In
the course of my professional life as an Endocrinologist, I have watched with
interest the various fads in Nutrition, the principal winner being the Food
Companies and the looser is always the one who is unable to loose weight!
The
emphasis has always been on Fat or Carbohydrate or Protein or Calories, but not
what constitutes these macronutrients.
Calorie centrism put emphasis on the number of calories rather than how
those calories were manufactured: Nature vs. Factory?
Chemicals,
emulsifiers to prolong shelf time and environmental toxins are in full supply
in the food we eat on a regular basis.
When Prof. Yudkin from UK claimed that Plastics could cause Diabetes,
people ridiculed him but we know that there are now an array of plastics
including BPA, Phthalates…that can cause Insulin Resistance, Obesity and
Diabetes.
FROM DIABETES UK:
Emulsifiers, additives commonly found in food, may cause obesity and metabolic syndrome, according to new research.Emulsifiers are added to food to increase its shelf life and make it taste better. But they also change gut bacteria.
Moreover, emulsifiers are linked to metabolic syndrome, which can, in turn, lead to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The researchers fed mice polysorbate 80 and carboxymethylcellulose, two common emulsifiers. The emulsifiers changed the behaviour of the gut, increasing rates of inflammation and metabolic syndrome. The effects resembled those of increased food intake, obesity, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance.
Many
years ago strolling around downtown Johor Bahru, I came across a Book Sale
conducted in the premises of the Hindu Temple. That was my first introduction
to Consumers Association of Penang CAP. I was to meet the founder and President
Mr., Idris Mohammed, an impressive man!
Long
before the people in the west were concerned about BPA and Phthalates and the Endocrine
Disrupting Chemicals, the CAP were printing books and distributing them. They
served as a guide to my work with the Native Indians.
From
that day onwards I have talked endlessly about Chemicals in our food and the
damage it is causing. Exercise can take away some of the excess calories you
consume, but no amount of exercise can dissipate the chemical intake! From
childhood onwards Americans consume on the average 7.5 lbs. of chemicals every
5 years, so if you are 45 years of age, you have consumed about 60 pounds of
chemicals!
There
is no association such as CAP in the USA that I know of, I know that Consumer
International is active, but the discourse of the Nutritionists is still
blogged down in Carbohydrate Fat Protein level and not on the large amount of
Chemicals entering our bodies legitimately as food and also as degraded products
of Pesticides, as well as the hormones and antibiotics given to animals bred
for consumption.
So
I was not at all surprised to see this headline among the multiple medically
oriented emails that I receive daily.
South Asian Immigrants Exposed to Pesticides
Have Increased Risk of Diabetes
South
Asians in India/Pakistan/Nepal/Bangladesh/Sri Lanka have a higher incidence and
prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes that occur at an earlier age, at a lower BMI and
also when they migrate, so much so that an Immigrant from South Asia can expect
to have higher chance of Type 2 Diabetes as well as Cardiovascular mortality
and morbidity. It cannot be just the
race, as Bangladeshis who are genetically similar to the Hindus of Bengal have
twice the rate of cardiovascular mortality on migration. The explanations have to be social and
anthropological.
I
had written another blog in 2012
Titled
the Prophet of Penang. He truly is.
Here
is that blog and there is a photo of me with him in his office.
https://medicoanthropologist.blogspot.com/2012/04/prophet-of-penang.html
SO
WHILE YOU ARE TOO BUSY COUNTING CARBS PLEASE STOP AND PAY ATTENTION AND COUNT
YOUR CHEMICALS AS WELL
