilies can increase stomach acidity also.
Health experts say that consumption of excessive amount of meat increases uric acid level, leading to increased incidence of gouty arthritis.
Many people have habit of storing meat in refrigerator for longer periods without knowing that such practice could cause food poisoning and other gastrointestinal complications. According to health experts, meat should not be stored in refrigerators for more than 10 days particularly in conditions in Pakistan where electricity loadshedding may make it toxic.
Individuals should try to eat only fresh meat. Experts say an individual should not consume more than 250 grams of red meat in a day. The fat attached with red meat should not be used as a replacement of oil or ghee as this is more dangerous form of fat and can lead to hypertension and heart disease.
Experts advise that spicy stuff like brain masala and head and trotters should be avoided by those having high cholesterol. It is suggested that red meat preferably should be used with vegetables and yogurt.
Experts believe that eating too much red meat can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease also. So the message is to try to reduce the red meat consumption to less than two to three servings per week.
It has been observed that most of the people have habits of smoking after meals, eating fruit immediately after meal, drinking tea, taking walk and sleeping immediately, which are bad practices. Experiments prove that smoking a cigarette after meal is comparable to smoking 10 cigarettes (chance of cancer is higher). Immediately eating fruits after meal will cause stomach to be bloated with air. Tea contains a high content of acid.
It is said that after a meal walk a hundred step and you will live till 99 though health experts say it is contrary to the fact. Walking immediately after meals will 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 problem and infection in our intestine. Meal should be taken at least two hours before sleep.
Eating or drinking too much at a single sitting leads to unpleasant fullness, belching and bloating apart from a number of serious digestive problems. Smaller, more frequent meals eaten more slowly may be easier to digest for people already suffering from the symptoms or gastrointestinal problems.
Similarly, eating too quickly may lead to uncomfortable fullness by not giving the stomach adequate time to expand. Experts advise people to not to wear too tight clothes as they may contribute to heartburn symptoms. Also tight waistbands and belts can put pressure on your stomach and increase the chances of stomach contents backing up to your esophagus (small digestive tract) and heartburn.
Experts say raising the head of your bed helps discouraging heartburn. Sleeping with your bed about six inches higher than your stomach can help prevent digested food from backing up into your esophagus.