‘Eating too much meat to cause dietary problems’

RAWALPINDI: Eating too much meat is a common dietary problem in Pakistani society and it is observed that most Pakistanis do not realize that they are eating too much meat particularly of festive days including Eidul Azha.

The risks of eating excessive amounts of meat include heart disease, kidney disease, osteoporosis (softening of bones), and cancer.

Studies show that people who eat too much meat are 20 per cent 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.

Excessive meat could increase uric acid level, leading to increased incidence of gouty arthritis; said Head of Community Medicine at CMH Lahore Medical College Professor Dr Muhammad Ashraf Chaudhry while talking to ‘The News’.

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. Meat should not be stored in refrigerators for more than 10 days. Try to eat only fresh meat, said Dr. Ashraf.

He added that 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, he said. He added that spicy stuff like brain masala and head and trotters should be avoided by those having high cholesterol. He suggested that red meat preferably should be used with vegetables and yogurt.

To a query, Dr. Ashraf said that meatless meals too offer lot of health benefits. People, who eat more plant-based foods, generally eat fewer calories and less fat, weigh less and have a lower risk of heart disease. If you want to live longer, trade some red meat in your diet for fish, nuts, whole grains and healthier proteins, he said.

He added that eating too much red meat could 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.

Dr. Ashraf explained that people always say that after a meal walk a hundred step and you will live till 99. In actual fact, this is not true. Walking will cause the digestive system to be unable to absorb the nutrition from the food we take, he said.

He added similarly, if we sleep immediately after a meal, the food will not be able to digest properly and this will lead to gastric and infection in our intestine. Meal should be taken at least two hours before sleep, advised Dr. Ashraf.