Dairy Products and the Health issues arising out of its Heavy Consumption
Everybody loves to eat tasty and delicious food but it should be in a limited quantity because it may affect our health. An ancient Greek physician said, Everything in excess is opposed to nature! I think you might read this quote somewhere. Our diet should be healthy and nutritious. In the present era due to high urbanization, people are becoming lazy and indolent and preferring packed food items in their daily routine. One of the most usable daily packed items is Dairy products such as packed milk, cheese, yogurt etc. They have lots of adverse effects. So in today’s article, we are going to discuss dairy products, its harmful effects and its impact on the body.
Introduction
Dairy products are best for the health of the individual. These products are a type of food which contains milk of the mammals most commonly Cow, Buffaloes, Goats, Sheep and Camels. Dairy products include milk, curd, cheese, butter, and yogurt. These products are consumed worldwide. Dairy products provide several essential nutrients that are difficult to obtain in a normal diet. These are beneficial for bone health as they contain calcium in high quantities. It has been an important part of the human diet since 8000 years. But overconsumption of dairy products leads to various health issues. Before starting to discuss harmful effects, let’s just discuss some benefits of dairy products.
Benefits of Dairy Products
- Useful for digestion
- Maintains the health of the bone
- Maintains the dental health
- Dairy products improves muscle mass and hydration
- They have numerous nutritional values
- Maintain cardiac health
Let’s Just Talk About Some Harmful Effects of Dairy Products!
Health Issues Arising out of Its Heavy Consumption
Due to white revolution or increased population, the demand of dairy products increased day by day. To fulfill the demand of dairy products for every individual, the production of dairy products is also increasing in the form of artificial milk production powders; give injection to the cow’s and buffaloes to increase milk production. These techniques enhance milk production for sure, but decrease nutritious content in the dairy products. These injections or artificial milk contain various carcinogenic contents. There is a trend of packed food items nowadays. These packed food items come up with some preservatives which are harmful for our health. They deteriorate our health a lot. Overconsumption of packed food items causes following health issues:
Cardiac Problems
Cardiovascular diseases are a major cause of deaths worldwide and consumption of packed dairy food items causes cardiovascular risk such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, stroke, decrease heart rate etc as it contains unsaturated fat content. In the past, people used fresh and pure dairy products which are very beneficial in the growth of the individual. These packed diary items cause weakness of the heart muscles and also hamper the pumping capacity of the heart. They will increase the LDL level in the body and decrease the level of HDL in the body which will lead to Atherosclerosis in the individual.
Bone Health
These packed dairy items cause bones more fragile and weak. It increases the risk of fracture of the bones. Bone mass is decreased by use of these products. No doubt that dairy products such as milk are very beneficial in the development of bones as it contains Calcium which is helpful in bone health. But packed items are rich in preservatives and have less calcium content which ultimately makes the bone weak. Normally it is difficult to maintain bone health after menopause, But in today’s Era because of the consumption of these products the problem generally arises after 20 years of age. There is a change in the bone mineral mass. Also the health of the children is affected by these items. Because of the artificial milk that is in powder form. They make the bones of the child weaker.
Carcinogenic Effects
As we said above, these packed dairy items come up with chemical preservatives and additives. These contain carcinogens which are responsible for cancer. The incident or rate of cancer patients are increasing just because of the consumption of packed food items. Mostly stomach cancer or intestinal cancer is increasing day by day. Researchers said that these packed items contain certain hormones which increase the risk of cancer in the body.
Lactose Intolerance
In some people, there is lactose intolerance which means they do not digestive milk. After consumption of milk they face the symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain, flatulence and diarrhea which can be severe sometimes. Their intolerance is due to overconsumption of packed dairy items or normally dairy items (overconsumption is bad for health). The symptoms arise due to the deficiency of an enzyme called lactase.
Liver Problems
Liver disorders are increasing day by day. In Ayurveda, our Acharyas mentioned the role of milk in liver problems. They said that milk is the best medicine for liver diseases. But packed dairy items have opposite effects. They cause liver illness in the individual. They hamper the normal functioning of the liver and Gall bladder as well.
Autoimmune Disorders
These packed items cause suppression of the immune system. Preservatives and additives contain immunosuppressive agents. They suppress immunity and cause various autoimmune disorders. Also they cause formation of Aama (Endotoxins). Aama is the undigested food in the gut, which is responsible for the several diseases. These packed diary items are hard to digest and easily form Aama.
Obesity
These items contain unsaturated food particles. They increase the fat content in the body and lead to obesity. Obesity leads to various health issues like heart problems, diabetes, hypertension, difficulty in doing day to day activities.
Conclusion
As we see above that packed dairy items are very harmful for our health. They cause numerous health issues in the body. Overconsumption of these items may cause life threatening conditions. They suppress our immune system and lead to various metabolic changes. They cause lifestyle disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, COPD, obesity, liver cirrhosis etc. So one should avoid consuming these packed items for better health and for better living.
