TOO MUCH GOOD FOOD CAN ALSO CAUSE PROBLEM!

There is an old saying that even "Elixir" can become a poison when consumed in unlimited quantity. Same is true with food also. The root cause of many modern day life style diseases has been attributed to processed foods with high degree of refining where bulk of the health promoting constituents are removed. A diet not balanced in terms of essential nutrients can also be a deterrent to sound health as being seen with many wealthy consumers who eat rich foods but some what unbalanced vis-a-vis one or the other nutrient vital for normal body metabolism. In India Mango is a much liked fruit but it is also rich in sugar and one of the regular observations made by physicians is that many diabetic people land into problem during Mango season because of high sugar levels in the blood caused by too much consumption of Mango. Those counting their calories must be aware of the calories contributed by fruits though these protective foods are recommended by nutrition experts. Same is true with other recommended foods like coarse grains, whole grains etc all of which do contribute to calories and their excess consumption does not help the cause of weight control.  Here is an interesting commentary by a discerning observer about the implications of over consumption.

People often make the mistake of thinking that something is good for you just because it's all-natural or organic. Today, I want to focus on a different nutritional blind-spot: quality vs. quantity. Even when a food is good for you, it doesn't necessarily follow that you can eat it in unlimited quantities. Whole grains and fresh fruits are two examples of healthy foods that can easily be over-consumed. 

It is true the concepts of Cosmic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL) are excellent to guide consumers regarding the quality of carbohydrate in a diet but ultimately one has to control the quantity consumed to prevent excess calorie build up which can add to the waist line. When it comes to planning a diet for a normally healthy individual and others handicapped by disorders like diabetes, obesity etc different yardsticks need to be used but the basic principle that over delivery of calorie rich foods to any one can be deleterious to both the groups. Moderation and elf-discipline in eating are the corner stones for a normal healthy life.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

THE "BIG" CHILDREN-CURSE OF MODERN LIVING!

There was a time in the History when huge families with many members used to live together, helping each other and sharing the difficulties when population was not growing at it is now. Due to comparatively cleaner environment and safer foods nutritionally balanced, the health problems as being seen to day were far and few. The element of kinship was much stronger with younger generation respecting the seniors for their wisdom and elders showering affection on the former. Situation has changed dramatically during the last 5-6 decades with small and compact nuclear families branching of from larger joint family set ups, living in smaller dwelling houses with minimum interaction with fellow relatives. Children are left to fend for themselves more often with parents having very little time to devote to them because of their economic pursuits. The net result is that the children of to day are denied many of the basic emotional feelings, arising out of closer interactions and symbolic emotive signals from their parents or grand parents, resulting in their growth and development with minimum human qualities. What effect such a transformation has on the society can be easily imagined. Here is a "loud thinking" by some one watching this trend from close quarters which must trouble the conscience of the nation.    

"Indian parents often goad their babies to not grow up fast. If childhood is about magic, it is vanishing even before it is lived. In fact children are indeed growing up fast, speeding past the springtime of their lives, say psychiatrists who connect that to the falling levels of emotional quotient. The warm hugs, the tiny kisses, a ride on the Ferris wheel, a family camping trip, vanishing into a book with mum, playing chess against dad, are all now just cloying instances tucked away in fables. "The EQ among our children is on the decline. They have a lower threshold for tolerance, they are easily depressed, their coping ability has reduced and complexity has gone up. Seven- and eight-year-olds talk of violent acts and of dying these days," says psychiatrist Dr Nirmala Rao. The new toys like Angry Birds, Crime Life: Gang Wars and other ultraviolent games don't score too well in enriching EQ. Our cities' kids-unfriendly design doesn't help either: you need to go to a hill station even for a horse ride or to spend time under a waterfall. Peggy Mohan, an English teacher with a Delhi school, says, "We are living in tiny cocoons. Our children are like aliens who've ventured into the adult space. They are as nice as ever, but they do not have the sense of the landscape they live in." 

The rate at which urbanization is taking place is alarming enough to call for arresting this trend by many sociologists lest there could be gross distortions in the human values cherished by many and as earning opportunities are increasingly being concentrated in urban areas, there is mindless devastation of rural entities as agriculture is no more a sustaining avocation for millions of farmers in a country like India. If future citizens are going to be from the urban areas evolving from an environment similar to a "pressure cooker", with very little time to think about fellow citizens, what type of country will emerge eventually? It is in this context many sociologists plead for better environment within four walls of the urban families where children are exposed to the nuances of emotional feelings from the parents which eventually will also manifest in public places for fellow citizens. Probably mindless industrialization will destroy the fabric of the society and it is time the employment providers include more and more family welfare measures for their employees to restore the traditional values as they were during olden days!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

FARM SUBSIDIES-MAKING FOOD COSTLIER TO THE CONSUMER?

The subsidy dilemma is not confined to India alone where the national budget is full of provisions for "give away" to deserving as well as undeserving recipients of all colors and hues. But it can be an equally trouble some area of concern in other more developed countries including the US. What bothers the policy makers is whether such subsidies to farmers really influence the market dynamics as far as food is concerned. While a strong section of experts in the US believe that low cost of foods in the country is due to billions of dollars of agricultural subsidies doled out year after year, an equally assertive lobby feels the other way. It is another matter that agricultural subsidies in some developed countries sharply reduces the competitive edge for many agricultural products imported into these countries from out side, a clear violation of WTO mandate.

"What got the committee's attention, however, was my warning that drafting another business-as-usual farm bill in 2012 was going to be more difficult, because of a strengthening belief that the farm subsidies are contributing to our nation's obesity crisis by making unhealthy foods too cheap. The committee knew, and I confirmed in my testimony, that this is in fact an unfounded charge. When the farm bill places restrictions on sugar imports to protect the income of American sugar growers it actually make all sweetened products – from candy to ice cream – artificially expensive rather than cheap. And when Congress enacts subsidies and mandates to divert 30 percent of our corn crop to the making of ethanol for auto fuel, it is making both corn and other animal feeds – and hence all meat products – artificially expensive as well. Nor is it true that corn-based sweeteners are more obesity-inducing than natural sugar. Nor is it true that the price of junk food has fallen in America while the price of healthy foods (fruits and vegetables) has remained high. All of these misconceptions about farm programs are explained in Chapter Eight of my Oxford book, my chapter on "The Politics of Obesity."

Prima facie, it appears that any subsidy to agricultural commodity growing will invariably reflect their market price and processors and consumers can be expected to get these food materials at relatively low cost. But for these subsidies American farmers can never expect to export their wheat, peas, lentils and other food grains at prices much less than that prevalent in many developing countries. Already American farmers have the advantage of the economy of scales in their operations having large farms and mechanized farming tools and subsidy further helps them to dump their products in world market at significantly lower price. It is convoluted logic to claim that imported foods with lower price tag would have reduced the prices further as a response y the domestic industry. If subsidies are removed the food inflation in the US is bound to go up making every thing more expensive and the government there knows this truth.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com