By Joachim Ng
Families love the weekly dinner outings to posh air-conditioned restaurants with the cold air blowing in their faces and children gazing in wonder at the delicious spread. Years later these children, as senior adults, may fall to pneumonia and they won’t know the connection is likely traceable to those sumptuous weekends. Ipoh and KL/PJ restaurant air-conditioning temperatures are set at 16-18°C, whereas natural temperatures in Kinta Valley or Klang Valley rarely drop to as low as 20°C at night.
The 16-18°C range is lower than the highest winter temperature of 19.7 degrees in Hawaii. Your children are dining in wintry cold, and the sudden chilling of their lungs that persists for two or more hours may jolt their raw immune system. The next day, the children are back playing in the warm outdoors. It’s like experiencing winter and summer within 24 hours.
Why do you think doctors advise travellers to get the flu shot well in advance if they are planning a visit to any country with cold weather? In countries with four seasons, the winter peak is a time for influenza to spread.
A strong immune system is of utmost importance to serve as a shield against harmful pathogens. But as the immune system develops full maturity only during the teenage years, sudden chills on a regular weekly basis exert tremendous pressure on the system and may predispose young children to influenza and pneumonia.
The pressure dents the immune system and the weakness shows up in a weaker respiratory tract. Pneumonia superseded coronary heart disease as the principal cause of death in 2023, and it was also the principal cause of death among the Chinese. One possible reason for the surge is that oldies can be seen dining in chilly-cold restaurants. At an advanced age, how strong can their immune system be if it had been dented in childhood years?
Why are restaurant temperatures so chillingly low? The reason is that the air-conditioning service crew sets it in winter zone at high-speed fan to leave behind evidence that they have done a good job. Yes, and the evidence may stick to your lungs.
Even at a table with just adults, there are many other threats to health. Lurking everywhere, in five-star glitzy restaurants as well as no-star hawker stalls, are the deadly twins of sugar and salt. We have in previous articles called for council action to strike down refined white sugar. In this article we call for action to strike down extra salt.
Salt is a compound made up of two minerals, sodium and chloride. Sodium makes food taste better and keeps it from spoiling by acting as a preservative. But the recommended salt intake is no more than 5gm or one teaspoon a day. However, the Malaysian Community Salt Survey 2017-2018 showed a mean intake of 7.9gm or 1.6 teaspoons of salt taken by Malaysians. Close to 80% of the population consume sodium excessively in their diet.
A 2023 study conducted by the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, USA, linked frequent salt consumption to the onset of type 2 diabetes. The findings were confirmed by research last year.
Excessive sodium consumption has also been shown to increase the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension) and blood vessel damage linked to the onset of heart disease and stroke. The National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019 reported that three out of 10 Malaysians adults have hypertension.
Restricting sodium intake has been the key to reducing blood pressure, and researchers may have found an underlying mechanism to explain why. Scientists examined hundreds of metabolite substances produced during digestion from blood samples drawn in a study of 64 British residents with high blood pressure or hypertension.
All participants were instructed to follow a reduced-sodium diet, but otherwise none were taking medication or receiving treatment for their condition. The researchers discovered that reducing sodium intake resulted in higher levels of two specific metabolites – methionine sulfone and beta-hydroxyisovalerate – both associated with lower blood pressure levels and arterial stiffness.
The results were based on a sodium reduction of 1,120 milligrams a day, from 3,800 mg to 2,680. That decline was associated with a decrease in both systolic blood pressure (the top number in a measurement) and diastolic pressure (the bottom number).
After we’re done with sugar and salt, next on the City Council’s squeeze list should be ultra processed foods or UPFs. Researchers have discovered strong evidence that high intake of ultra-processed foods rich in salt, starches, and carbohydrates are strongly associated with the development of type 2 diabetes.
UPFs are linked to increased incidences of cardiovascular disease and their frequent consumption has also been linked to higher risk of cancer overall, particularly colorectal cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, central nervous system tumours, and leukaemia.
Besides added sodium and hydrogenated oils, UPFs are made with ingredients that you don’t find in home kitchens such as flavouring agents and emulsifiers, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, colouring, and preservative compounds.
There is no reason why Ipoh City Council and the Health Ministry should be reluctant to launch a sugar, salt and UPF crackdown. Medical healthcare is a huge burden to the national budget. Overcrowding at public hospitals and clinics keeps getting worse and the waiting time for treatment has stretched to three hours. Who’s bearing all the costs? It’s you, as a taxpayer! You have every right to demand a crackdown.
Sodium is naturally found in many foods such as whole grains, nuts, seaweed, tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, garlic, ginger, and unprocessed cheese. As in the case of added sugar, eateries should be required by law to ask their customers whether they would like salt added to the cooking and how much. As of now, eateries decide the amount of salt, sodium additive, or salty condiments used by cooks to flavour the dishes, and diners have reported feeling thirsty midway through a meal.
Children and teenagers are particularly at risk as they love to munch on high-salt snacks such as potato crisps, fish chips, and instant foods. Just one bacon cheeseburger can contain your recommended daily value for sodium.
UPF addiction is growing too. Studies in 38 countries indicate that 14% of adults and 12% of children globally have become addicted to UPFs. The food industry has spent billions making sure that UPFs are often amongst the top choices of foods people want to eat. This is achieved by designing UPFs to stimulate the brain’s reward pathway which makes the sensation of eating UPFs extraordinarily enjoyable.
Supermarkets, grocery stores, and eateries must be compelled to avoid selling potato chips, chocolate or candy, fizzy drinks, processed cheese, sugary cereals, refined grains, packaged soups, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and fries. These also contain high levels of added sugar while lacking vitamins and fibre.
Will a crackdown on UPFs devastate the food industry? On the contrary, it should be seen as a big push for Malaysian culinary scientists to venture into terra incognita and create a new type of processed foods that can be labelled as NPFs or naturally processed foods.
Why should Malaysia just wait for the rest of the world to take initiative? Malaysia has let so many food breakthrough opportunities slip through our hands because we show little interest in research that lacks industry funding. And the food industry has no interest in supporting any type of ground-breaking scientific advances that upsets current practices.
Food can be tasty without the presence of flavouring agents and emulsifiers. The natural colours of food can be enhanced through natural means instead of using artificial colours. Preservative compounds can be replaced by use of natural sources that include spices, garlic, vinegar, and citrus fruits.
It boils down to whether the food industry wants to be creatively healthy or roguishly naughty.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Ipoh Echo
