Care To Eat Meat

With Eid-ul-Azha is falling on Monday, health professionals have advised the people to eat meat in moderate quantity as overeating of meat can be dangerous for people with liver disorders as well as patients of diabetes, hepatitis and jaundice.

"Extra intake of meat can increase blood circulation in stomach among cardiac patients, resulting in ischemic heart diseases while excessive use of salt and chillies increases acidity in stomach and is dangerous for those having problems of regurgitation, ulcers in stomach and small intestines," they said while talking to Business Recorder.

According to them, diabetic patients should not consume much meat because its fats contain nine caloric/grams and the sugar level can shoot up.

Likewise, those facing the problem of high blood pressure must avoid excessive intake of meat as it may cause health complication due to surge in blood pressure level.

Health professionals Dr Saima Shahbaz, Dr Shahid, Dr Sheharyar Bhatti and Dr Masood Sheikh also cautioned against immediate cooking and improper preservation of the meat of sacrificial animals to avoid infectious and fatal diseases among the people especially patients with diabetic, liver, renal, kidney, cardiac and hepatitis complications.

Dr Masood Akhtar Sheikh who is president of Pakistan Medical Society said that one should be careful while defrosting frozen meat.

It should be kept lukewarm for at least six hours and later keep it in a microwave oven for 45 minutes to kill germs, he said.

He added that certain parts of the meat like the brain masala and Sire Paye are rich in cholesterol, hence must be avoided by those having high cholesterol level.

He warned that extra intake of the meat could cause indigestion, diarrhoea, stomach pain, fever, etc.

After a certain period of time, the over-eating starts showing its effects on blood pressure, arthritis, heart diseases, cancer, deficiency of calcium leading to osteoporosis, etc, besides causing obesity which depresses pancreas only to reduce formation of insulin in the body, and may cause diabetes.

Dr Saima Shahbaz cautioned people against using fats attached with the meat as a replacement of the oil or ghee, terming it the most dangerous form of fats that may lead to hypertension, heart disease, angina and heart attack, etc, if used regularly.

She added that both mutton and beef are A-class protein providers and high in nutritional value.

It may be noted that sacrificial meat of animals, including goat, cow, sheep and camel, which is known as red meat, is eaten excessively on Eid-ul-Azha.

Veterinary doctors are of the view that meat is a complete medium for micro-organisms, hence, a precious diet for human consumption.

After sacrifice, meat should be kept at a cool place before freezing, because it undergoes mortis phenomenon after slaughtering.

They said the meat should be properly cooked, as half-baked meat could cause infectious diseases like fever, typhoid and stomach diseases.

They also advised the people to avoid keeping sacrificial animals meat for more than 10 days in refrigerators as such practice exterminates proteins and may have negative impacts on health.

Keeping meat in refrigerators for more than 10 days is not a good practice because such freezing exterminates the proteins, they added.

Moreover, provincial health department has asked the management's of government hospitals to make adequate arrangements on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha to provide health cover to people.

The Punjab Chief Minister has directed that senior professors and consultants must attend hospitals during Eid holidays and he would check their presence in the hospitals.

The management's of hospitals have also made arrangements to ensure presence of doctors and paramedics during Eid holidays.