Chapter 6 L
REASONS BEHIND DISEASES
Many diseases have their
origins in a wrong diet. We may eat too much unhealthy food (especially
sugar, white flour, and fatty food) and too little food that contains important
protective nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals. It is very possible that
we get enough energy from food, but not these important protective nutrients,
and this can lead to diseases. This is possible also in the Western countries.
On the other
hand, people who eat only vegetable food are their own special group. They
usually avoid many elite diseases (gallstones, cardiovascular diseases,
diabetes, constipation, cancer), but can suffer from the deficiency of
certain ingredients, which can also lead to diseases.
For example,
tuberculosis that has killed more people than of any other infectious disease,
is an illness which is more probable among vegetarians. According to a study
made among Asian emigrants living in South London, vegetarians had tuberculosis
eight times more often than those who ate either meat, fish, or milk products
daily; (Readers Digest: Terveyttä vai sairautta ruoasta?, p. 417). The reason
for this might be, for example, the deficiency of vitamins B12 and D, which are
important for our immune system, and which can be obtained mainly from the
products of the animal kingdom (fish, meat, eggs, milk products). Some
people may have a deficiency of vitamin B2 (fish, meat, eggs, milk products,
whole meal grain), zinc (fish, meat, whole meal grain, nuts, peas,
beans, milk products), iron (meat, fish, eggs, peas, beans, whole meal
grain, dark green vegetables) and perhaps of other protective nutrients.
They are all important for our immune system and are often difficult to obtain from
mere vegetarian food.
If we take a
look at what is the most typical factor causing diseases nowadays, it is surely
eating too much resulting in overweight. In the Western countries, people are
on average fatter than ever before, and this has caused diseases. For example,
cardiovascular diseases, gallstones, constipation and intestinal problems,
problems with joints and many other problems can arise from too much eating,
overweight, and unhealthy eating. Especially the so-called junk food that contains
plenty of sugar, white flour, and animal fats and only a little fiber, can be a
reason for overweight and the deterioration of health:
One Third of Americans' Meals Are
Junk Food
Junk food contains almost a
third of the calories the Americans consume daily, the researchers told on
Tuesday. 25% of their diet consists of sweets, desserts, lemonades, and
alcoholic drinks. On top of this, 5% of their food is salty snacks.
- We already knew that
people eat plenty of junk food, but the fact that almost one third of the
calories comes from it is shocking. No wonder that obesity is an epidemic in
this country, said professor Gladys Block, the leader of the study from the
university of Berkeley.
4,760 adults
were interviewed for the study. The adults were asked to make a note of all the
food they had eaten during a day.
According to the
researchers, one alarming thing in this kind of a diet is also that the junk
food does not have any vital vitamins or trace elements.
(..) A large number of
Americans are undernourished as comes to vitamins. It is possible to be both
fat and undernourished as comes to nutrients, Block said. (Etelä-Suomen Sanomat, 3 June 2004)
The significance of our daily
choices in controlling weight becomes apparent also from the next table (6 /
2003 Koulurauhaa, ("Peace at School") p. 25). It shows how our choices
can save us from getting unnecessary amounts of energy and fat. This is really
important if we are trying to lose some weight:
Old habit
|
New Habit
|
Energy saved kcal/day |
Energy saved
Kg/year
|
Danish
pastry (80 g)
|
Little
bun (50 g)
|
155 |
8 |
French
potatoes (120 g)
|
Boiled
potatoes (120 g)
|
185 |
10 |
Low-fat
milk (6 dl)
|
Fat-free
milk (6 dl)
|
80 |
4 |
Cream
cheese (3 slices)
|
Light
cheese 20 (3 slices)
|
50 |
3 |
Salami
(4 slices / 30 g)
|
Smoked
ham (4 slices / 30 g)
|
95 |
5 |
Butter
or margarine (30 mg)
|
Soft
margarine (30 g)
|
110 |
6 |
Beer or
lemonade (0,33 l)
|
Water/mineral
water (0.33l) |
130 |
7 |
Bar of
chocolate (35 g)
|
Apple
/orange (150 g)
|
140 |
7 |
In Coffee
(4 cup per
day)
Coffee cream
(0,5 l) |
Milk
(0,5 l)
|
80 |
4 |
Sugar (2
pieces / cup)
|
Without
sugar
|
80 |
4 |