ISLAMABAD: Health experts on Sunday urged the public to continue following the recommendations of meat consumption to three portions a week and avoid too many barbecues as consuming too much-processed meat can increase the risk of bowel cancer in humans.
“There is seen a jump in the number of cases of gastric infections and diarrhea due to binge eating at restaurants and improper handling of foods after Eid-ul-Azha,” a senior Specialist of Liver diseases & gastroenterologist Dr. Rabia Tariq said while talking to a private news channel.
“Avoiding foods that are too oily and spicy prevent abdominal burning and decrease heartburn issues. Having smaller quantities of meals and avoiding binge eating should be an ideal situation,” she mentioned.
“Prolonged frozen meat damages gums and increases the risk of cancer,” she said, adding, meat is a blessing, eat it, but with caution.”
Cooking meat at high temperatures produces cancer-causing chemicals, she said, thus one should avoid the prolonged cooking time, especially at high temperatures.
It is better to follow the teachings of Islam and one should consume a moderate quantity of food including meat and the best option certainly is to follow the true philosophy of sacrifice and distribute meat among deserving persons, she added.
She said the chronic patients of hepatitis B and C are medically advised not to eat greater quantities of meat.
The patients suffering from complaints of peptic or duodenal ulcers should also consume a limited quantity of meat on Eid days to avoid serious complications, she advised.
The use of frozen meat can be harmful as it may affect kidneys and cause cardiac problems adding that overeating could cause gastric irritation, high cholesterol, acidity, abdominal contraction, nausea, diarrhea, heart problems, and constipation, she added.
The use of red meat not only raised cholesterol and caused high blood pressure but also heart disease, diabetes, and bowel cancers, she highlighted.
She advised that people should make ginger or lemon water and salty lassi, curd, and salad a part of the food and avoid soft drinks.