Health File
New
Delhi, 14 July 2008
Watch Your Diet
GROWING APPEAL OF VEGETARIANISM
By Radhakrishna Rao
The once predominantly meat-eating West
is slowly, but surely discovering the virtues of vegetarianism, whereas an
increasing number of Indians are gradually turning to high calorie non-vegetarian
diet. A sedentary lifestyle, along with the consumption of high calorie food
including non-vegetarian dishes is being blamed for a variety of disorders and
ailments affecting the upwardly mobile urban Indians. Not surprisingly then
many western nutrition experts are driving home the point that Indians’ shift
in dietary preference could be an invitation for a variety of health hazards.
In fact, a recent countrywide survey
of food habits carried out by the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) in
association with the country’s premier institution, the All India Institute of
Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Lady Irwin
College, Delhi and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, has revealed
that today 64 per cent of Indians are non-vegetarians compared to 40 per cent in
the early 90s.
Chief researcher Dr. Kalpagam
Polasa, points out that “barring North India,
where 40 per cent of people eat meat, in other regions a majority are non-vegetarians”.
Even as Indians are increasingly relishing non-vegetarianism dishes, there are
growing numbers of health conscious westerners taking to vegetarianism, not
long back considered an integral part of India’s cultural and spiritual
tradition.
Recently, in Taiwan, a
million people, including intellectuals and opinion leaders vowed to give up
their non-vegetarian dishes as part of the campaign “No Meat, No Heat”. Their argument
was that livestock farming meant to support the feeding habits of a large
section of the global population contributes to the green house gases emissions
responsible for global warming. On a more practical plane, research studies
have gone to show that while it takes 20.9 sq.m land to come out with one kg of
beef, to produce the same amount of vegetables, just 0.3 sq,m of land is sufficient
The argument of nutritionists is
that with more than 800-million people leading a semi-starvation existence,
diverting a huge volume of water, grain, energy and land to support feed stock
farming to satiate the gastronomic taste of a section of the population can not
but be an “atrocious luxury.” Besides, haven’t we recently been told that the
ever-increasing affluence in China
and India
are to blame for a huge growth in the demand for food and meat needed to
produce it, despite are finding it offensive?
Meanwhile, the movement for
vegetarian way of life has received a shot in the arm from a research study
carried out by Martha Clare Morris and her team at Rush University Medical
Centre. The study has suggested that a diet packed with vegetables might shore
up memory and afford protection against Alzheimer’s. “People who ate more
vegetables could think faster and had better memories,” she stressed.
In the mid-90s, following the
outbreak of mad cow disease (BSE), there was a massive shift towards
vegetarianism in many parts of West Europe.
According to a spokesman of the London-based Vegetarian Society, vegetarian
food is the “food of the future and a veritable taste of things to come”. He
points out that more and more people are switching over to a vegetarian diet
because they are more in tune with debates revolving round compassion.
Another significant factor
contributing to the growing strength of vegetarian population is the increasing
health consciousness among the younger generation. Indeed, the increasing incidence of cardiac
disorders in India
is traced to the growing shift towards junk food and a non-vegetarian diet,
which is heavy in cholesterol and saturated fatty acids.
Recent researches go to show that in
a non-vegetarian diet only 60 per cent of the content is useful for the human
body, whereas the remaining 40 per cent contains harmful and toxic substances.
In distinct contrast, vegetarian food is rich in fibres, credited with
sustaining a “healthy and active life”. Moreover, the fibre-rich vegetarian
food reduces the chances of contracting coronary diseases.
Not very long back, a vegetarian
diet used to be considered inferior to a non-vegetarian diet, with many under
the impression that mutton, chicken fish e al made for energetic ingredients.
However, now there is a growing realization of the “healthy and environment-friendly”
nature of vegetarian food. About four decades back, vegetarianism was an unthinkable
proposition in the west. However, following the resurgence of interest in the
West in Hindu philosophy and yoga, vegetarianism started gaining ground in the West.
Today, food chains offering exclusive vegetarian food are flourishing all over
Western Europe and North America.
Vegetarian food is also known to
induce a peaceful state of mind. A study of about 4,000 central jail prisoners
in Gwalior
showed that about 80 per cent of the 250 prisoners, who were non-vegetarian
were irritable and belligerent. In contrast, almost 90 per cent of those
subsisting on a vegetarian diet were cool tempered and docile. It is surmised
that non-vegetarian nutrients release certain “excitatory” neuro-transmitters
which cause a short temper. On the other hand, a vegetarian diet releases
“inhibitory” neuron-transmitters that help develop a docile personality.
Hunza tribls, who live in the depths
of the mountainous areas of Pakistan
occupied Kashmir are free from all sorts of
ailments because they lead an intensely natural way of life and depend largely on
a lacto vegetarian diet. A study on these tribals between the ages of 90 and
110 years, has revealed that even at the advanced age they had normal blood
pressure and cholesterol levels on account of the vegetarian food.
The American Journal of Nutrition
attributes the greater immunity of vegetarians to cancer and heart strokes to
dietary fibres. America’s Yale University
conducted a comparative study of 116 vegetarians and an equal number of non-vegetarians
and established a psychological logic for the superiority of vegetarian diet.
In all, vegetarians who would
complain of being the butt of jokes now have reason to be proud of their diet,
which makes for a healthier and longer life.—INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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