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From recent times the Sri Lankan Government, more specifically the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, is trying to popularise the eating of chicken and eggs through the print and electronic media as health giving.

The ethics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, under Minister S. B. Dissanayaka taking over the subject of health and nutrition, which by Government Gazette is a subject of the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Social Welfare is not discussed here.

It only shows the parlous situation in the country today. It is also a matter for the Auditor General to investigate how government funds could be used to promote a private sector product. If the funds are from an ADB or WB loan there should be more transparency in negotiating loans because it is not an individual or a Ministry that repays loans but the people of this country.

The focus of this paper, however, is not that. It is to inform the general public of the recent trends in food habits of a nation that is getting closer to Sri Lanka and is seeking to emulate. This is what Dr. D. Barnard M.D., the President of the Physicians Committee on Responsible Medicine, located in Washington D.C. has to say.

"Many Americans realized red meat can imperial the heart, colon, other organs, and, of course, the waistline. The trouble stems, in part, from its typically high fat and cholesterol content.

"Unfortunately, many people turned to chicken (as well as turkey and fish) to pursue better nutrition. Chicken may look harmless dressed up in the drive-thru special of the week, but zesty new sauces and fancy marketing campaigns cannot disguise its shortcomings. Chicken may be lighter in color than beef, but your body can hardly tell the difference. Chicken, like other animal products, contains hefty doses of cholesterol, fat, and animal protein. It leaves your body wanting for fiber, vitamin C, and complex carbohydrates. "Oftentimes, the heaviness of a meat-centered meal leaves little room for what your body really craves-richly varied plant foods. Each bite of chicken, beef, or fish displaces vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes, the real dynamos that boost your metabolism and immune system.

Like four ounces of beef, four ounces of chicken-roughly the size of a card deck-contain about 100 milligrams of cholesterol, while the ideal daily intake is zero. (Animal products always have cholesterol. Plant foods never do.) Whereas 3.5 ounces of broiled lean flank steak derives 56 percent of its calories from fat, the comparable figure for chicken is 51 percent (even skinless "while meat" is 23 percent fat). "Furthermore, one-third of chicken packages in supermarket coolers have live salmonella bacteria growing inside the plastic.

Salmonella poisoning kills about 9,000 Americans annually, with millions more non-fatally afflicted by such symptoms as vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and fever. The new kid on the chopping block-campylobacter-infects as many as two-thirds of all prepackaged chicken.

"And chicken's problems cannot be cooked away. When heated, chicken produces dangerous heterocyclic amines (HCAs) as creatine, amino acids, and sugar in chicken muscles interact. HCAs, the same carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, are 15 times more concentrated in grilled chicken than beef. The fat, animal protein and carcinogens in cooked chicken creates risks for colon cancer. What's more, poultry, like all meat, lacks any fiber to help cleanse the digestive tract of excess hormones and cholesterol.

"Moreover, you wouldn't dream of taking veterinary medicines. But in choosing chicken salads and chicken sandwiches for lunch, you're doing just that. Today's farms increasingly operate much like factories. Thousands of chickens are crammed in tightly confined spaces where excrement and bacteria spread every which way. Stressed by these unnatural conditions, chickens often peck at one another, causing serious injury.

To protect profits, birds are routinely debeaked without anaesthesia. You can't tell by looking, but that neatly wrapped chicken breast in the grocery still harbours the antibiotics and other medications used to compensate for these unsanitary, troublesome conditions.

"Unlike PCBs, which are slow to leave our bodies, chemicals from medicated feed and various veterinary compounds do get eliminated when we drop meat. In comparison with the general population, vegetarian women have 98 to 99 percent lower levels of several pesticides as well as many other chemicals ingested by eating animal products." (End of quote) Eggs are described as virtual Cholesterol Bombs by informed persons, containing more than 200 milligrams of cholesterol each.

Moreover, each egg contains about 13.6 percent protein and 13.3 percent saturated fat. Any dhal is better, with 24 percent protein and only 1.3 percent-unsaturated fat per 100 grams. Eggs are often contaminated with bacteria, especially salmonella (one of the leading causes of food poisoning), and worms and also contribute to heart disease and other serious health problems. Nutrient Content of Chicken-based Foods (per serving) is giving below. (Source: Pennington JAT. Bowes and Churches' food values of portions commonly used, 15th Edition, Harper Perrenial, NY, 1981)

For a cardiac reversal diet, according to Dr. Dean Ornish M.D. of the University of California at San Francisco and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn M.D. of the world renowned Cleveland Clinic, the upward limit on total fat should be about 10% of calories, or for a 2000 kcal diet a total of about 22 grams of fat.

The arguments are convincing enough, not perhaps to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, which seems to have been bought over to a different agenda. However, you have a choice if you care for your health. If you are not gullible to false propaganda and if you stop eating chicken and eggs, not to worry. From a health standpoint you are making a smart choice. Spread the message and help build a healthy nation.

- Olcott Gunasekera, Dharmavijaya Centre for Promotion of Healthy Living

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