How healthy do you think you are? Today we have some interesting statistics to update you on…
Diabetes, a disease that doesn’t seem scary…
Oh, it’s just eating too much sugar and not exercising. The latest health check showed that my blood sugar level is close to the diabetes threshold. But did you know that… in 2019, Thailand found a trend of 4.8 million diabetes patients and more than 7.7 million people at risk of diabetes. That means over 10% of the entire population.
Heart disease that many people see as distant…
The latest statistics from the Ministry of Public Health show that 432,943 people per year suffer from coronary artery disease, with a death rate of 20,855 people per year, or about 2 people per hour!
Stroke, which you think is a disease of the elderly…
It is the second leading cause of death worldwide, with 15 million new stroke patients per year and 5 million deaths annually!
Cancer, a word everyone fears…
Did you know that in Thailand, an average of 8 people die from cancer every hour, making it the leading cause of death among the Thai population!
And did you know that… diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and many others are part of the NCDs (Non-Communicable Diseases) group? These are non-infectious diseases caused by lifestyle behaviors that you create yourself, such as eating sweet, fatty, salty, and strongly flavored foods, not eating fruits and vegetables, heavy smoking, and lack of exercise. According to the World Health Organization, Thais die from NCDs as high as 73%, which is above the global average.
The main cause of NCDs such as coronary artery disease and stroke is high blood fat levels, which cause fatty plaques to accumulate on the blood vessel walls, blocking normal blood flow to the heart. In cases with high blood pressure, the accumulated fat in the blood vessels may be pumped and dislodge to block important brain arteries, causing ischemic stroke, leading to paralysis and disability.
Because eating behavior is the main cause of NCDs
It can be seen that whether it is high blood fat or high blood pressure, the direct cause comes from eating behavior. Eating high-fat foods, especially unhealthy fats, and strongly flavored foods such as very salty or very sweet. One thing we must accept is that Thai food usually involves boiling, stir-frying, curries, and frying. Think simply: we eat 3 meals a day, and in every meal, we consume oil from dishes like stir-fried morning glory with crispy pork, basil chicken with fried egg, fried fish cakes, minced pork omelet, green curry chicken. Altogether, it may exceed 6 teaspoons, which is the recommended daily oil intake. Moreover, if the oil we consume contains saturated fatty acids, the body will directly receive bad cholesterol (LDL) that accumulates on the blood vessel walls. When we consume saturated fat daily, accumulating over months and years, symptoms of coronary artery disease gradually build up and worsen until symptoms appear, such as easy fatigue, chest tightness, and in severe cases, heart failure and death.
Stop NCDs at the root by choosing fats appropriately and correctly
Since we cannot avoid Thai lifestyle eating habits, as we still have to eat stir-fried and fried foods every day because they are delicious and easy to cook, did you know that we can avoid consuming fats incorrectly by choosing oils with higher unsaturated fatty acids than saturated fatty acids, such as canola oil and sunflower seed oil, which increase good fats (HDL) to help reduce cholesterol levels and reduce bad fats (LDL) that stick to blood vessel walls? When cooking, choose alternative oils with mixed formulas designed for different heat uses, such as
- For stir-frying, choose mixed oil formulas of canola oil mixed with sunflower seed oil to get unsaturated fatty acids that are good for the body.
- For frying, you may choose mixed oil formulas combining canola oil and palm oil with a good fatty acid balance, suitable for both frying and stir-frying, or mixed oil formulas combining palm oil and soybean oil, which reduce saturated fat content by almost half but still withstand heat well, suitable for frying, and have a fatty acid balance that does not harm the body excessively.
- For making salad dressings or desserts, use mixed oil formulas combining canola oil and soybean oil, as this formula has a high proportion of good fatty acids, can be consumed without heating, and can also be used for stir-frying.
Fat is an essential energy nutrient for the body, so we should not completely avoid fat but consume it in appropriate amounts and choose good fats. The easiest way to choose good fats is to use oils that provide good fats when cooking at home.
To avoid accumulating bad fats in the body and not fall victim to NCDs, diseases that have harmed Thais and people worldwide many times… remember that our consumption is our health. We have the choice.
For more information, contact Phyathai Callcenter 1772
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Dr. Thaneesa Phanumatrassamee
Head of Health Checkup Center and Specialist in Anti-Aging Medicine
Phyathai 1 Hospital
Tel. 022014600 ext. 2740-2741
Make an Appointment
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