Navigation

Primary Navigation

Secondary Navigation

Search

STOP ABUSING YOUR STOMACH!

By Melati Mohd Ariff Bernama - Wednesday, June 17

KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 (Bernama) -- In the diet of many Malaysians, they have the uncanny tendency to consume high fat foods with little vegetables as well as fruits.

Malaysians have also gone haywire in their food portions. They purchase food as value for money.

"It is not the recommended serving size that you are eating especially if you dine at the Western outlets. For example the fish and chips, chicken chops or lamb chops are out of portion and use a lot of butter and cream,"

Mary Easaw-John, the senior manager for Dietetics and Food Services at the National Heart Institute (IJN) said this to Bernama here recently.

TOO ABUSIVE

"I think we have come to a stage where we just do not realise how abusive we are to our stomach. The poor stomach has a system. It works like a factory machine with certain timing.

"Please remember your stomach can only take a certain amount of food and it will help if you chew your food well," Easaw-John said.

She said after the food passes the esophagus, it would take some time for it to be digested in the stomach which acts like a second 'grinder'. From the stomach, the food ‘bolus’ would then be passed to the small intestine in small amounts.

"Do not be a glutton. If you overload your stomach, it would not only make the organ bloated but you are making it overworked and tired.

"Worse still if you continue to eat before the stomach can complete the first cycle. If you eat breakfast at 8am then your next meal should be around 12.30 pm as that would allow time for digestion to complete.

"Think what would happen if your stomach goes on strike? How are you going to assimilate your food? What if you have stomach ulcers? Stomach problems? Colitis? (acute or chronic inflamation of the colon).

"How are you going to handle this?" asked Easaw-John.

KNOW WHAT YOU EAT

According to Easwa-John, it is equally important to know what we are 'snacking' between meals.

A key question would be, she said, whether the snack is within the recommended calories intake.

"For example, if your daily recommended calories intake is 1,800, then all the three main meals and the snacks should be within this 1,800 calories.

"But if you are taking 2,200 calories, meaning you are 400 calories in excess. This means you wil put on extra weight. Even worse if you are not exercising as the excess calories are stored as fats," she explained.

Easaw-John had some tips for those who normally eat a hearty breakfast. "If you want to eat nasi lemak, it is better to buy the small packet instead of buying a whole plate of nasi lemak with fried egg, fried peanuts, sambal sotong or sambal kerang or rendang daging or ayam.

"That small packet of nasi lemak is only about 200 calories but the plate of nasi lemak with all the toppings is between 800 to 1,000 calories. The same thing with fried meehoon, kue teow. If you really want to eat them, buy a small packet minus any toppings including fried egg."

HIDDEN SUGARS

The IJN dietician also reminded the Malaysian public to watch their sugar consumption if they want to stay healthy.

According to Easaw-John, a person only needs six to seven teaspoons of sugar a day which include the 'hidden sugars'.

"Sugar is actually a form of simple carbohydrate compared to starches and fibres which are complex carbohydrates. Sugar when assimilated is stored in the body as fats. That is the problem with sugar unlike vegetables and fruits, they contained minerals and vitamins.

"However, sugar alone will not cause diabetes and basically, people gain weight due to their faulty eating habits," she said.

Speaking on the 'hidden sugars', Easaw-John cited some examples that include bread, cakes, cookies, jellies, jams, candies and 'kaya'.

"Jam is 60 per cent sugar while kaya is 50 per cent sugar. A small piece of kuih has about half a teaspoon of sugar, a moderate slice of cake with icing has one teaspoon of sugar and a can of carbonated drinks has 8-9 teaspoon of sugar. If you drink one can of carbonated drinks, meaning you have used up your sugar quota for the day.

"In terms of calories, one teaspoon of honey is 21 calories, one teaspoon of brown sugar is 16 calories, one teaspoon of table sugar is 15 calories and one tea spoon of jam is 16 calories," she said, adding that fat contributes the highest calories, giving an example, one gramme of fat would give nine calories, as compared to one gramme of carbohydrate or protein which give 4 calories.

She also asked Malaysians to check food labels for sugars and fats in processed food.

"If the labels say calorie free, it means less than five calories per serving. If it says sugar free, normally it is less than 0.5 gram of sugar per serving.

"Reduced sugar or less sugar which is available in Malaysian markets means it is 25 per cent less of sugar per serving. This is very common in our country. If the label says low sugar, it also means 25 per cent less sugar per serving.

"If it says no added sugar, it means no sugar is added during the processing but the ingredients would contain natural sugar, for example from the dried fruits," she elaborated.

For Malaysians who opt for 'sweeteners' instead of table sugar (the normal white or brown sugar), Easaw-John cautioned that it is 180 to 200 times sweeter than the table sugar. However, she explained, sweeteners have less calories than table sugar.

"Only use one sachet per cup and most people would take three sachets per day, for morning, afternoon and dinner," she said.

NEEDS GOVERNMENT'S INTERVENTION

In voicing her great concern over the bad eating habits of Malaysians, the IJN dietician said the unhealthy behaviour was very much influenced by many factors such as why and how people eat, which foods they eat, and with whom they eat as well as the way people obtain, store, use and discard food.

Individual, social, cultural, religious, economic, environmental and political factors all influence people's eating habits.

"In Malaysia you have food at every nook and corner. What would stop you from eating," she said.

Easaw-John also questioned the safety of food served at these places and also at night markets.

She also lamented at the attitude of some people who adopted the 'tidak apa' attitude when choosing eateries.

"They tell me the food is tasteful and for all you know the stall is just next to a drain. In this context, most Asians have the same mentality. They just do not care about cleanliness and food safety.

"In Singapore, it is a different scenario. I was there for a holiday recently and when I asked about stall, I was told to go to a shopping mall where they had a food court or to a designated food courts. They told me to go to the stalls that had a red colour Pyramid logo which states Healthier ingredients.

"These hawkers are participants of the Healthier hawker food Programme. This programme aims to increase the availability of healthier food choices at hawker centres. The food outlets in the Island Republic, she said, were not only clean but they also received a certificate from the Singapore Health Promotion Board which said the operator practised healthy food preparation.

"They also have an audit check and this would be recorded," she said.

FOOD SAFETY

According to Easaw-John, food should be prepared in a proper area with available water outlets. In clear reference to temperature abuse, she said raw materials including meat, fish and vegetables also, should be properly transported and handled.

"This is crucial to prevent any food-borne illnesses caused by bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria.

"The bacteria can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomitting," she explained, pointing to frequent cases of food poisoning particularly in residential schools.

Even cooked food, she explained has also a shelf life.

Citing chicken rice as an example, she threw the following questions. Where do they kept the cooked chicken? Were the chicken left hanging in the hot kitchen? At the rear of the stall? For how long?

She also took to task those who served seafood which she said if left exposed for a long time would result in bacteria contamination.

Most cooked food is unsafe if consumed after four hours. Reheating the food is another concern especially on time and temperature abuse.

"If you follow the international safety standard, food must be disposed after four hours of preparation. When you cook a food, you must serve it immediately. If there is leftover, it must be kept in a closed container in the fridge. If you want to eat it the next day, you must reheat it at the right temperature.

"At some stalls selling mixed rice, you see the dishes are left uncovered and sometimes for hours. If left to sit at room temperature, bacteria in the food will multiply quickly," said Easaw-John with grave concern.

Easaw-John said the people who handled and served food must understand the three basic food handling guidelines for best protection against food borne illness, which is, keep cold food cold, keep hot food hot and keep all food clean.

She also stressed on the personal appearance and hygiene of the food outlet workers.

"Some of the workers wear soiled uniforms and have long fingernails. They do not cover their heads with proper caps and use the same cloth to wipe the table and plates."

She also reminded the Malaysian public to be weary of the excessive use of preservatives and cheap flavouring, oil and sauces by some food vendors which she said "are the best friends of triggering cancer".

"It is safer if you cook your own meals, even it is only rice with stir-fried vegetables and fried eggs. Take a lot of vegetables and fruits. Their fibre contents help to clean the stomach.

"If you dine out with your family or friends, always share meals. It does not only limit your food intake but also is cheaper and cost-saving," she quipped.

-- BERNAMA

MMA ZUL RON

Sign in to recommend this article »
0 users recommend

Related Articles: Malaysia