Summers call for those lip
smacking treats like ice creams, drinks, frozen stuffs and much more. And it’s
also important to indulge yourself every once a while to keep your body cool or
to just shock your body. But, it’s also important to understand eating ice cold
stuffs can create havoc in your body.
In modern times, it’s a craze to have ice cold foods
and drinks to make us look and feel cool, but have you ever wondered that if
frozen foods and drinks are really doing any good for our health? Well! The
fact is that by splashing our system with ice-cold goodness is actually doing
harm than good.
Practically, it is said that in order to maintain a
healthy metabolism in the body, everything that we eat and drink should be as
close as possible to our normal body temperature. In general and particularly
in hotter months as matter of preferences we all like to drink cold stuff and
eat cold foods, without understanding the problems we will encounter because of
having these cold stuffs.
Why avoid cold foods and
drinks?
When we eat or drink, our system produces enzymes that
are crucial and helps in proper digestion and these enzymes can survive only
within specific range of temperature of the body. Through the stages evolution,
human bodies is yet to evolve to handle ice cold foods and hence it has to
spend excess of energy warming up the foods. It’s true that it means burning
some extra calories, but it is negligible as compared to the all-important
energy that was meant to be used for other functions like digestion and
healing.
For our body’s digestive system to function properly, it
requires sufficient energy and heat to contract and push the food through the
digestive track. Cold foods and drinks lowers the stomach’s temperatures which
in turn slows down the digestive process and leading to problems of
indigestions. Moreover, if cold foods are too frequently ingested, you might
have a poor appetite and also experience weight loss. On the other hand, when the digestive tract
retains food for longer periods of time, it allows the bacteria additional time
to complete the digestion process, which in turn generates more gas that can
cause bloating of the stomach or abdomen.
Excessive intake of cold foods often also lead to
numerous health issues including weight gain, fatigue, cysts and tumors,the
development of unhealthy bacterial infections, chronic sinus infections, brain
fog, excessive bloating and gas and problems with eliminations.
The unexpected health
hazards of ice cold foods
Cold foods could have many unhealthy effects on our
health. Eating and drinking them can lead to heart disease, diabetes and even
destroy and damage the cells of the body.
Listed here are some critical health hazards that
these foods can pose on our health:
- Heart
Diseases: Most of the Ice creams and frozen stuffs are high in trans fats, which increases the risks of
contracting heart disease and also contributes to clogged arteries. These trans
fats raise LDL – Bad Cholesterols and lowers LDL – Good Cholesterols,
responsible for heart ailments.
- High
Blood Pressure: Frozen foods and soft drinks and juices have different kinds of preservatives. These foods
are high in sugar or salt, which can affect blood pressure negatively and cause
blood pressure high that can lead to more serious conditions like that of
hypertension.
- Cancer:
Studies conclude that consuming frozen foods, meats in particular, can lead to
pancreatic cancer.
- Diabetes:
Starch is the component used to preserve frozen and cold foods and also adds
colour and taste to these foods. Starch, a polymer of glucose, and a diet with
excess of glucose is bad for the body. The excess sugar increases risks of
contracting diabetes while also causing damage to body tissues.
Eat cold foods like ice creams—which means, eat them
sparingly. Drink room temperature water, avoid sodas and sugary drinks. Let the
foods warm to room temperature before eating them. Don’t refrigerate items that
don’t need to be — many fruits and vegetables do better on the counter than in
the cold.
**NOTE: This article is penned by valuable inputs from
Dietitian Sheela Seharawat, founder of Diet ClinicHealth Care Pvt Ltd **
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