Fatty snacks & fat teens

URBAN adolescents and young adults are digging into unwholesome, imbalanced food that contains too much fat of the unhealthy kind.

This has been revealed in a study conducted among school and college students in Delhi by scientists from the National Diabetes, Obesity and Cholesterol Disorders Foundation ( NDOCDF) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences ( AIIMS).

The findings explain the reason for rising obesity among urban adolescents, the scientists say. The study has been published in the Journal of American College of Nutrition . The study was carried out among 1,236 adolescents and young adults in the 14-25 years age-group from 40 schools and colleges. The students were asked what food they had eaten during the two days preceding the survey.

Their height, weight, waistline and body fat were measured.''The intake of fat was found higher than the recommended levels in all the participants. They were consuming four times the fat than required,'' Dr Priyali Shah from NDOCDF said. Consumption of harmful saturated fat and omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids was high among the students. But consumption of the healthy omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, or omega 3 PUFA, was low. This is because a large part of the fat consumed was derived from semi-solid oil and cooking oil heated to high temperatures.

Both are used in the preparation of favourite snacks of students such as burgers, pastries patties, samosa and chhola bhatura.'' The students are in the habit of snacking. They study for an hour and then snack on biscuits and namkeen. They were also consuming ice creams and sugary items such as colas,'' Shah said.
The intake of carbohydrates and proteins was, however, found to be within the prescribed limit.
Fat takes more time to get digested and gets deposited in the body, leading to obesity which results in hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.

Obesity and insulin resistance is now being reported often among Asian adolescents.
''This may explain the higher prevalence of obesity and abdomen fat deposit in the Asian adolescent,'' Dr Anoop Misra, lead scientist and director at Fortis Hospital's department of diabetes and metabolic diseases, said.
Reduction of intake of harmful saturated fat can be achieved by lowering consumption of fried food. Consumption of healthy omega 3 PUFA can be achieved by having fish, tofu, soyabeans, canola, almonds, flaxseed and their oils, the study suggested.
Mungo beans, consumed as urad dal, are rich in PUFA. Consumption of canola oil, olive oil or a mixture of mustard and groundnut oil may ensure a healthy balance of fat, the scientists said.
Misra said the study indicated a shift in the diet of teens from traditionally high carbohydrate meals to Westernised high fat food.

THE STUDY

Carried out among 1,236 students in 14-25 age-group from 40 Delhi schools and colleges by scientists from the NDOCDF & AIIMS The participants were asked to detail the food they had eaten during the two days preceding the survey. Their height, weight, waistline and body fat were measured

THE FINDINGS

All young adults were consuming four times the fat than was recommended daily Consumption of harmful saturated fat and omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids was high Consumption of healthy omega 3 fatty acids was low A large part of the fat consumed was derived from semi-solid oil and cooking oils heated to high temperatures Intake of carbohydrates and proteins was found to be within the required limit

Egg White VS Egg Yolk

Is Eating Egg Yolk Bad for Your Health?

 

Whole eggs and egg yolks are often left off of the shopping list of those with an elevated cholesterol level. Is eating egg yolks really unhealthy?

A topic that’s been widely debated from a health standpoint is whether or not eating egg yolk is unhealthy. Up until recently, people who were diagnosed with heart disease or had an elevated cholesterol level were urged to avoid eating egg yolk due to their high cholesterol content. This view has changed somewhat as more news   has come out about the health benefits of eggs. Is eating egg yolk unhealthy?

Egg Yolk Vs Egg White 

 

By discarding the yolk and only eating only egg white of an egg, you are in effect chucking away the most nutritionally dense, antioxidant-rich, vitamin and mineral part of the egg. The yolks contain so many B-vitamins, trace minerals, vitamin A, folate, choline, lutein and other excellent nutrients that it is such a pity that you do not eat egg yolks.

In contrast, egg whites are almost devoid of nutrition when compared to the yolk. Ya, I heard you say that you are consuming the egg white for its protein to preserve and build your muscles . But do you know that the protein in egg whites are not as formidable without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more bio-available and therefore more muscle friendly?

Furthermore, not many people know that the egg yolks from free running chickens (instead of caged chickens in factory chicken farms) are loaded with chock full of omega-3 fatty acids. This may shock you further. Egg yolk have more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, B12 and panthothenic acid in an egg. 

In addition, the humble yolk also contains all of the fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E, and K as well as all of the essential fatty acids. This means that you are discarding more than 90% of the nutritional goodness an egg can provide you with. Isn't that such a waste?

Ok, I heard you say that consuming egg yolks will shoot your cholesterol level through the roof. You know what? That is simply not true!

Let me explain. Firstly, when you consume food with high cholesterol such as eggs, your body naturally produces less cholesterol to balance out the equation. However, if you don't consume enough cholesterol, your body will produce more because cholesterol has a few important functions.

Initial studies are even showing evidence that eating whole eggs actually raises your good cholesterol (HDL) to a higher level than bad cholesterol (LDL) this will improve your overall cholesterol ratio and blood chemistry. Surprised?

So next time your gym instructors tell you that egg whites are superior to egg yolks, you can smugly ask them why and see if they can explain it convincingly to you.