Preksha Dhyana Human Body Part 2

Author(s): Jethalal S Zaveri
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 33

There has been a great deal of controversy about the possible implication of fats in the development of heart disease. Similarly for some time cholesterol was regarded as the prime villain in the development of atherosclerosis the build-up of fatty deposits in the artery-walls. Heart patients are strongly urged to drastically reduce and limit their cholesterol intake. Recently it has been realised that cholesterol level is not always correlated with the condition for the artery-walls and even on a cholesterol-free diet the body can synthesize abundant amount. Indeed, cholesterol is a vital substance for the body; it is found in all the cells and fluids of the body and in the blood. Current research seems to indicate that the “prudent diet” should include a certain proportion of unsaturated fats which are naturally found in vegetables and seed oils. Hydrogenation improves their storage-qualities but eliminates their unsaturation. Cholesterol level in the blood is now believed to be more reliable predictor of heart-attack risk than the total cholesterol levels. A diet rich in saturated fat and/or cholesterol contribute to obesity (fatness) and build-up of fatty deposits inside artery walls. Unsaturated fats prevent cholesterol deposition and physical activity removes it from the artery walls.
Vitamins
If you eat a balanced diet, you do not need vitamin pills. Unfortunately, processing and storing of foods often tend to remove or destroy vitamin constituents, e.g. the pasteurisation of milk destroys milk's natural vitamin C content. The manufacture of flour, involving removal of hull and bran from the grains, strips of many of their vital ingredients especially the B-complex vitamins. The discarded hull and bran provide a highly nutritious fodder for livestock.
1. Vegetable oils are subjected to the process of hydrogenation so that they
can be preserved. The process, unfortunately changes the appearance to that of ghee without, however, bestowing the values of real 'ghee'.
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