|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 8 August 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Beware of fat liver by Shanika Sriyananda Health warning! Contemplating a dinner of instant noodles or a takeaway from a fancy fast food restaurant? Pause for a moment and give a thought to that tummy cramps, you had early in the day. Was it just one of those 'minor irritants' or could it be a warning for something for more serious. If you are in the habit of garging or fast or instant food on a regular basis, may be the 'irritant' is cause for concern. For if you are to go by the latest health warning, an increasing number of Sri Lankans are suffering from chronic bowel diseases and diseases of the pancreas and liver. And the cause... instant food. According to Dr N.M. Navarathne, Sri Lanka's first fully qualified Gastro-entomologist, chronic diseases of the bowel, liver and pancreas are on the increase mainly due to over consuming of 'alien' oily - Thai, Chinese, Korean and Mongolian food - rich in starch. "There are lots of diseases connected to bad bowls, the liver and pancreas. Due to lack of knowledge of symptoms related to these diseases ordinary people refer to any discomfort in the stomach as gastritis, which is just a mere bowel disease. But almost all the bowel diseases are on increase", he said. In an interview with the Sunday Observer Dr. Navarathne attributed the change in eating habits among Sri Lankans, who run behind 'instant food' as the main cause. " The rapid change in life styles during the past 10 to 15 years has made more people prone to these diseases. Now we are very fond of packeted stuff and carbonated water that contains lots of chemicals", he said. According to Dr. Navarathne, liver disease caused by alcoholic indulgence, which leads to Cirrhosis, fatty liver disease, liver cancer, gastric ulcers, gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, bowel cancers such as cancer of gullet, stomach and large bowels, pancreatitis and gall-bladder stone are on the increase. "Very serious new diseases are also emerging in the country. Fatty liver, in which fat accumulation is high in the liver is a chronic disease where the patient suffers from symptoms similar to cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a very serious illness due to high consumption of alcohol for a long period time. There are a considerable number of patients with fat liver in Sri Lanka and most of them end up with cirrhosis. The main causes to this disease is less exercise and fat in the diet", he pointed out. However, according to Dr. Navarathne, fat liver will be the most common disease in Sri Lanka in the future. " Just fat is not harmful but fat in the liver for a long time will cause this disease. What's most dangerous is that the symptoms will appear only in the last stages. Unless it is proven by a medical check up, the patient is not aware of it. The most common symptom is the discomfort in the tummy. All the symptoms of cirrhosis will occur at the last stage", he added. Gastritis ulcers is another bowel disease, which develops due to negligence of early stages of gastritis. With 90 per cent of the ulcers due to 'helicobactor pylori' bacteria. Dr. Navarathne said that patients who vomit blood due to cirrhosis is very common in his wards and most of them die in the first stage. Another emerging chronic disease is inflammatory bowel disease, which affects the small and large intestines. "This is much controlled in Europe but it is now prevalent in Sri Lanka. We treat one patient per day", he said. According to Dr. Navarathne, the symptoms are bloody diarrhoea for a long time, abdominal pain, weight loss and joint pain. Pancreatitis and gall-bladder stone are the other severe diseases on the increase. "High intake of medication including pain killers are also bad for
the stomach. Most of the pain killers will help ease the pain but the
stomach will ulcerate. This will lead to some of the bowel diseases",
he warned. Tips to save your bowels and liver Avoid foods containing fat. Avoid eating lots of ice cream, butter, cheese, yoghurt, meat products and milk, which contain high amounts of fat. Eat plenty of green leaves, fruits and vegetables. Avoid smoking and taking alcohol. Do exercises daily. Cut down stress. Avoid taking pain killers for every ailment |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
