Potholes in the fast lane

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Related Articles

Govt plans edu model for rural healthcareMax India approves JV with UK-based firm

: you do about fruits, veggies and cereals? Unless you’ve gone the organic way too, you may be in for trouble. Dietician Rupali Datta from Fortis Healthcare feels “farm products, though the biggest suspects, are a necessary evil. You can’t do without them.” In developed societies like in the US, strict food guidelines have to be met. We are yet to reach that stage. The onus therefore lies on the consumer to make an intelligent choice. “Be a little careful while buying farm produce. Make sure that the surface is clean and there are no insect holes. Scrub them well while washing — the abrasion effect is important at this stage. Finally rinse them in diluted vinegar or lemon water” says Datta. Would peeling help? “It will. Except that it shall take away a substantial part of the nutrients as well.”

And, the most vulnerable to food contamination are children — it can stunt their growth.

At the fag end

All right, we know what we have tobacco to blame for: One third of all cancers in India; 90% of lung cancer deaths, 90% of oral cancers, 50% of all cancers in men and 25% of all cancers in women! Don’t ignore the figures if you are a non-smoker, because passive smoking is as hazardous for health. “While a cigarette can cut down a smoker’s life by an average of 14 minutes, non-smokers exposed to smoking are 25% more vulnerable to heart disease and lung cancer,” says Dr Randeep Guleria from the Department of Medicine in All India Institute of Medical Sciences. If that doesn’t trouble you enough, Guleria has more bad news to share: “For every eight deaths from active smoking, there is one from second-hand smoke.”

And as the research from Harvard School of Public Health proved, pregnant women exposed to large amounts of second-hand smoke are more likely to miscarry in the initial months of their pregnancy. Not just that — they also take longer to get pregnant.

While the smokers have the option to quit with the help of cessation drugs like Champix, counselling etc, what can a non-smoker do?