Is Changing The Eating Habits Or Tastes Always Beneficial For One’s Health?

[LoShiNi]

Is becoming a vegetarian easy?

Vegetarianism came from the east where it is a national tradition. Nowadays, it is becoming more and more popular among Europeans. It is believed that in addition to being an ethical choice, vegetarianism is very useful for human health. Nevertheless, according to a large-scale study performed by German scientists, if you are still considering whether to become a vegetarian or not, you should be aware of certain health risks during the process of adaptation to a new diet. After studying more than 4,000 vegetarians during 1997–1998 with the help of the Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview questionnaire (based on WHO materials), researchers came to the conclusion that German vegetarians are 15% more likely to suffer from depression and are prone to anxiety. It is important to note that both depressive symptoms and anxiety were developed during the first year of adaptation to a vegetarian diet (Johannes Michalak, 2012).

These findings make sense as a vegetarian diet includes less vitamin B12 and n-3 fatty acids. According to Dr. Sanders from King’s College London, this causes a negative effect on neuronal activity and can lead to depression and anxiety (Sanders TA, 1999). So, I advise that you stock up on vitamins for the first year of your vegetarian way!

Green salad and cancer?

I think that most readers prefer to eat green salads as it is universally believed that green salads help us stay beautiful and healthy. Nevertheless, according to Japanese scientists (Tajima K., Tominaga S., 1985), the main ingredients of our favorite green salad, namely onions, cabbage and green pepper can lead to the development of stomach and colorectal cancers. However, these risks may happen only if you use the above-mentioned products too frequently (more than 4 times a week). The same concerns pumpkin. Salt is another harmful product. It is believed that the consumption of too much salt can result in stomach cancer. I advise that all salad lovers eat slightly salted vegetables no more than 3 times a week.

Do you like to eat at night?

It is a well-known fact that eating three hours before bedtime is a harmful habit. Let’s find out if this statement is true. Dr. Fujiwara from Graduate School of Medicine (Osaka City University) says that if you do not want to earn heartburn, increase acidity, and further gastritis, you’d better abstain! This statement was confirmed by Dr. Fujiwara’s research in 2005. The results of the study convincingly show that a systematic dinner less than 3 hours before bedtime exacerbates chronic gastritis and causes heartburn along with an increase in acidity.

What do doctors say about coffee, alcohol, and bread?

Perhaps, many people will be delighted by the completely paradoxical scientific statement. According to it, coffee, alcohol, and bread in the diet are not harmful to the gastrointestinal tract! Moreover, coffee and bread have a positive effect on the prevention of gastritis. This was proved by doctors from Karolinska Hospital, who studied more than 3,000 patients and 40,000 healthy people (Nilsson M., 2004). You won’t face any risk of gastritis if you have a cup of coffee and sandwich in the morning.

Know your enemy. “Gastronomic awareness” against diseases.

In conclusion, I would like to point to an experiment that was based on the initiative of New York City’s health code regulation. Visitors to New York City’s 45 fast food restaurants were provided with information on the calories in each dish. As a result, customers began to order low-calorie meals. This means that it is very important to have sufficient information about your diet if you want to stay healthy. I suggest that you take a simple test to find out how balanced your diet is today. I hope that this will be a great motivation for you to be healthy.

Tatyana Nikitina