Trans-fats may cause inflammation

By Muhammad Qasim
Islamabad

Health experts say that consumption of chips, cookies, crackers, prepared baked goods, vegetable oils, instant rice, canned beans, potatoes, hydrogenated oils, candy or enriched pasta might cause coronary heart disease and other inflammatory-related disorders.

They say that population should learn to read nutrition facts labels. Public should learn to know the carbohydrate content, trans-fat content and serving size of food items.

Within past few years, the number of patients with heart diseases has been on the rise. It is so because majority of population do not know what to consume to avoid heart diseases, said Head of Community Medicine at Islamabad Medical & Dental College Colonel (r) Professor Dr Muhammad Ashraf Chauhdry while talking to ‘The News’ in connection with continuous rise in number of heart patients in the country.

He said the country became obsessed with low fat and low-cholesterol but heart diseases continue to be on the rise. Supporting the newer hypothesis that there is no link between amounts of cholesterol consumed through foods and the amount of cholesterol in blood, he said it is the inflammation and not high fat and high cholesterol, which are the real culprit in causation of heart disease.

He said that to avoid heart diseases, population should start by replacing vegetable oils with high quality cold preserved or extra-virgin olive oil. Butter should be used for cooking. Olive and vinegar should be used for salad dressings. Replace the enemy starches with fresh fruits and fresh vegetables. Choose colourful vegetables, leafy vegetables and non-starchy vegetables. Avoid refined flour products, instant rice and potatoes. Basically, if it is white, it is not right, he said.

When it comes to eating right, excess sugar and carbohydrates, excess hydrogenated fats (bad fats) and a deficiency of good fats will cause you to loose the battle with coronary heart disease and other inflammatory-related disorders. “However, reduced carbohydrate diet along with increased proteins, increased Omega-3 (fish and fish oils), colourful vegetables and fruit, proper supplementation, and exercise will defend against inflammation and coronary heart disease,” said Dr Ashraf.

Terming restaurants a danger zone, he said that while going for dining out don’t go hungry. “Have a high protein snack and two glasses of water before you go and you will tend to eat less. Have a steak but not a potato. Dress your salad with olive oil and vinegar. Take a pass on the bread and dessert. Ask for steamed vegetable or fruit instead of pasta sides or rice,” he suggested.

Dr Ashraf said that when going for fast foods like burger chains, just discard the bun and avoid the ketchup and special sauce, which is very high in sugar. Leave the fries for someone else. Eat salad instead of fries. And, one of the best things you can do is order water as your beverage. Enjoy the meats, cheeses and vegetables - just discard the roll, bread or bun in sandwich shops. In salad bars, choose a base of non-starchy vegetables. Go for the green stuff and top it off with proteins such as hardboiled eggs and chicken. Pass the pasta salad and skip the baked potato.

He said that if you go to a fried chicken restaurant avoid barbecued, breaded and deep-fried chicken. “Stay away from rolls and mashed potatoes. Ask for vegetables, fruits or even yoghurt as your side dish,” he advised adding when you go for eating at other chains, avoid starches - skip the buns, breads, noodles and rice. “Go for the vegetables and meat.” He said that public need to understand that there is no harm to health in having all these food items once in a while. “The aim should be to avoid the consumption of starchy and hydrogenated items on regular basis.”

To a query, he said that eating can be a challenge but in actual it is the small daily decisions that make the difference in the battle against coronary heart disease and other inflammatory-related disorders. “Test your c-reactive protein, an indicator of inflammation and heart disease and test your homocysteine (risk factor for coronary heart disease) levels.” He said that one can increase Omega-3 levels with supplementation and intake of appropriate fish. “Our bodies need to move. Ageing does not mean that we need to stop moving. Start exercise. If you do not take out time to exercise, you might not be given the time to live a happy and healthy life.”

Dr Ashraf said that heart disease has found a cure and it starts with you. He said that exercise lowers C-reactive protein and inflammation lowering the risks of heart disease. Link...