The perils of living in the fast lane
As our lives are going faster, eating at fast food chains has become a common thing. We live every hour and every minute in a rush. We have less time to sleep and to eat. As a result, many of us opt for fast food.
But you are what you eat, and eating fast food will sooner or later take a toll on your health.
Fast food and stroke
A survey last year by the Thai Stroke Society found that 1.56 per cent of Thais have had a stroke. Besides, patients who have had a stroke are much younger in age than a few years ago. The survey found this to be linked to the change in lifestyle and consumption habits.
Dr Samart Nidhinandana, president of the Thai Stroke Society and director of Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Phramongkutklao Hospital, pointed that fast food consumption is a key contributing factor in patients who have suffered from a stroke.
"Eating habits have changed from Thai-style dishes full of fish, vegetables and herbs to the Western-style diet, which has caused an increase in stroke patients," he said.
According to Dr Samart, two major causes of stroke are high-blood pressure and high cholesterol. High-blood pressure results from eating salty and spicy food, while cholesterol is from high fat consumption.
The doctor explained that salt usually absorbs more water into the body. When there's too much water in the blood vessels, the heart works faster and harder, thus resulting in high blood pressure.
The unhealthy cause of fast food is its main ingredient - oil. Even though some fast food chains are using plant oil, the ingredients are still rich in carbohydrates and fat, such as fried chicken skin and medium fat pork. "Children therefore, can be in the risk groups, as many of them are hooked to fast food. We've found many youngsters, aged a little over 20, have high cholesterol," said Dr Samart.
He added that more people above the age of 40 suffer from cerebral haemorrhage and cerebral infarction while in the past, people mostly had the diseases at retirement ages.
Can fast food be healthy?
As fast food chains often come under fire for their unhealthy recipes, a few famous chains have adjusted the menus to make their products healthy. For example, new roast menus were introduced, in addition to the popular fried ones.
Dr Samart said switching from frying to roasting can increase nutrition of the food, but that's not all.
"For a balance diet, it's necessary for fast food operators to offer a combinative set of healthy meals, such as a mix of protein, carbohydrate and vegetables in a fitting proportion," said Dr Samart.
However, he noted it won't be easy to convince children to switch from their favourite fried food to roasted food.
"But, if fast food chains really want to campaign for a balance diet, probably it's better to start with adults first," said Dr Samart.
More to know about cholesterol
When it comes to cholesterol, most of us worry about too much of the bad kind, known as low-density lipoprotein (LDL). LDL causes plaque to build up in and potentially blocks the arteries that supply blood to the heart.
But there's still "good" cholesterol, the high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which helps remove excess cholesterol from the arteries and eliminates LDL from the blood. HDL counts for one-fourth of the cholesterol amount in the body.
Overall, it's best to have a low level of LDL and a high level of HDL. For women, it's best to have an LDL level below 100 milligram per decilitre (mg/dL), and a minimum HDL level of 50 mg/dL. Men should have the same LDL level and HDL level of 40 mg/dL and above.
If your HDL falls below 50 mg/dL, you're generally at increased risk of heart disease and heart attack.
General symptoms of stroke
- Slurred or garbled speech.
- Temporary numbness, weakness, or paralysis of the face, arms, or legs, typically on one side of the body, and may last for three to five minutes.
- Trouble seeing in one or both eyes, such as dimness, blurring, double vision, or loss of vision.
- Confusion and have trouble understanding.
- Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
- Severe headache.
The above symptoms are warning signs of a stroke. If they appear, it's likely that you have celebral infraction. In case you have an intolerable headache and nausea, you could be at risk of celebral haemorrhage.
Tips for better health
- Avoid over-consumption of fast food or food that induces high level of triglyceride, especially too much carbohydrate, and LDL which comes from high fat food.
- Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, three days a week. Note that physical exercises can only increase HDL levels, but not reduce LDL. So exercise strengthens blood vessels and prevents a stroke.
- Even on a complete diet control programme, the maximum level of cholesterol you can reduce is 20 to 30 per cent. So if you are obese, weighing 100kg, a diet alone can't get rid of the excess fat in your body.
- Eat all meals, but make sure each meal contains all the necessary nutrition.
- If you become easily tired such as when walking up stairs, or after a 200m walk, be cautious - you can be at risk of a stroke.
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