The "Bromate in bread" controversy-Where lies the truth?

The recent controversy regarding the presence of potassium bromate residues in bread and other wheat based bakery preparations does not help either the consumer or the industry. While it showed bakery industry as a villain, consumers became weary about the industry giving an impression that the products churned out by this sector are not safe. According to the organization which splashed this news based on a study of a few samples picked up from the Delhi market, since bromates are carcinogenic, bread made with this chemical is not safe for human consumption. Probably it may have a point and safety authorities need to look into this issue more carefully and dispassionately. Decision to ban must be taken based on facts and ground reality, not as a knee-jerk reaction. What is not understandable is the haste with which the authors of this study had gone to the press which can only serve to create panic among the consuming public. FSSAI, the "Authority" sitting in Delhi seems to have been woken up from its slumber mode and since it has authority to ban any products as it did with maggi noodles last year, one can only expect a similar reaction from this babu organization. But it is time the consumers realize the reality, give the report a cursory glance and go on with their lives till more definitive data emerge on this issue.

According to the Center for Science and Environment, a Delhi based consumer watch dog, Indian bread may cause cancer because of the existing practice of the baking industry using potassium bromate for improving the raising quality of the bread. Not only that it also includes besides bread other products like pizza, burger etc as potential cancer causing products about which consumers must be aware. It further declares that potassium iodate, an approved additive in bakery products, has the potential to adversely affect thyroid functions in human beings and therefore needs to be banned. Lo, there goes the declaration by the FSSAI banning bromate for use in food products in India and further assures the public that it would examine iodate regarding its ill effects on humans! Steps in our over concerned Mantriji, the custodian of health of the population in India, cautioning the public against panic as he is "fully seized" of the matter. He further assures the public that a thorough investigation will be undertaken to find out whether these chemicals already approved by FSSAI are really dangerous and take "appropriate action" if so. Of course every body knows that he and his ministry will promptly forget about this issue and move on to the mundane things they are doing to protect the health of Indian people!  

For those not knowing what is potassium bromate and why it is used in bakery products, it is appropriate to peep into into its history. Potassium bromate, or commonly referred to as bromate, is an oxidiser deployed to strengthen wheat dough so that its elasticity is increased, besides helping to get a uniform bake and white color for the final product viz bread. Usual practice is to use 15-30 parts per million (ppm) of potassium bromate in the flour before making the dough. For a number of years this chemical was being used extensively by the baking industry across the world with no adverse report coming from any where. One of the reasons why it is considered a safe practice is that bromate gets destroyed at the high baking temperatures which is required to make a good bread. It is well known that at the baking temperatures normally no residue is supposed to be left behind to cause any ill effect. Of course if good manufacturing practices are not followed, especially use of high concentrations of bromate or under baking, possibility of some residue remaining cannot be ruled out. 

Is use of bromate confined only to India? Of course not. There are a few countries like the US which permit use of bromates but under the condition that there is zero residue left in the product after baking. Many countries, to be on the safer side out rightly banned use of bromates. Though earlier a limit of 75 ppm was allowed which was reduced to 60 ppm later, subsequent international studies did find bromate to be of carcinogenic potential and advised all countries to avoid using it as far as possible since alternative safer additives are available to achieve the same objective as a flour improver. It was in 2012 that the Codex Alimentarius Commission of FAO/WHO withdrew specifications for bromate from its official list implying that its use should be discontinued. However, India, though a member of the Codex did not bother to implement the recommendations of this body and continued permitting bromate in the country for reasons known best to FSSAI. Is it not ironical that FSSAI has to be woken up by the limited studies of the Delhi organization to remove bromate from the list of permitted food additives? 

Before we take the side of the consumer, it is only fair to listen to the compulsions of the bakery industry in India as to why it is persisting with the use of bromate, in spite of the adverse views of the Codex. Most logical explanation would be that it is legally permitted in the country and no one can find fault with it. Interestingly in a country like the US where 60-75 ppm of bromate is legally allowed many major bakery players have shunned its use voluntarily, finding alternate flour improvers like  ascorbic acid, ammonium persulfate, ammonium chloride, amylase, glucose oxidase  etc. The attraction for the industry to use bromate is that it is the cheapest flour improver in the market, all others costing considerably more. It is the contention of the bakery industry that if it is forced to stop use of bromate, the bread prices may go up due to increased cost of manufacture. Probably this is an argument no body is going to buy that easily! The industry feels that since FSSAI does not want to shoulder the responsibility of monitoring the bromate residues in bread regularly, it is exercising its power to ban this chemical. May be there is a point but responsible industry leaders must understand that monitoring thousands of small and micro scale bakeries across this vast country is not that easy and therefore it must accept gracefully the decision to discontinue use of bromate in the country. As for potassium iodate it is not used widely in India in food preparations though it is a recommended source of iodine for fortification of salt to prevent on set of the goiter disease among the population. Probably banning this chemical may affect the salt fortification project promoted by the government. 

If the industry is to be believed the report by the Delhi organization regarding the safety of bread in India based on a limited study confined only to Delhi has caused a severe backlash against bakery products in the country as it has touched a raw nerve among the consumers, causing significant damage to its business. May be it has a point as voluntary organizations publishing such reports needs to be controlled and there should be an alliance between such groups and the government for exchanging such information before making them public. After all GOI has big institutions like CFTRI, CDRI, NIFTEM, etc and veracity of such panic causing reports must be vetted by peer scientists from these institutes before being put on the public domain. However well equipped voluntary organizations are, their facilities and experience cannot come any where to that of GOI food research institutions and hence this caution.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

Saturated fats in foods-Are they villains or just harmless players?

Thousands of treatise have been written, millions of words printed, umpteen number of seminars and workshops organized and many national and international advisories issued regarding the dangers inherent in consuming diets rich in saturated fats. Practically every school going child has been indoctrinated into believing that saturated fats are not good for health and almost every nutrition and health expert of some standing "villainize" these fats endlessly with no respite. Can we hold all of them irresponsible in making such claims during the last 3 decades? One cannot help getting a feeling that they are all prisoners of the big hype created against saturated fats based on inadequate interpretation and improper appreciation of the knowledge already available. It is good that this record of denunciation is being set right by recent massive studies to decide once for all whether saturated fats are really as bad as it has been made out to be.

According to new studies surfaced during the last 2-3 years saturated fat when consumed as a part of a balanced diet can never be harmful to the body though on a nutritional scale unsaturated fats may score over the former. Dramatic shift in the attitude of Westerners towards saturated fats in favor of their  unsaturated counterparts during the last 3 decades, did not bring down the incidences of diseases like CVD, Blood Pressure, Obesity and Diabetes among the population there! On the contrary this shift in dietary changes in favour of unsaturated fats containing MUFA and PUFA with emphasis on Omega-3-acids has increased the obesity and over weight population to a record high of 35% of the total population in a typical wealthy country like the US! Against this background can any one claim that consumption of more unsaturated fats has contributed to this epidemic? The lesson one has to draw is that diet needs to be considered in a holistic way, not based on the presence or absence of one particular ingredient such as saturated fat.  

One of the defining moments in the history of American dietary habits was demonizing saturated fats which led to a situation when industry literally went over board, curtailing and eliminating fats altogether from their products. Instead of fats, the new range of products contained more sugar and highly refined carbohydrates to replace the pared down fat ingredients. One of the consequences was that these products were not able to create necessary satiety in the consumer, to stop him from eating more, leading to the phenomenon of binge eating and uncontrolled weight gains. The industry did not stop at that and went on creating more and more eye catching products with high sensory attraction to tickle unsatiated consumers who responded to this by buying such products more frequently. It is said that a consumer can eat a product containing no fat almost double the quantity compared to a normal product with normal fat concentration! This is how the history of American obesity epidemic is going to be written for posterity. Can we claim that saturated fats caused this? Positively not! 

Health pundits are now more or less agreed that saturated fat when consumed from a mixed diet in which carbohydrate components are derived from whole cereals, unprocessed legumes, fruits and vegetables can never cause those diseases from which world is suffering to day. When discussing about fat,  one should not forget to mention the role of trans fats which are created by man in food products, by bad processing practices and which is really considered harmful to human body without any doubt. Where does it come from? Many creamy products to which people including kids are addicted, use hydrogenated fats made from liquid oils through catalytic saturation using heavy metal catalysts. It is rather mysterious why no country in the world has banned production of hydrogenated fats which during its process of manufacture generate trans fatty acids. The policy of restricting its presence to certain levels came rather late after some procrastination and mandatory declaration of the same on front of the pack labels are right steps that can contribute to better health of the consumers.

Though the above commentary makes it clear that consumers should not abhor saturated fats altogether, further work with human subjects through well designed clinical trials can confirm the above facts beyond a shadow of doubt. Mean while if one wants to continue to use liquid oils in preference to saturated fats like Palm oil or coconut oil they are free to do so, probably for a better health index. Recent publication about the beneficial effect of a blend of raw sesame oil and refined rice bran oil.on human beings, in terms of lowering cholesterol levels and reducing blood sugar levels is refreshing in these days of fat bashing! These findings clearly bring out that unrefined foods, as natural as possible can be the game changer for the survival of humanity with sound health.  

It is good that the world is slowly coming to the realization that low fat foods do not achieve much in terms of health and probably lower consumption of refined carbohydrates like white sugar, HFCS, refined grain flours and restricting salt intake would do more good in the long run. A low fat product loaded with refined carbs and salt may put the consumer in the comfort zone without realizing that such diets can be more harmful that saturated fats. Those advocates who promote low fat and zero fat consumption must realize that there are many fat soluble ingredients including vitamins, some micro nutrients and a variety of plant derived health protectants that will not get access to the blood stream unless adequate fat is present in the diet consumed every day. The ultimate "mantra" for good health is live like a normal human being as our ancestors lived by adopting a diet which is based on natural, unprocessed and unrefined food components as much as possible without caring whether they contain saturated fat or not!  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

IODIZATION OF SALT-DOES IT NEED A REVISIT?

Prevalence of Goiter precipitated by iodine deficiency in many parts of the world was the driving force behind compulsory iodization of this vital food ingredient universally. As is well known iodine is a constituent of the thyroid hormones, secreted by the Thyroid gland and naturally insufficient intake of this trace mineral can precipitate many metabolic abnormalities besides enlargement of the gland itself. Triodothyronine, (T3) and Thyroxine(T4) are synthesized in the body by incorporating 3 and 4 molecules of iodine respectively into the precursor and the concentration of these hormones influences the metabolic rate in the body. Hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and autoimmune thyroditis are all manifestations of low or high iodine intake in the humans. It is some what difficult to precisely conclude whether one is having iodine deficiency or not and as any deficiency can have serious consequence on the health of human beings, especially children, universal iodization of salt is being promoted in almost all countries, hoping that thyroid related health disorders are totally eliminated. 

Global statistics, assuming they are reliable tell a scary story regarding the prevalence of iodine deficiency in this world. 1.6 billion people including 50 million young children and 280 million school going children are supposed to be affected by iodine deficiency of different degree. As thyroid gland has a strong influence in the development of brain the impact of iodine deficiency, especially among children, if not treated can be mind boggling. This is the reason why universal iodization is considered the most effective health related intervention in all countries. Generally a daily intake of 150-200 mcg (microgram) of iodine is considered optimum for an adult while pregnant women and breast feeding mothers may need some what higher levels of intake. It is further claimed that excess iodine intake, even as high as 10 times the optimum, might not do any harm and therefore iodization of a daily diet ingredient like salt is considered very safe. There are many foods containing significant concentration of iodine and deficiency of iodine among population consuming these foods in abundance  may be rare. 

Hyperthyroidism causes a general slowdown of the metabolism in the body as the calorie burning is dramatically affected creating a feeling of sluggishness. This in turn is supposed to promote putting on excess weight through fat deposits and increased water retention. Severe iodine deficiency can also cause brain disorders and gland enlargement while moderate deficiency can still show some of the above adverse effects. Excess iodine is reported to be also capable of manifesting symptoms same as hypothyroidism besides auto immune thyroditis resulting in infiltration of thyroid gland by lymphocytes blocking the ability of the gland to make the hormone. Though estimating the levels of TSH3 and TSH4 hormones in the blood is often used as testing a procedure to detect any abnormalities in thyroid activity, a positive result need not  be a true indication of iodine deficiency and further testing also needs to be done if any symptoms associated with iodine deficiency still persists.

It may be recalled that the World Summit for Children in 1990 set a goal of 100% coverage of people through universal salt iodization program but till 2000 only 25% of the population was covered increasing to 66% by 2006 and to day more than 85% world population is covered by this unique endeavor of the global community. Even in India which saw a set back when ban on sale of uniodized salt was lifted in 2000, iodine deficiency increased dramatically among the population and fortunately better sense prevailed on the government which reintroduced the ban in 2005. In most states in India, latest survey seems to be indicating that 65% to 80% of the people have access to iodized salt. However no data is available regarding the prevalence iodine deficiency though it can be surmised that moderate to mild deficiency must be existing in the country. As massive urine testing of the people for excreted iodine has to be done to make any meaningful estimate of iodine deficient population, there is no way this could be done with meager facilities available in the country. Depending on any policy that bars sale of normal salt without iodization may not be the surest way of ensuring 100% coverage because in many rural areas salt is sold in loose without packing which is not fortified by iodine. 

A country like Switzerland started its salt iodization program as early as 1952 mandating to contain 3.75 mg per kg and bringing it up to 20 mg per kg in 1998. Almost all countries now use this as bench mark standard for salt iodization but in the US and Canada iodized salt contains 77 ppm  or 77 mg per kg iodine and in many countries salt intake through industrially processed and home cooked foods can be about 8-12 gm per day which corresponds to an iodine intake of 160-240 mcg from salt alone. Added to this consumption of sea foods further increases iodine availability. Sea vegetables like Kelp, Arame, Hiziki, Kombu, wakame are rich sources of iodine, varying in levels 500 to 2000 mcg per serving while Cranberry, yogurt, Milk provide about 55 to 400 mcg per serving. There fore iodine deficiency cannot be a critical factor in these countries. Is it possible that population consuming sea vegetables as in China, Japan and other East Asian countries do not have modern diseases that haunt the western world to the same extent because of [plenty of iodine contained in their diet?  No report is available to confirm or repudiate this theory so far.

One of the imponderable factors that may influence iodine status in people is the extent of industry processed foods consumed and in this respect population in countries like the US have an advantage as more than 80% of foods consumed by an average family comes from out side their home. Any effort to to curb salt consumption can be attempted through the industry and that is what is happening in these countries where food sector is continuously being pressured to reduce salt in processed products and restaurant preparations. But this strategy may not work if processed food consumption by a family is low. What effect any reduction in salt intake will have on iodine status of the population? With salt reduction campaigns becoming more and more aggressive, there is a perceptible change in industrialized nations, the salt intake showing a downward slide. Also reported is slight increase in iodine deficiency population in countries like the US, probably consequent to the attempts to lower the salt intake. Under such a situation is there a case to increase the level of iodine in salt appropriately to meet body's demand for iodine through a lesser intake of salt? Probably yes as there does not appear to be any adverse effect even if the iodine intake is more than that required by the body. But in Canada and the US the fortification levels are comparatively high and there may not be any pressing reason to such a mid course correction. An upper limit of 1100 mcg of iodine has been determined to be tolerant to humans and hence no harm is going to be done by keeping higher levels of iodine in salts consumed by US population. A level of 100-200 mcg of iodine in the urine is considered an indication of adequate iodine intake while above 299 mcg it may be manifestation of excess intake. Similarly values up to 100 mcg can be interpreted as iodine deficiency sever, to mild depending on the actual test figures on individuals. 

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

IS SALT THE RIGHT MEDIUM FOR NUTRIENT DELIVERY?-A HOBSON'S CHOICE INDEED!

Criticality of iron to maintain sound health cannot be overstated and population suffering from anemia or iron deficiency is widely spread over the continents of Asia, Africa and South America. Iron deficiency is caused by poverty as well as eating habits of people which vary from place to place. For wealthy western countries meat is the major source of iron as most of the population are non-vegetarians. In contrast population not having access to meat can be due to food habits or economic compulsions.It is not that plant foods are devoid of iron but the concentration is generally low requiring larger quantities to be consumed to meet the recommended daily intake. Even in Western countries iron fortification is common and mostly cereal products manufactured by the industry do contain added iron.

Iron deficiency can produce anemia as manifested by reduced hemoglobin content in the blood and is often precipitated by poverty conditions among people in may developing countries. Even in developed countries where meat eating is predominant anemia affects about 20% of women though it is only about 3% in men. Such a situation could have led to universal fortification of cereal products in these countries and with more than 80% of the foods consumed in these countries coming from the organized food industry, such a policy is deemed to be effective in countering iron-deficient anemia incidences. In contrast population in India with predominant vegetarian diets suffer from anemia to a greater extent. Normal hemoglobin content varies from 11-13 g/dl in humans, depending on the age as per WHO norms.

Fortification is a procedure that involves addition of one or more nutrient to foods either to restore the losses incurred during processing or to deliver a particular nutrient of critical importance to masses suffering from deficiency. Universal fortification of salt with iodine is a standing example of a successful strategy to prevent development of goiter, a common deficiency disorder occurring widespread in the world and many countries have made it mandatory for the salt manufacturers to sell this commodity only after iodine fortification. Cooking fats and milk are also fortified with Vitamins A and D though how far this is effective is not known.

Considering the success achieved in using salt as a carrier for delivering iodine, the possibility of using the same for incorporating iron has been explored and this approach seems to be feasible as borne out by limited studies in this area. Double fortification of salt can be most effective in tackling two dreaded diseases, goiter and anemia through a single medium. As in the West cereal flours cannot be an effective carrier because in countries like India the share of organized roller flour industry in the flour market is not substantial, with small plate grinders being the prominent players and scientific blending of iron sources with such products is not logistically feasible. Here is where salt come into picture and offers an easy solution.

Earlier efforts to use fluid milk and tea as carriers, explored during nineteen seventies in India did not bear fruit because of insurmountable technical difficulties. Both milk and tea are consumed country wide and could have provided route for the delivery of iron if efforts had succeeded to fortify them. Ferrous sulfate, ferrous gluconate, ferrous fumerate, are good sources of iron but the absorption efficiency is rather low and this problem is further compounded by the composition of foods as many ingredients can inhibit absorption. Iron amino acid chelate ferrous bisglycinate and Sodium Ferredelate EDTA are sources of iron with high bioutilization rate. With the availability of these modern iron sources it may be worth making attempts again to use milk and tea as iron carriers.

Use of salt has some ramifications which need to be kept in view. There is a sustained campaign in many countries to persuade the consumers to cut down drastically on salt because of its connection to blood pressure and cardiac disease and there may be resistance to use salt as a medium to deliver iron. While small quantities like 15 mg/day may not pose much problem, if higher doses in the vicinity of 100 mg/day for treating serious anemia cases may be some what difficult. Still salt presents the best option to day, considering its daily use by 100% of the targeted population and cost wise relatively cheap, as a vehicle for delivery of iron to masses and deserves consideration in many developing countries.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

WHY NOT A "LOW" SALT PICKLE?

Hardly a day passes without hearing about the "Salt Reduction Campaigns" being undertaken in different countries, the noble intention behind such moves being protecting their population from the ill-effects of high salt content in foods on their health. True, sodium is one of the critical nutrient minerals, essential for many biological functions in human beings and its health protecting role is well established. The delicate solute balance in body fluids influence many body functions and maintaining this balance depends on the diet and the life style followed by a person. Of course genetics also can play a role in sodium balance and thanks to modern day medicines such handicaps can be overcome. In contrast excessive sodium intake through unsound diets can be dangerous, the expressed syndrome being high blood pressure or hyper tension and many other health afflictions.

Pickle is considered an essential food adjunct in many parts of India and they are invariably made from salt stocks of raw fruits or vegetables prepared during the season. Naturally such salt stocks can contain high amounts of salt though during pickle making its concentration is diluted to some extent but it is still considered too high for regular consumption. Daily pickle consumption can vary between 5 gm to 25 gm per person depending on the eating habits of people and daily consumption of salt from pickle alone can be as high as 1-4 gm per day equivalent to 300 mg to 1300 mg of sodium. what about other foods like savories, breakfast foods, curry preparations, papads, soups, salads etc all of them adding on to the daily salt consumption very significantly. In the UK, Australia and the US, recommended daily intake levels of salt are between 4 gm and 7 gm. Many nutrition experts feel that an intake of 500 mg of sodium equivalent to 1.4 gm of salt would be adequate to maintain electrolyte balance in the body. Of course healthy human kidneys generally ensure electrolyte-water balance by regulating the fluid intake and out put up to a limit.

Knowing well that hypernatremia situation can raise the risk of developing osteoporosis, ulcers, gastric cancer etc it is advisable to restrict the salt intake as much as possible. One sure way is to restrict consumption of high salt products like pickles, snacks and savories both home made as well as from processed food industry. In India the two products that contain extremely high salt levels are pickles and papads. Having used to the consumption of these two items of almost every day consumption, it is necessary to moderate the salt content rather than banning them due to fear of damages from salt. Salt as a preservative was being used for centuries before the advent of modern preservation technologies and probably did not get the focus it deserved from food scientists because of its low technology status, the major production of salt preserved products being confined to cottage scale sector. The situation has now changed with organized sector getting into pickles in a big way and any alternate technology developed to reduce salt in this product will have better chance of adoption. As for papads the precise role of salt in its quality is still not clear though some studies indicate it has more to do with lateral expansion during frying than as a preservative.

If one can take a leaf out of Japanese pickle Umeboshi which is a salt preserved product made from the plum like fruit Ume and used as an adjunct with rice, it should be possible to make low salt pickles in India also by maneuvering the acid-salt proportion in the recipes. Umeboshi is a dry pickle and therefore the water activity must be very low making it safe from any microbial contamination. Indian pickles can be made into dry concentrated versions which can be reconstituted adding water at the time of consumption and once the role of salt as a preservative is made subservient to low moisture content for preservation, the end product made by the consumer will carry much less salt than a normal commercially marketed RTE pickle. Also possible would be concentrated pickle containing spices 2-3 times more than the normal pickle and diluting further at the consumer end as when it is to be consumed. There can be many other technological options and Indian food scientists owe to the consumer to come out with a modified technology of pickle making that will cut down sodium intake very significantly. .

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

PICKLES AND SOUPS-THE COMMON DENOMINATOR

Pickles are considered delicious in the Indian cuisine system and there are hundreds of varieties of pickles generally based on green fruits and firm vegetables. Thus we have pickles made from green mango, lime/lemon, karonda, cucumber, green chillies, Indian gooseberry (Amla) etc either singly or in combinations called mixed pickles. Similarly we have a slightly different product concept from pickle called Thokku which are made by grinding the materials and cooking with red chilli, salt, tamarind pulp and sesame oil. Invariably the pickles and thokkus contain high salt content which along with acidity, preserves them for long. There are some pickle products with shelf life more than 2 years and surprisingly even to day the traditional technology for making them remains almost the same, though considerable improvements have been seen in the handling operations to make them more hygienic and safer. According to Fruit Products Order (FPO) regulations, a pickle should have a minimum of 12% salt and 1.2% acidity. Generally commercial products contain 13-19% salts as industry does not want to take risks of spoilage. Individual pickle consumption is about 5-10g which delivers a salt level of 1g and multiple servings can dramatically increase salt intake at least for some people.

Soups are important part of western cuisine and are made from juices and pulps of fruits, vegetables, lentils and animal food raw materials. During early part of twentieth Century, soups were made from fresh raw materials as the food industry had not developed well then but modern soup products are made from canned materials which are invariably processed adding lot of salts. While freshly made vegetable soups do not need too much salt for the required taste, those prepared from canned materials contain unacceptable salt levels at modern nutrition yardsticks. The quantity of soups consumed varies between 250 ml and 500 ml depending on the preferences of individuals. The concern here is the amount of salt ingested in a single serving which can be 1/3 to 1/2 of the RDA! Since over consumption of salt is implicated in hyper tension disorders, it is a relevant question whether soup consumption calls for moderation.

Implication of soups in developing stomach cancer is a serious matter worthy of investigation further. The mechanism as to how salt induces stomach cancer is yet to be elucidated. But like any other foods the answer lies in moderating the consumption rather than indicting the product. What is forgotten in this cacophony is that many soups are rich sources of cancer fighting phytochemicals like lycopenes, flavonoids etc and more frequent consumption of such vegetable soups based on carrot, tomato, cabbage, broccoli, some herbs can be more beneficial. Though salt does pose a risk, fresh vegetable soups require much less salt and can be consumed safely in moderate quantities. Probably people seem to be aware of the dangers lurking behind the bowl of soup, that in many parties the quantity of soups served is going down progressively. In most of the places the soup size does not exceed 120 to 180 ml and this is naturally an encouraging development from the health perspective. It is not to be forgotten that soup is one of the most refreshing appetizer and it does offer a convenient medium for delivery of many natural health friendly phytochemicals with vast choices.

Though pickle and soup have salt as the common denominator, the former does not pose much of a risk since it is a self-limiting adjunct, the quantity that can be consumed being limited by its high salty and 'hot' taste notes. In contrast there is a tendency to consume soups in larger quantities delivering higher salt levels in the process. Probably some basic sensory studies are called for in coming up with the possibility of newer soup formulations with lesser salt levels but without compromising the salty taste to any significant extent. Normal healthy adult should not be scared of consuming both pickles and soups in moderate quantities, though developing aptitude for foods with less and less salt may be rewarding in the long run.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/

SOLDIERS OF SCIENCE-A REPUTATION TO GUARD!

Science is considered truth based and scientific findings are always respected except in a few cases where integrity of some findings is questioned. There is a feeling that lately truth is being sacrificed for publicity and sensationalism and many 'findings' and reports splashed in news papers and other media are retracted or found not true as claimed. Only recently a serious case of scientific misdemeanor was reported in this blog itself, that too in an internationally reputed scientific journal. What action the organization under whose name the paper was published has taken is still a mystery and scientific dishonesty can only prosper if such criminal action is condoned or brushed under the carpet. Such cases do happen in other countries also and it may be difficult for the publishers to really assess the truth in spite of battery of peers assisting them.

The provocation for this blog to raise this crucial subject is the big hue and cry being orchestrated all over the world regarding salt and its harmful effect on health. This may not be due to any vested interest or deliberate distortion of truth but still a misplaced zeal for saving the mankind. While advocacy of action in certain direction may be justifiable if it does not harm the people but if at a future time such actions become regrettable, abundant caution is always the best policy. In an earlier blog the bad side of salt consumption was highlighted because majority of reports on the subject bring out the harmful effects it can have in human system. While over consumption of any thing is not good for any body, salt alone cannot be blamed for many of the ills supposed to be caused by it. Therefore, like all foods salt usage also must be moderated but unlike sugar most people do not like any product over salted, providing an in-built safety cover. What is forgotten is that all human beings are not equal and salt intake precaution is more appropriate for only those with some health problems. Sodium is an important nutrient involved in a variety of body functions and depletion of sodium can have catastrophic consequences. The latest aggressive campaign for achieving targeted reduction of use of salt by the food processing industry is reported in New York which aims to reduce average intake per day per ca pita by 40% in 10 years. UK already has a national program to force industry to reduce salt in their products so that average per ca pita consumption is brought down to 6 g a day. Unless more definitive data are obtained regarding the minimum and maximum salt levels that man needs or can tolerate, such campaigns are ill- advised and ill-conceived and the very credibility of scientists is at stake.

It is not easy to forget those days decades back when every pregnant woman was advised with conviction that weight increase during pregnancy was risky for the mother (preeclampsia) as well as the child (under weight). The result was that child mortality went up while babies born were grossly under weight jeopardizing the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of children when they grew up. Can scientists who propagated such a strategy, obviously based on their scientific studies then, compensate for the lives lost and the sufferings of people on account of such practices? Here again the lesson to be learnt is that only multi group studies keeping in view the diverse background, ethnicity, environments and genetic make up, can end up in a rational scientific conclusion and any particular finding with one population cannot be applied universally to whole of the world.

Most recently, a nutritional controversy is being raked up by the American Heart Association (AHA) which has reversed the hitherto view, widely held by the experts that consumption of too much of Omega-6 fatty acids (n-6 acids) in the diet causes inflammation leading to many diseases and the ratio of Omega-6 acids to Omega-3 acids should not be more than 4 to 1. In reality average ratio is 10:1 to 30:1, especially amongst meat eating populations. In a 180 degree turn around AHA now recommends consumption of n-6 acids to the equivalent of 5-10% of daily calories working to about 12-22 g a day for a healthy adult. Where does the truth lie? No one knows for sure!

This is not to decry science or the scientists but to focus on the uncertainties concerning health, food and nutrition faced by the common man and unless there is unanimity amongst the scientists in what they say concerning life and death issues, confidence in them by the society will be progressively diluted. This must not be allowed to happen for which responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of the scientists.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/