# RKS: DIET & SUPPLEMENT ADVICING - Most More Misleading Than Leading!
# RKS: DIET & SUPPLEMENT ADVICING
Most More Misleading Than Leading!
THE GENESIS OF FEMALE PROCLAIMERS
Dear Reader,
Women in biblical times depended on men economically ... Women did tasks as important as those of men, managed their households, and were equals in daily life, but all public decisions were made by men. Maybe, therefore, the women have assumed unbridled rights over men as far as food and diet decisions are concerned.
It is always said: 'Grandma's recipes' and NEVER EVER Grandpa's recipe! It could be Grandpa's Kitchen but recipes are always Grandma's or Mom's!!
Why? Men concentrated on brain but the woman ruled the stomach! Even today, in modernised family units, the woman spends 20 hours per week on household chores versus 11 hours in case of willing men. House chores that keep the home EVERY day (shopping, cooking, washing dishes, washing clothes, and cleaning the house) are considered feminine, while those considered male or neutral tasks (paying bills, taking care of the car or home maintenance) DO NOT involve DAILY devotion.
What is then the outcome? Males are more involved in advancement endeavours for mankind and have thereby garnered the biggest chunk of Nobel prizes in medicine, physics and chemistry - being awarded 599 versus mere 23 to women! Also, as far as women are concerned, >50% of awardees conferred the Nobel prizes are for mere peace and literature - versus 20% odd in case of males.
This spells why food and food supplementation has become a prerogative of women folk and considered their exclusive domain! The items eaten are all different but yet interlinked enough!
BROADCAST OF UNRATIFIED FOOD BENEFITS: A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMED EVIL
91-94% of dieticians are females. From propagating remedies by Grandmas the business of food consumption has graduated to a more serious science. Qualified personnel have become the advocators but there have mushroomed umpteen followers of Key Opinion Leaders (KOL), which even include over-enthused housewives. Such self-proclaimed educators have been emboldened to propagate the goodness, or otherwise, of fruits and vegetables and cereals and dairy products. Gullible Indian kitchens bear the burden to such preaching and the household members' wellness is at the mercy of this new breed of virtual health providers sans qualification sans medical background and scripted videos sans scientific backing!
In these challenging times of ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the following food-related advices stand out amongst the top 100 so-deemed as 'fake' WhatsApp messages pertaining to COVID-19 and related issues.
1. Claim: You can beat the virus with warm water, salt or vinegar.
2. Claim: COVID-19 virus will be killed at a temperature of 30-35 degrees. Therefore, drink more hot water, go under the sun for a long time.
3. Claim: The pH value of the novel coronavirus ranges between 5.5 and 8.5 and thus, one should consume alkaline food that is above the pH level of the virus so as to prevent its spread.
4. Claim: Rasam, a soup-like concoction of herbs, tamarind juice and lentils is the best way to cure coronavirus.
5. Claim: Ginger is the miracle cure for coronavirus.
6. Claim: Cutting onions into small pieces and eating without water can cure coronavirus.
7. Claim: Wuhan’s coronavirus can be cured by one bowl of freshly boiled garlic water.
8. Claim: Inhaling steam from boiling sea salt and orange peelings for 15 minutes can prevent coronavirus from entering the body
9. Claim: Scientists have found a cure for coronavirus and that it is the drinking of bitter gourd juice causing the virus to fade away in two hours.
10. Claim: Since the coronavirus dies in extreme heat, therefore, it is advised one should increase the body temperature by consuming foods such as 2-3 raw garlic cloves – 2 times a day, turmeric milk – once a day, pomegranate and papaya fruits, green tea, carom seeds, ginger, black pepper, etc.
11. Claim: Mustard oil can prevent coronavirus.
12. Claim: Don’t eat cabbage, as per the WHO (World Health Organization) report, the coronavirus stays in cabbage for a very long time.
13. Claim: Consuming chicken can cause coronavirus.
14. Claim: Drink two spoonfuls of palm oil every morning to avoid the continuous spread of the virus.
15. Claim: Italy finds a home remedy for COVID-19 - 500 mg aspirin dissolved with lemon juice boiled with honey, it is taken hot.
Thus, 15% of WhatsApp messages are related to food advices in the coronavirus pandemic. If this figure is presumed as a basic guidance for assigning proportionality to food & nutrition-related forwarded messages, the everyday bombarding can only be fathomed!
BE WARY!
Mind you there are 160 million active users of WhatsApp and there are 100 billion messages being transferred across this platform each day! That means that close to 100 messages could be food and nutrition related one gets on a daily basis.
Imagine being told from a simple googling unqualified and semi-qualified educators inform all and sundry that so and so food item is rich in x,y,z vitamins and a,b,c minerals. They never ever analyse, being blissfully unaware, details on how much of each food item is required and what amounts of that food item needs to be consumed on a DAILY BASIS so as to avail of the proclaimed benefits. The perceived benefits of consuming a planned diet having prophesied food items translating into health benefits is plain hogwash!
NO CLAN OR TRIBE OR A COUNTRY'S POPULACE HAS BEEN ABLE TO PREVENT ILLNESSES OR BENEFIT HEALTH BASED ON BLIND FOLLOWING OF FOOD EATING HABITS AS POSITIONED BY DIETICIANS AND SELF-PROCLAIMED EDUCATORS REGARDING WHAT TO OR NOT TO EAT.
TAKE HOME MESSAGE
Non communicable diseases (NCDs), like diabetes, heart and lung diseases (primarily) burden has increased from 30% to 55% over the last 25 years in India. No 'healthy' diets seem to be working! Hence, it could makes sense to keep the following facts in mind if one has to liveliness in living sans guilt.
1. Eat what you like if one is normal in health. ENJOY BEING A FOODIE!
2. Beware of Grandma's and well-wisher's preaching's of right food, the right time for consuming a particular food, and in-between meals intervals. For this, one needs to understand that all fruits, vegetables, dairy products, cereals, etc. ultimately contain a blend of the basic 6 nutrients, namely: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, water. So what enters the blood is not your rice, or chilli sauce, or banana, or almond! It is the ultimate constituent nutrient contained in such items. Only water and alcohol zoom past into the blood from the stomach - no breakdown - no conversion! ENJOY YOUR FAVOURITE UNBANISHED FOOD ITEM WHENEVER, WHEREVER!
3. Do not be just an informed consumer; be a self-informed guardian of your own health. With the current computer-savviness being the norm, each one needs to double-check on food and nutrient related details proclaimed generously - Googling takes a mere 4.9 seconds averagely for any information to appear. In fact, one needs to go beyond and calculate whether the quantity of the food item sufficient to bless health is practical to consume or not? 57 bananas are required to be consumed every day for providing iron, or 10 glasses of milk for the calcium needed, bearing the specified Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) set for Indians! ENJOY OTHERWISE HEALTHY MEALS WITH FAVOURITE ITEMS AND COMPLEMENT THE SAME WITH SUPPLEMENTS, IF REQUIRED.
4. Instead of following a standard laid down diet plan, follow the advice of a knowledgeable family doctor who has an eye for fostering Positive Health and a flare for the subject of Naturals-Nutrition-Nutraceuticals. THE DOCTOR, WHOSE VIEWS OF DOs & DON'Ts IN NUTRITION ADVICING MATCHES CLOSELY THOSE OF THE ADVICE-SEEKER'S PERCEPTIONS, MAY NOT BE THE BEST OF A GUIDE.
Two socially castigated vices, that do not attract penal provisions if indulged in, are smoking and 'drinking'. Smoking per se is the biggest preventable cause of lung cancer but alcohol, only in excess, can damage liver. In fact, there are: 'there are more drunkards alive than doctors dead!' goes a saying.
There is a closely known friend, Diwyesh, whose doctor has advised him to refrain from drinking - being a teetotaller himself! What else can one expect from such a set-minded adviser. Vegetarians will banish non-vegetarianism, vegans while shun even vegetarians and, naturally non-'drinkers' will abolish alcohol consumption! It is sheer logic evolving out of set mind - irrespective of the benefits sacrificed, or pleasures of life withheld in the case of seekers of advice from such revered KOLs.
I would never ever believe a Doctor for advices on food and food intake who says do not drink if I have no liver disease. He will be on my suspect list!
Stay Safe & Away from Unsolicited Food Advices.
Train to be a self-informed Consumer!
Do not get overwhelmed and misguided by any mere householder's advices.
DR R K SANGHAVI
Prophesied Enabler
Experience & Expertise: Clinician & Healthcare Industry Adviser
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