::: Dietist Khan ::: Book introduction

INTRODUCTION

The quality of life begins with the quality of the foods that sustain it. Health includes not merely

the absence of disease. Healthy living is a matter of conscious choice. Our diet determines in

large part how we look, how we work and how we feel. Nutrition is the single most important

component of preventive health care for diet has been associated with obesity, high bleed

pressure, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, cancer, and liver cirrhosis. Optimum nutrition is the

level of intake that should promote the highest level of health. Nutrition is a key to a sustainable

living. Our diet affects our personality and our quality of life. Food can also determine whether

we age prematurely or we have a lifetime vital health. The nutrients will, unlike drugs, unfold

their positive and beneficial effects gradually and their functionality greatly assist when healthy

and balanced diet is consumed. Various studies have shown that many chronic diseases may be

the result of poisoning of the metabolic processes in the body. By consuming different pollutants

through food, water and by breathing contaminated air can create an accumulation of

hazardous substances in tissues and internal organs. The composition of the diet should take

particular care to the quality and freshness of the food.

This book was written to encourage you to explore different aspects of food and to enable you

to take maximum control and responsibility for your own health. It is meant to provide basic

knowledge on various nutritional issues currently facing South Asians. The ability to cope with

stress is directly related to our daily food. Food appears to have a direct influence on the brain

cells, and the functioning of the brains. Albert Schweitzer says,” the greatest discovery of any

generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering the attitudes of their minds”.

While we would like to think that all people are created equal, we are not, at least when it

comes to health. Each of us has a unique genetic and cultural heritage that makes South Asians

more susceptible to certain diseases and medical conditions. While we can thank our parents for

our individual genetic inheritance, as South Asians, we share not only a common history, but

some common health traits as well. The health problems which many South Asians are facing,

are overweight (obesity), high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, kidney disorders,

gastrointestinal tract disorders, and heart disease. From various studies have shown that type 2

diabetes mellitus among South Asians, native Americans, and Mexicans 8-10 times more common

than among the other nations. Possible causes include genetic predisposition, dietary patterns,

food & nutritional habits, climate and less exercise. The increasing prevalence of chronic

metabolic disorders at an increasingly younger age is particularly disturbing because of the co-

morbidity in the longer term. Diabetes is one of the lifestyle diseases that are directly related to

nutrition and life style. An epidemiological increase of type 2 diabetes mellitus threatens public

health in wealthy countries. In 2000 the number of people with diabetes mellitus worldwide was

177 million, in 1985 there were only 30 million. This number 2025 might have risen to 400 million.

Netherlands currently has over 1 million diabetes patients. The increase of diabetics will mainly

be seen in Western countries due to increasing obesity, the increase of aging, lack of exercise

and improper diet. In short: you are what you eat, drink & think.

I have divided this book into two parts, namely nutrition in health and nutrition in disease. The

first part deals mainly with general information on nutrition and health, specific eating habits and

daily food of most South Asians. The second part deals with some aspects of the metabolic

syndrome. The metabolic syndrome is actually a collective name of various diseases, such as

obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus, kidney disease and heart

disease. I hope that the inherent superficiality of this book is the touchstone of criticism from

the scientific community will be able to endure.

In Ayurveda, the importance of a healthy nutrition has been recognized for thousands of years.

Good eating habits improve both the health on one hand and slow the aging process on the

other. Enjoyment and happiness in life begins with optimal health. Research into brain function

reveals evidence that the emotions of love, faith, joy, fear, sadness, and even our sense of

purpose in life are not merely attitudes created through the mind’s thought processes. They are

actually produced and reinforced by biochemical activity within the brain, which in turn is

affected by nutrients supplied by the food we eat. Raw foods contain nutrients needed for

proper brain function. Cooking and especially processing of foods destroy nutrients needed to

avoid anxiety, mood swings, depression, and many other mental and psychological disorders.

Until we know more about the connections between food and our emotions. The purest, safest,

most animal- and plant-friendly source of nutrition is raw foods.

It is my intention with this book to help to take control and optimize your health. I present in

this book the knowledge I have learned from years of scientific study & research as well as the

knowledge I have learned from years of treating thousands of patients with more than 46

different nationalities. I see this book as an opportunity to introduce you to many new ideas

that you may not have had an opportunity to think about. This book will teach you about the

important relationship between your daily food and your health.

Herophilus says,” When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest,

strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied”.

Suhail A. Khan

Nutritionist/Clinical Dietitian