Health

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Many people resort to canned foods to keep body and soul together but there are inherent dangers to this practice which can cause diseases including cancer

|  By Chinwe Okafor  |  Feb. 10, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT

FOOD is delicious and good for the body. A well prepared food appeals to one’s taste any day, any time and everywhere and nourishes the body of human beings who rely on it to keep the cells of the body healthy. These cells, numbering in trillions, are susceptible to all sorts of threats, ranging from lack of good foods to viral infections. The worst of it is the threat that our body faces from nasty chemicals which are commonly gotten through processed or canned foods which many people eat nowadays.

The canning process has been used for centuries to preserve food. This process alters the chemical make-up of food by changing the pH, salinity, or moisture levels to protect against microbes, such as bacteria, mould, and yeast. It limits the activity of food enzymes, which also contributes to decomposition. These chemical modifications, combined with physical barriers such as cans, seals and lids, are an effective defense against decay. But the canning process has its limitations.

Canning reduces the nutrient value of food because some of it including the fat-soluble vitamins are reduced during the heating step of the canning process and throughout their long shelf lives. Canned fruits and vegetables also loose about 35 percent of the vitamins and minerals the fresh foods contain. Many canned foods contain high level of sodium, which can elevate blood pressure. Other forms of sodium added to canned foods include monosodium glutamate, sodium citrate, and onion salt.

Some fruits and vegetables are less nutritious when canned. According to www.ehow.com, removing the peel of a fruit or vegetable reduces its fibre content and since this is a common practice in canned foods, some important nutrients must have been lost in the process of canning them. Vitamin C, vitamin A and potassium are also destroyed during the cooking and canning process. Because of these, experts have advised that canned foods are not good to the health.

Ibraheem Katibi, an expert in cardiovascular diseases from the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, has cautioned Nigerians to try as much as possible to stay away from eating processed foods as it has high risk of causing cancer. He said that cancer was the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease both in the developed and developing countries. “Processed foods such as canned foods, and those containing chemicals and additives should be cut off our diet as it poses high risk of cancer. Manufacturers add all these preservatives to prolong their shelf lives making them dangerous for consumption,” Katibi said.

He said that the issue of cancer should not be left for government alone to handle. As Nigerians, he said we should be mindful of what we consume. Also, a new research have suggested that high levels of bisphenol-A, BPA, a chemical in many plastics and canned food linings, might raise the risk of miscarriage in women prone to that problem or having trouble getting pregnant. Linda Giudice, a California biochemist, who is president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, said the work is not nearly enough to prove a link, but it adds to ‘the biological plausibility’ that BPA might affect fertility and other aspects of health.

Also Ruth Lathi, a Stanford University reproductive endocrinologist, said that to minimise BPA exposure, one should avoid cooking or warming food in plastic containers or plates because heat helps the chemical leak out. “Do not leave water bottles in the sun, limit use of canned foods and avoid handling cash register receipts, which often are coated with resins that contain BPA.

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