Yes, we are eating our way to the grave

Jun 07, 2009

President Yoweri Museveni and his Burundian counterpart made passionate pleas to Ugandans to change their lifestyles to stay away from diseases such as heart disease and cancer (The New Vision June 1).Two days later, the acting director of the Uganda He

By Alex Turyatemba

President Yoweri Museveni and his Burundian counterpart made passionate pleas to Ugandans to change their lifestyles to stay away from diseases such as heart disease and cancer (The New Vision June 1).Two days later, the acting director of the Uganda Heart Institute, Dr. John Omagino, warned that heart diseases are likely to become the leading killers in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020, if people do not change their feeding habits (The New Vision June 3).

This reminds me of a chat I had with my friend, Hudson, a nutritional expert a few months ago. “Today, more than at any other time in human history, people are digging their own graves at the dining tables and inside fancy restaurants using forks and spoons,” Hudson said. His words encouraged me to study a little more about nutrition.

From 2005, I have been keen on nutrition, but did not know things were this bad. After a chart with Hudson, I decided to study this issue and get to the root of it.

Research shows that 95% of the people around the world eat food that is harmful to their bodies, while 75% do not know what to eat and why to eat it. Over 80% of all sicknesses, leaving aside infections and accidents, are related to diet. We are losing it in the area of diet. And we are paying a steep price — heart disease, stroke and cancer are claiming thousands of lives, while health experts say obesity has reached epidemic levels in every age group.

According to the World Health Organisation, there are about one billion overweight adults worldwide. About three million of those are clinically obese and at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke and cancer. The key causes are overconsumption of foods high in saturated fat and sugars, combined with reduced physical inactivity.

Today, the most popular diets are high in fat, sodium, sugar, preservatives and are highly refined and deficient in all the elements essential to the functioning of the living organisms.

Developed nations have modern hospitals equipped with sophisticated medical equipment and emergency services, ready to help when needed. All this has helped raise their health level and quality of life. Nevertheless, certain health problems occur with increasing frequency, despite the technological progress in the world of medicine. Heart diseases, especially myocardial infarction, disturbances caused by lack of circulation in the brain, stroke, asthma, ulcers and cancer are taking an upward trend. But isn’t medical technology capable of detecting them and dealing with them before they wreck havoc? Unfortunately no!

The most advanced technology and the best specialists cannot compensate for poor habits. No product on the shelf can substitute for the right living habits. A healthy lifestyle can do much more for our health than the most advanced medical technology. For instance, according to the European code against cancer, simple habits like abstinence from toxics like tobacco, alcohol and a diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables and cereals, can significantly reduce the chance of suffering from cancer.

People on the Japanese island of Okinawa have beaten age to become the longest living and healthiest on earth. Their rates of cancer, heart disease and stroke are the lowest in the world. Their diet is full of soy, vegetables, fish, low levels of or no alcohol, low salt intake, six glasses of water per day and fidelity to the principle of Hara Hachi (eating until only 80% full).

These are the very habits that kept our grandparents strong and long lived. And they are really not hard, but require discipline and conviction to put them to work in the world today where convenience and pleasure are put above everything else. Whereas eating raw vegetables and fruits is boring to many, everyone longs to sink their teeth into a hot goat rib with oily chips.

Today, as never before, we understand the secrets of healthy living. We have valuable scientifically documented information to improve our health. But the real problem is our inclination towards pleasure. It is a match between purpose and pleasure and we are sadly letting pleasure carry the day.

I believe the real reason we eat is not merely for the pleasure of it, but rather, to supply our cells with tools to maintain and repair our bodies and fight any invaders. This is nutrition. Pleasure is just an incentive. Unfortunately, the foods which bring us the most pleasure do not necessarily give us nutrition. In fact many of them are harmful to our health. Our body is designed with the best ammunition to fight any invaders but the bullets are outside of it. We supply the bullets as we feed correctly. Also many of these invaders can be cleansed off with water which is always abundant. The illnesses with the highest mortality rate among the world’s middle class (heart disease and cancer) have a lot to do with lifestyle. For instance, Dr. Omagino said the cholesterol levels of urban dwellers are double of the rural dwellers due to increased intake of fats and oils among the former. African nations are in hot soup, unlike the West which only has to deal with these lifestyle diseases, Africa still has, on top of these diseases which are spreading like a bush fire, an annoyingly high incidence of infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and typhoid, etc. It also has an unfair share of disease epidemics such as cholera, dysentery and the scourge of AIDS. But Africa has a big advantage: It is cheapest to eat healthier, if you know how. We have an abundance of fruits and vegetables. The missing link is knowledge to cause an awakening about nutrition. People must know that it is in their power to stay healthy. Like Prof Omaswa once said: “Health is made at home and only repaired at the health centre when it breaks down”. Perhaps things may not easily change, unless leaders take this issue seriously.

Now that we know that our lifestyles are the problem, it is time we (especially the leaders) joined the President in awakening the population to this nutritional crisis. Let us all take personal responsibility for our health: purpose to eat right, stay away from toxins, keep good hygiene and exercise regularly to live long healthy lives. Remember, health is your greatest wealth.

The writer is the president of the African Dream Foundation

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