A man is what he eats’ runs an old adage, but the scientific truth should have been ‘a man will be what he eats’. Food can affect one’s attitude towards life in addition to sustaining it. Consequently, there are so many food fads and myths that need to be set right. Most of our present knowledge on food comes from our ancestors and traditional sources and the science of clinical nutrition is comparatively new, originating from the Nazi secrets (regarding their diet, i.e., 1 gram protein/kg body weight) of the Second World War. Of late, medical scientists have been changing their food advice to patients so fast and so frequently that the people at large find it hard to accept all that they are told.

Some of you may be shocked to know that there was a time when doctors had advised diabetic patients to eat plenty of sugaring order to replenish its loss through their urine. Such advice must have killed quite a few diabetics! The notion was then changed

And patients were told to avoid sugar and carbohydrates totally in order to prevent blood sugar levels going up. Instead, patients were asked to go in for very high protein and diets. The latter course resulted in more misery and premature vascular deaths amongst diabetics. Now medical science is slowly getting back to its senses and asking patients with diabetes to adopt a more rational diet containing moderate carbohydrates of the non-refined variety such as rice and to take smaller helpings of proteins and fats.

Many a diabetic and his or her spouse even now carry the impression that if one becomes a diabetic, one must give up one’s staple rice diet and go on to eat wheat in its various forms. This factor upsets many household routines. Scientifically, rice proves to be a better diet for a diabetic compared to wheat for more reasons than one. By weight, wheat contains marginally more protein than rice. A split-up of the proteins into the four varieties, which are albumin, globulin, glutamine and proclaim clearly shows rice to be much superior (protein-wise) as proclaim (the best protein for humans) makes up 55 per cent of the protein content in rice, while it accounts for a mere 5 per cent in wheat. Also, the dietary fibers in rice (not same as plant fiber) is better than that in wheat.

Vegetarianism is the latest of the food fads in the West. While it is true that most vegetarian foods are safer than meat and poultry, the latter are not totally bad. Vegetarian food results in a better internal environment for fats and leads to tranquility of the mind. Such food also results in a lesser intake of protein compared to a meat diet, which proves beneficial in the long run. A mixed vegetarian diet is full of dietary fibers which has its own advantages, the most palpable of which is the good bowel motion that one gets daily. Fiber also helps in reducing the absorption of extra fats from the intestines.

Presently, a great deal of fuss has been created about the inclusion of fiber in one’s diet. It has been claimed that fiber

Reduces the incidence of cancer in the gut, so much so that many Americans have restricted their intake to only bran! However, it should be pointed out that scientific data in this regard are not conclusive or final; the supposition is purely hypothetical.

One should consume generous quantities of whole grain foods, legumes, vegetables and fruits, which contain protective elements such as fiber, carotene (pro-vitamin A) vitamins C and E and selenium.

You should moderate your intake of fat. Your total fat intake should not exceed 30 per cent of your total calorie intake. All fats are equally bad and there is nothing to choose among them. Please remember to avoid fried food because, when fat boils at L.1600C, it incorporates within itself the atmospheric oxygen to produce 25-hydroxycholesterol which damages the walls of blood vessels.

There are various kinds of fat; for instance, good, indifferent and indeterminate (fish) fats. So, any advice to drastically reduce fat may not be good. If one seriously believes in cutting down fat rapidly and promptly, such a situation would amount to very serious deficiency in essential fatty acids which sustain life. The safe course would be to cut down fat intake gradually.

You should avoid overeating. It should be noted that very high energy diet may even lead to cancer. One should avoid highly salted and smoked food. The latter is especially bad for stomach cancers. Alcohol should be totally avoided. The diet of a modern-day human being can be divided into three types:

(1)Killer diet: Food with excessive fat plus tobacco and Alcohol.

(2)Questionable killer diet: Excess fat, sugar, Carbohydrate protein and salt. Healer diet: Plenty of micronutrients for healthy life. Plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Presently, we have been following the principle of ‘disjointedincrementalism’ in our diet approach. Instead of viewing the problem as a whole, we have merely been trying to nibble at theedges, dealing only with a part of it which has high public visibility (for example, cholesterol). This approach is counterproductive. Pure food, in the form in which it is available in nature, is the best form of food. We should not adulterate it, as we normally do in order to suit our palates.