Eating Right

Exam time especially mothers should take care of what her child eats.
Dr. Alexander Jacob I.P.S,A.D.G.P, Police Academy Thrissur, a voracious reader and an orator during his visit to our school on the occasion of, farewell to Std XII children, gave a talk on the food choices especially during exam time.
1. Things to eat - Honey, Fish, Nuts, Chocolates, Milk , Wheat - for supper
2. Things not to be eaten- Potato, Tapioca, Chilies (any kind), Oily food.
3 Never eat from a hotel at least not till your exams are over.
4. Drink plenty of water.
5. But don't forget to study

Guest Lecture-

Dr. Indu Associate Professor in Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Thrissur gave us a lecture on various topics like-
Snacking while watching TV, Obesity ,Water ,Chocolates and myths related to food. We learnt the terms-BMI, Obesity, Trans fat, Couch potato .

1.Find your BMI

BMI is calculated by dividing the subject's mass by the square of his or her height, typically expressed either in metric or US Customary units:

Metric: $BMI = kilograms / meters 2$

Body Mass Index=Weight of the body / Ht X Ht
In terms of BMI, Obesity is defined as a measure of the body weight in relation to height. A person is overweight if BMI is between 25-30 and obese if BMI is 30 or more.

According to estimates by the Nutrition Foundation of India about 50 million Indians are ‘Over Weight’. Obesity affects all our organs and increases the risk of many diseases.

We found out the BMI of our family members .Luckily none were in that dangerous range.

2.Obesity- is a condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to an extent that health may be negatively affected. Obesity is commonly defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m² or higher This definition distinguishes obesity from being pre-obese or overweight, which is classified as a BMI of 25 kg/m² but less than 30 kg/m^2.Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or wellbeing.

3.Trans Fat- is the common name for a type of unsaturated fat.Unlike other dietary fats, trans fats are not essential, and they do not promote good health. The consumption of trans fats increases one's risk of coronary heart disease. A good fat turns into Trans fat on heating. All the Indian Pakoras, Chips, Bhajees are unhealthy as they have trans fat in them.

4.Couch Potato- is a person who spends most of his or her free time sitting or lying on a couch. This often refers to a lazy and overweight person who watches a lot of television. Generally speaking, the term refers to a lifestyle in which children or adults don't get enough physical activity.

Dr Indu gave us a talk on the above mentioned topics with her presentations. We r extremely thankful to her.

Collaboration with Health Experts

We were lucky to get answers to some of our queries from Doctors specialized in this field. We are too happy to share these answers with you.

Dr.Meeta Lall has been associated with several health projects including those of the Unicef and is author of "The Power Of N"
We are too happy to collaborate her into our project.
We thank her for all the guidance and support.

Question: Are there any types of food that affect the function of brain?
Answer : Deficiency diseases are very common in children in today's world. Does it have any relation to junk food? Yes, certainly. When children fill themselves up with junk food, they have no appetite or taste left for the healthy stuff. Coke substitutes milk; burgers substitute nutritious meals and so on. Deficiency diseases especially those of iron, calcium and important vitamins occur very easily. A pregnant woman should not smoke or drink. Does it stands the same for junk food? Junk food is equally bad during pregnancy. Pregnancy does not give the license to overeat. Junk foods are loaded with calories, fat and salt - all of these are contra-indicated during pregnancy. Also chances of infection through improperly cooking are always there. So junk food is best avoided mostly.

Question: Can you suggest type of food children must eat during exam time?
Answer: Eating right during exams is as important as studying hard. The right kinds of foods keep the brain well-fed and help the student concentrate, sleep well and remain anxiety-free.
Eat at regular intervals. Have 5-6 small meals very 2-3 hours;
big meals keep turning in the stomach and slow you down mentally and physically.
Do not skip meals.
A healthy breakfast - kick starts your body rhythm and keeps you going steadily .
Do not live entirely on snack foods. Sure they taste good and are a perfect break from studies but they usually won't energize you as much as a real meal.
Sit down at the dining table for lunch and dinner and have a proper meal .
Every study break does not mean food. Students often reach out for food when all they need is a cold glass of water. Figure out what you really need - stress relief, pep talk, stretching etc.
Don't watch TV during a study break. Instead do something physical - short walk, stretching exercises, gardening, household chores etc - to get the blood circulating to the brain. .
Drink water regularly. Drink at least 3 bottles of water in a day.
Green tea or other herbal teas are great stress busters and keep you hydrated.
Avoid caffeine drinks like tea, coffee and colas. Avoid sugary drinks like readymade juices in tetra packs and colas as they cause energy levels to drop soon. If possible, have fresh fruit juices like carrot-orange juice etc .
Choose meals and snacks that emphasize protein along with carbohydrate.
High sugar and high carbohydrates foods play havoc with glucose levels
Fried foods make you sluggish and lethargic.
Spicy foods cause acidity. And eating out or fast foods/restaurant food can cause infections. So stick to good old home-cooked food which has plenty of protein. Remember, exam time is NOT junk food time

Dr. Jame Abraham M.D, FACP

Dr. Jame Abraham M.D, FACP, Chief, Section of Hematology/Oncology, Associate Professor of Medicine, Medical Director, Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, West Virginia University, West Virginia.

Question : I would like to know whether the food that we eat has any thing to do with Cancer?
Answer : Diet plays a major role in many cancer. In general vegetarian diet is associated with less incidence of cancer. Obesity accounts for about 20% cancers, which includes breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer etc. Alcohol can increase the risk of variety of cancers including liver cancer, esophageal cancer etc

Your daily regime-

Never skip your breakfast.

Drink plenty of water.

Prefer walking to your school .

Play in the evening.

Restrict watching long hours of TV viewing

Sleep well..

R U A Couch Potato-

Do U watch TV for more than 2 hrs a day?
Do U snack while watching TV?
Do U frequently visit cinema theatres?
R U obese?
Have you ever played in the open ?
R video games your favorite?

If your answers to most of the quest. are a yes then………………….its high time you went physical

Junk food makes kids arrogant-

Children who are brought up on a diet of junk food, or processed food are more likely to behave badly at school than children who are not in the habit of eating junk food.

Researchers have found out that sugary and fatty snacks make kids not only naughty but also lead to poor concentration. The worst part of the new finding is that if children are regularly given junk food at a very young age, the damage has already been done. Studies show that kids who have regularly taken processed food when they are toddlers behaved the worst in the class and performed the worst in tests the study was conducted by the Institute for education of the University of London.

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