THG: Why you should not eat these types of food every day if you want to live long
– Some people do not care about the types of food they consume
– Recent findings from research works by some health agencies reveal the life expectancy of Nigerians hovers between 53-55 years
– A good number of people die early due to their recklessness and carefree attitude towards eating just anything they lay their hands on
– Eating balanced diet is the surest way to ensuring that the metabolic activities of the body are in top gear
Some food items which have been preserved by different preservative methods
Preserved foods are one of the types of foods people should be aware of when they eat them. Apart from unknowingly eating or drinking such foods when they have reached or pass their shelf lives, they pose other dangers to an individual’s health.
While some preservative methods do not need addition of preservatives, some need preservatives in order for the preserved food to remain the way they are wanted.
Preservatives are chemicals used to keep food fresh. Although there are a number of different types of food preservatives, antimicrobials, antioxidants, and products that slow the natural ripening process are some of the most common. Despite their important function, preservatives can pose a number of serious health risks.
The various methods of preserving food include: canning, roasting, frying, irradiation, freezing, pausterisation, dehydrating, salting, sun drying, pickling and curing. All these methods have their effects on the body system.
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For instance, when a food is preserved by canning, some of the preservatives and chemical materials in the tin used, could mix with the content of the can if the food has reached its expiry date. Also, the food could lose its distinctive taste and natural flavour.
An example of food which is preserved by canning include evaporated milk, corn beef, tinned tomato, beverage drinks, among others. There have been reported cases of food poisoning and people dying due to poor preservation of canned foods. Eating canned tomato is not comparable to eating tomatoes in their natural form. The latter is of more health benefits to the body system.
Other dangers of preserved foods like fried food is that the protein in such foods are denatured, meaning that they lose their nutritive power and therefore do not do what they ought to do in the body like repairing worn out tissues. Also, fried foods tend to have a high amount of saturated fats, which contain high level of cholesterol, while cholesterol blocks the blood vessels (capillaries, veins, arterioles, arteries), thereby leading to heart diseases like high blood pressure, hypertension, etc.
Preserved food also have low level of fibres and roughages. These two food components aid smooth digestion of food. Since, they are almost absent in preserved foods, the problem is that there is a big challenge during food digestion.
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