Unhygienic meat causes liver, kidney, brain diseases

[LahoreEstate]

Unhygienic meat causes liver, kidney, brain diseases

By Atif Khan

ISLAMABAD: Meat of unhealthy or dead animals, locally called Laap, may cause fatal diseases, doctors told Daily Times.

Dr Zameer Ahmed, a medical officer at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), said consumption of unhealthy meat could cause food poisoning and gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, which might lead to malfunctioning of liver, kidneys and brain.

He said liver diseases could cause hepatitis and liver cirrhosis, which were fatal at an advanced stage. He said kidney malfunction could cause renal failure, if not treated on time.

“Over 100 patients visit PIMS OPD with GI diseases daily, while over 50 patients of these diseases are in wards in critical conditions,” Ahmed said.

He said wards had been given extra beds for such patients and their number was increasing day by day. He said major reasons for GI diseases were unhealthy meat and improperly cooked food.

He pointed out that food at hotels and stalls was unhygienic and eating meat from these places often caused GI diseases.

Dr Jamshed Gulzar, a public health expert associated with SACHET medical centre, said bacteria flourished rapidly in unhygienic meat. He said meat of dead or sick animals hardly carried any proteins and vitamins.

He said use of such meat was a source of diseases in human beings. He said in mild cases, it caused diarrhoea and nausea.

He said Laap could also cause ‘botulism’, a disease in which intestines are paralysed and diarrhoea went on non-stop in children that could lead to death. He said in adults, it might cause paralysis of a part of body, brain or other complications.

The doctors advised that people avoid meat, if they were not sure about its hygiene. If healthy meat was unavailable, people should use pulses, eggs and milk to get proteins, they said.

Pulses were called meat for the poor and one glass of milk or one egg could provide sufficient protein to human beings, they said.

They advised that people use seasonal vegetables, which were cheap and full with vitamins, minerals and even proteins. Spinach was a very good source of proteins, they said and added that vegetables should be kept in water for at least ten minutes before their use.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg11_3