Eating for disease prevention

Did you know that what you eat can help prevent, and sometimes even reverse, conditions such as hypertension (high blood pressure) and type 2 diabetes? In some people, changing their diet lowers blood pressure and blood sugar enough that their doctor may be able to reduce their medication. Never stop or change your medication without speaking to your doctor first.

In this article, we look at how diet contributes to disease, so that you can see why it is so important to eat well.

What we know

The scientific community agrees that adding a lot of salt to our food is associated with hypertension; this is the reason why doctors have been telling us to reduce our salt intake. The World Health Organization recommends less than 5 g of salt per person per day, which is just under 1 teaspoon. Studies in Malawi suggest that many people eat well above this limit. This matters because the number of people being diagnosed with hypertension is increasing, and many people with high blood pressure do not know they have it. It is very important for you to know whether you are hypertensive or not, because if you do not know, the disease will progress and put you at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease, which can lead to a heart attack or a stroke.

What should you do then? Go to the hospital and get tested for hypertension, and reduce your salt intake. The good news is, once salt intake is lowered to less than 1 teaspoon per day, blood pressure reduces, and this can be seen from as little as 4 weeks.

Added sugar

Many of us eat more added sugar than is good for us. For the greatest health benefit, the World Health Organization suggests keeping added sugar below about 6 teaspoons (25 g) a day. Added sugars are all sweeteners such as table sugar, honey and syrups that are added to food and drinks as they are processed or prepared. Sugars found in milk, fruits and vegetables are referred to as natural sugars and they do not fall in this category. So, why is a high consumption of added sugar bad? Because research has shown its association with diseases such as hypertension, certain cancers, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Added sugars lead to increasing body weight, which makes individuals overweight and obese; this deposits fat around the stomach, thereby increasing the risk of disease. It is therefore important to reduce the amount of added sugar in the diet by avoiding foods and drinks processed with sugar, such as biscuits, chocolates, cakes, mandasi, sobo, Fanta, Coke and Frozzy; even 100% juice should be drunk in moderation. Also reduce the amount of sugar you add to tea, coffee, porridge and other foods.

Fats

I am sure you have heard that eating a diet high in fat is bad, and indeed this is true, but it is not the ultimate truth. There are two different types of dietary fats: those that are good and those that are bad for health. The good fats are mostly the type that are liquid at room temperature, such as sunflower and other vegetable oils, while the less healthy ones are mostly solid at room temperature, such as butter, lard, ghee and hard margarines. Studies show that a high consumption of bad fats is associated with an increased risk of stroke, heart attack and other heart diseases. Some studies have shown that people who eat more bad fats have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension and some cancers such as breast, endometrial and colon cancer. Because fats have more energy than other foods, eating a small amount increases the total amount of energy eaten in a day, thereby increasing body weight, which leads to overweight and obesity. The global recommendation is that a maximum of 30% of the diet should be from fat. Studies show a reduced risk of disease from increasing intake of good fats and reducing bad fat intake. So, eat more avocados, nuts and seeds, and oily fish such as butterfish and bombe. Avoid cuts of meat that have fat on them; choose lean cuts with as little white on them as possible.

Red meat

As Malawians, we love to eat beef, pork, goat and even sheep meat; these are generally categorised as red meat. A lot of research has been conducted on the impact of red meat on health and, while agreement on the strength of the evidence is poor, some studies have shown that a high consumption of red meat is associated with colon cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. There is stronger agreement, however, that ultra-processed red meats such as bacon, polonies, ham and Vienna sausages, among others, are associated with increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. It is better for us to eat more white meat, which comes from poultry and fish, than red meat. This does not mean we should stop eating red meat; it means that we should lower the amount of red meat we eat to 3 times per week and avoid eating the processed versions of red meat as much as possible.

As you can see, what you eat influences your health tremendously and hence must be given specific attention. Make good food choices to prevent and manage chronic disease.

Interact with us

Nutrition is not one size fits all, and the advice above is general. For specific recommendations, reach out to us so that we can work with you to improve the quality of your life. Email info@nuwece.com, or call +265 992 695 507 or +265 887 524 417 (Malawi) or +44 7833 854153 (UK). We would love to hear your thoughts on what we have shared and what you would like us to discuss next.

Sources

1. World Health Organization. Salt reduction (fact sheet). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/salt-reduction
2. He FJ, Li J, MacGregor GA. Effect of longer term modest salt reduction on blood pressure: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials. BMJ. 2013;346:f1325.
3. World Health Organization. Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children. Geneva: WHO; 2015.
4. World Health Organization. Healthy diet (fact sheet). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet
5. International Agency for Research on Cancer. Red meat and processed meat. IARC Monographs, Volume 114. 2018.
6. World Cancer Research Fund / American Institute for Cancer Research. Cancer Prevention Recommendations: limit red and processed meat.
7. Lean MEJ, Leslie WS, Barnes AC, et al. Primary care-led weight management for remission of type 2 diabetes (DiRECT): an open-label, cluster-randomised trial. The Lancet. 2018;391:541–551.

This article is general education and does not replace advice from a health professional.

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