Food, Hunger, and Health: Navigating the Complexities of our Relationship with Food

Hunger, anger, and hanger - three words that may seem unrelated but have a strong connection when it comes to food. The way we eat, or don't eat, can affect our mood, health, and overall well-being. There are harmful effects associated with hunger as well as overeating, such as headaches, fatigue, weakness, diabetes, heart disease, and eating disorders. However, we often tend to overlook them. Let’s explore the complex relationship between food, emotions and health. Let’s hope that by examining these issues, we could encourage a more mindful and sustainable approach to eating that promotes better health and well-being for all.

Copyright Warning: This content is copyright protected and is written by and property of Dr. Akif Khan. Any unauthorized publishing or copying will be dealt with legal action according to the relevant copyright laws of the jurisdiction. 

While global food shortage is leading to global hunger among the downtrodden and we have programs like WFP addressing the issue, there are people in the world who like to remain hungry on purpose for health reasons or/and religious reasons. However, there are certain scientific and health issues related to hunger that are not discussed as often as they should be. Many people believe staying hungry is good for health, while others do it for cultural reasons. Although, Hunger can lead to many harmful effects including fatigue, weakness and malnourishment but one thing that people forget to mention is the troubled emotional state or hanger.

Apparently, hanger (hunger + anger) is a real thing. When we’re hungry, our bodies release hormones (cortisol + adrenaline) to compensate for body glucose. These hormones can affect your decision making, influence behaviour and change emotional states. Hunger also affects hypothalamus, the part of the brain which controls various body functions, such as emotional responses, sexual behaviour and body temperature among controlling other hormones. AgRP neurons in this region get activated and signal a “negative valence.” Negative valence is an uncomfortable emotion associated with fear, anxiety and anger. Research has proved that there is a direct relationship between gut and brain. Also, the gut has its own enteric nervous system called “the second brain” that according to a WP article “senses food and nutrients even when they don’t go through the mouth,” which means it’s not just about taste and feeling of food.

Although, these effects can be different for different people and some people might be more vulnerable towards hanger, you never know when the effect kicks in for someone. You might’ve seen some people getting extra frustrated, while others remain calm, when they’re hungry.

When a child is angry or crying, one of the three main reasons for that is hunger (illness or wetness being the other two). The mothers rush to feed them in order to calm the child down. From a scientific and evolutionary point of view, this whole process is a kind of defence mechanism, which motivates human beings to find food and cope with the desire of survival. Animals become more active and aggressive when they feel hungry. However, this still happens in the background, which means that the process is unconscious or automatic. Despite being conscious human beings, we often fail to sense our emotional state and even if we do, we can’t control it. The only solution seems to put something in the stomach. Interestingly, even some adults find it troublesome to understand hanger. The major reason for that is the brain-gut connection as explained above.

Some people would argue that research has also proven that “intermittent fasting” or IF is good for health. IF has specific instructions. It is not complete fasting. A necessary prerequisite of IF is hydration. You have to keep yourself hydrated. Water fools the gut-brain connection to an extent and controls the hanger.

Secondly, there are many types of IF, which include 16/8 (8 hours eating, 16 hours fasting), 5:2 (5 days eating), 20/4, OMAD (one meal a day), alternate day fasting, once a while 24 or 36 hours fasting. But remember, you have to remain hydrated in all of these methods. Thirdly, IF is not for everyone. One method can suit one kind of people and another for another group. For some people, it might not work at all. For example, some diabetic patients need to eat something every few hours, or else they can end up in coma or even die because hypoglycaemia. While, others can have other kind of negative effects. This should be done carefully.

During my PhD, we had an American colleague who was overweight and learnt about IF/Keto diet and started practicing it in order to lose weight. He did not lose weight at all and after a few months, one day he crashed. Doctors told him that due to excessive fasting, his body started burning his muscle protein and he couldn’t support his body. He spent a month in hospital and then he was on clutches. Had to leave his PhD in the mid to go back home.

Overeating is another issue. When you remain hungry for longer period of time or you know you’ve to remain hungry for a long time, you will tend to eat more. This affects your digestive system very badly and can cause gastric as well as intestinal and upper tract issues including GERD (reflux or acidity), indigestion, distention, diarrhoea or constipation.

When I used to work in pharmaceutical industry, the production of gastric medicines like antacids (milk of magnesia etc), proton-pump inhibitors (omerprazole etc), H2 blockers (famotidine, ranitidine) or their combinations would triple and quadruple before certain occasions. Overeating can also affect vital organs, such as heart, liver and kidneys. We also tend to eat more oily and sugary foods, which can cause fatty liver, cardiovascular diseases (high cholesterol, etc.) and insulin intolerance.

Food wastage is another problem that world is facing right now when around 1 billion people in the world go to bed hungry. We tend to waste a lot of food despite that. The trend goes upward during festivals. According to one estimate, 40% of food that is 54 billion kilograms (119 billion pounds) of food is wasted in US alone every year and it amount to $408 billion worth food.

A balanced diet with careful consideration to food types and timings is essential to a good health and longevity. We are already facing problems with the cardiovascular health, diabetes, kidney and liver diseases as well as availability and quality of food, water pollution, and food scarcity and if that is topped with carelessness, things are not gonna end up well. Eat healthy, live healthy and remember to stay hydrated, not just for yourself but also for other people.

Dr. Akif Khan is a physical scientist and a blogger. He can be followed at @akifzeb on Twitter. 

عمران خان کا منصوبہ - حصہ اول

تحریر: چارلی کیمبل - ٹائم میگزین

ترجمہ: عاکف خان 

Courtesy Time’s Magazine: Click here to read the original article. 

سیاسی رہنما اکثر اپنے مضبوط اعصاب پر فخر کرتے ہیں مگر عمران خان اپنی دائیں ٹانگ سے نکلی ہوئی تین “گولیوں” کا ذکر کرتے پائےجاتے ہیں۔ پچھلے سال نومبر میں ایک تنہا بندوق بردار نے ایک ریلی کے دوران خان پر فائرنگ کی، جس سے 70 سالہ خان کے ساتھ ساتھ انکئی حامی بھی زخمی ہوئے، جبکہ ایک کی ہلاکت ہوئی۔ پاکستان کے سابق وزیر اعظم اور اپنے زمانے کے کرکٹ آئیکون کا کہنا ہے کہ "ایکگولی سے اعصابی رگ کو نقصان پہنچا ہے جس کے باعث میرا پاؤں ابھی تک ٹھیک کام نہیں کر رہا۔ مجھے زیادہ دیر تک چلنے سے تکلیف ہوتی ہے

 

اگر اس زخم نے خان کے حوصلے توڑے بھی ہیں تب بھی مارچ کے اواخر میں لیے گئے اس زوم انٹرویو میں ایسا کچھ دکھائی نہیں دیتا - وہی لمبی زلفیں، کھلکھلاہٹ اور بائیں کلائی سے لپٹی تسبیح۔ لیکن ہماری پانچ سال قبل ہوئی آخری گفتگو کے بعد شاید بہت کچھ بدل چکا ہے۔اقتدار

 یا پھر اس اقتدار کے چھن جانے نے اپنے نقش چھوڑے ہیں۔ اپریل 2022 میں پارلیمانی عدم اعتماد کے ووٹ میں ان کی بے دخلی کےبعد، خان نے اپنے حامیوں اور چاہنے والوں کو اپنے "جہاد" کے لیے متحرک کیا ہے، جس میں وہ فوری انتخابات کا مطالبہ کرتے ہیں کیونکہ انکے مطابق انہیں ایک امریکی سازش کے ذریعے غیر منصفانہ طور پر اقتدار سے بیدخل کیا گیا ہے۔ (امریکی محکمہ خارجہ نے ان الزامات کی تردید کی ہے۔)

اصل سازش خالصتاً پاکستانی ہے۔ خان پاکستانی فوج کی حمایت سے اس وقت محروم ہو گئے جب انہوں نے ان کی پاکستانی انٹیلی جنس ایجنسی آئی ایس آئی کی قیادت کے انتخاب کی توثیق کرنے سے انکار کیا، کیونکہ ان کے سابق عہدے دار (جنرل فیض) کے ساتھ قریبی تعلقات تھے۔ اس کے ساتھ انہوں نے نئے چیف کو بھی ہری جھنڈی دکھائی تو اپوزیشن کو کمزوری کا احساس ہوا اور اس نے فوراً عدم اعتمادکی تحریک کے ساتھ خان کو وزارت عظمیٰ سے فارغ کروا دیا۔ اس کے بعد خان اپنا غم و غصہ سڑکوں پر ریلیوں کی صورت لے آئے۔

نومبر میں خان کے اوپر ہونے والے ناکام قاتلانہ حملے نے ان کی پارٹی، پی ٹی آئی کے اراکین میں ناانصافی کے احساس کو مزید تیز کر دیا،جو اس کے بعد کئی بار سڑکوں پر پولیس کے ساتھ تصادم کر چکے ہیں۔ اگرچہ اس حملے کے نتیجے میں ایک مذہبی جنونی کو گرفتار کیا گیاتھا، مگر خان اس کا الزام اپنے حریفوں بشمول موجودہ وزیر اعظم شہباز شریف جو کہ خان کے دیرینہ دشمن سابق وزیر اعظم نواز شریف کے بھائی ہیں، وزیر داخلہ رانا ثناء اللہ اور میجر جنرل فیصل نصیر پر دھرتے ہیں (سب نے اس الزام کی تردید کی ہے۔)

گولیوں کے علاوہ، خان کو کرپشن، بغاوت، توہین رسالت اور دہشت گردی سمیت، پچھلے 11 مہینوں کے دوران 143 مقدمات میں بھی نامزد کیا گیا ہے۔ خان کے مطابق یہ سب انہیں سیاست سے نااہل قرار دینے کی کوشش میں گڑھے گئے خودساختہ الزامات ہیں۔ جب سے شریفکی کابینہ نے 20 مارچ کو اعلان کیا کہ پی ٹی آئی "عسکریت پسندوں کا ایک گروہ" ہے جس کی "ریاست کے خلاف دشمنی" کو برداشت نہیں کیا جا سکتا، پولیس خان کے سینکڑوں حامیوں کو گرفتار کر چکی ہے۔

 

وزیر داخلہ ثناء اللہ نے بھی 26 مارچ کو کہا کہ یا تو عمران خان موجود رہیں گے یا ہم۔ کبھی کبھار ایسا لگتا ہے کہ پاکستان ہمیشہ ایکگہری کھائی کے دہانے پر رہتا ہے۔ اس کا موجودہ سیاسی عدم استحکام تباہ کن سیلابوں، مہنگائی، اور ہمسایہ ملک افغانستان سے سرحدپار دہشت گردانہ حملوں کے درمیان آیا ہے جس نے تئیس کروڑ کے ملک کے تانے بانے کو مل کر خطرے میں ڈال دیا ہے۔ ایک ایسا ملک جہاں عصمت دری اور بدعنوانی عروج پر ہیں، اور معیشت کا دارومدار آئی ایم ایف کے رکے ہوئے بیل آؤٹ کو کھولنے پر ہے، جو کہ انیس سوسینتالیس میں آزادی کے بعد سے پاکستان کا 22 واں بیل آوٹ ہے۔ مہنگائی مارچ میں سالانہ 47 فیصد تک بڑھ چکی ہے۔ پیاز کی قیمتوں میں228 فیصد، گندم میں 120 فیصد اور کھانا پکانے والی گیس کی قیمتوں میں 108 فیصد اضافہ ہو چکا ہے۔ اسی مدت کے دوران، روپیہ 54 فیصد تک گر چکا ہے۔

 

"دس سال پہلے، میں ماہانہ 10,000 روپے [$100] کماتا تھا مگر میں پریشان نہیں ہوتا تھا،" محمد غضنفر، راولپنڈی کے ایک گراؤنڈ میناور باغبان کہتے ہیں۔ "مہنگائی کی اس موجودہ لہر میں، اگرچہ میں اب 25,000 [$90 موجودہ] کماتا ہوں، مجھ سے اپنے اخراجات پورےنہیں ہو پاتے۔" دنیا کے پانچویں سب سے زیادہ آبادی والے ملک کے پاس صرف 4.6 بلین ڈالر کے غیر ملکی ذخائر ہیں یعنی 20 ڈالر فیشہری۔ پاکستان میں امریکہ کے سابق سفیر، کیمرون منٹر کہتے ہیں، ’’اگر پاکستان ڈیفالٹ کرتا ہے، تیل نہیں ملتا، کمپنیاں تباہ ہوجاتی ہیں،اور لوگوں کے پاس نوکریاں نہیں ہوتیں، تو آپ کہہ سکتے ہیں کہ یہ بالشویک انقلاب کے لیے تیار ملک ہے۔

‘‘

خان کہتے ہیں، ’’ہماری معیشت زبوں حالی کا شکار ہے۔ "ہمارے معاشی انڈیکیٹر تاریخ کی بدترین سطح ہر ہیں۔" اس صورتحال میں ایٹمی ہتھیاروں سے لیس ملک کا چین کے چنگل میں مزید گرنے کا خطرہ ہے۔ اس کے باوجود مغرب پاکستان کے لیے ہمدردی بہت کم ہے جس کی وجہخان کی برسوں کی امریکہ مخالف بوکھلاہٹ اور طالبان سمیت مطلق العنان اور انتہاپسندوں کے ساتھ ہمدردی ہے۔ خان مطلق العنان ترکصدر رجب طیب اردگان کو "بھائی" کہتے ہیں اور یوکرین کے حملے کے عین موقع پر ماسکو میں روسی صدر ولادیمیر پوٹن سے ملاقات میںمشغول تھے جسے انہوں نے "بہت زیادہ گرم جوش اور خوش آئند" موقع قرار دیا۔ خان ایک ہی سانس میں اسامہ بن لادن کو "شہید" اوربیجنگ کی ایغور مسلم اقلیت کے کنٹرول کی تعریف کرتے ہیں۔ خان جو بائیڈن کے صدر بننے پر انہیں فون کرنے کے لیے بے تاب رہے مگر اس میں سخت ناکامی کا شکار ہوئے۔ ووڈرو ولسن سینٹر میں ایشیا پروگرام کے ڈپٹی ڈائریکٹر مائیکل کوگل مین کا کہنا ہے کہ “خان اس ناکامی پر سخت بجز ہیں۔”

اس کے باوجود خان حقیقتا جمہوریت کا دعویٰ کر سکتے ہیں۔ پولز کے مطابق اگر وہ انتخابات کا مطالبہ کرتے ہیں تو وہ اقتدار میں واپس آسکتے ہیں۔ یونیورسٹی آف ویسٹرن آسٹریلیا میں سنٹر فار مسلم سٹیٹس اینڈ سوسائٹیز کی ڈائریکٹر ثمینہ یاسمین کہتی ہیں، ’’ان کی مقبولیتآسمان کو چھو رہی ہے۔ "اس سے کوئی فرق نہیں پڑتا ہے کہ وہ کیا کہتے ہیں، یہاں تک کہ کوئی انتہائی غیر معقول بات بھی، حقیقت یہ ہےکہ لوگ ناراض ہیں اور ان کے پیغام کو تسلیم کرتے ہیں."

اسلام آباد میں ایک ٹیلی کمیونیکیشن انجینئر، 50 سالہ اسامہ رحمٰن کہتے ہیں، "عمران خان ہمارے پاس اس وقت سب سے بہترین آپشن ہیں۔اگر انہیں گرفتار کیا گیا یا نااہل قرار دیا گیا تو لوگ سڑکوں پر نکل آئیں گے۔"  اس کے باوجود ریاست اس معاملے میں پیش رفت پر تجربات کر رہی ہے۔ مارچ کے اوائل میں صوبہ پنجاب کے دارالحکومت لاہور میں خان کےگھر پر پولیس کی آنسو گیس شیلنگ نے خان کا سانس لینا مشکل بنا دیا۔ اسی دوران ان کے لاٹھی بردار حامی ریت کی بوریوں کے عارضیمورچے بنا کر اور لوہے کی سلاخوں سے پولیس کے ساتھ مقابلے پر ڈٹے رہے۔ خان کہتے ہیں، ’’اس قسم کا کریک ڈاؤن پاکستان میں کبھی نہیں ہوا۔ میرا نہیں خیال کہ اتنے برے حالات کبھی کسی مارشل لاء میں بھی رہے ہوں۔"

جب خان 18 مارچ کو عدالت میں پیش ہونے کے لیے اپنے کمپاؤنڈ سے بلٹ پروف ایس یو وی میں جو کہ پھولوں کی پتیوں اور محافظوں سے اٹی ہوئی تھی رخصت ہوئے تو پولیس اس وقت ان کے گھر گھس گئی جہاں ان کی اہلیہ گھر میں “اکیلی” تھیں۔ خان کا کہنا ہے کہ نوکروں کو ماراپیٹا گیا اور باورچی کو پولیس حولات لے گئی۔ اسی دن خان کے مطابق اسلام آباد جوڈیشل کمپلیکس کے اندر ان پر ایک اور قاتلانہ حملے کامنصوبہ تیار تھا، جسے "خفیہ ایجنسیوں اور نیم فوجی دستوں نے ناکام بنا دیا۔"

(جاری ہے)

ای میل سبسکرپشن کے لیے ویب ورژن میں دائیں طرف سبسکرائب کریں تا کہ آپ کو اگلے حصوں اور مزید تحاریر کی بروقت ای میل اپڈیٹس مل سکیں۔ 

Javed sb, You Didn’t Have to Eat Your Heart Out Here

I used to be a fan of you, your rationality, your humanism, the way you thrashed unreasonable people such as Sadh Guru in debates, your bravery in the face of orthodoxy and all, despite your aloofness, which I think comes naturally with age and experiences of life. But there was no need to act dense at a place where you were invited as a guest.

Looks like this is not novel of you. Bushra Ansari’s sister Neelum Ahmad Bashir in her travelogue on India recalls her visit to your house accompanied by your sister - the way you acted impolitely to your sister in the presence of guests and to the guests themselves, even though you were warmly welcomed by Bushra in the past where your wife was laden with gifts by her as well. People must not have taken that account seriously when it was first published. Maybe you had your reasons. But guess what, that will make sense to people now.

You complained that Indian icons, poets or showbiz legends, are not welcomed warmly in Pakistan the way Pakistani ones are welcomed in India. You said this in a ceremony where you were invited and in the country where you were being celebrated at that very moment. You even received applause on your statement. Not so rational of you. This was also the ceremony held in the name of someone whose daughter was deported by Indian government. Let’s be more honest about it. Indian icons who have visited Pakistan have always been welcomed here, from Dillip Kumar to Raj Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Mahesh Butt, Pooja Bhatt, Salman Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Emraan Hashmi, Arbaaz Khan, Johnny Lever, Urmila Matondkar, Kalki Koechlin, Kim Sharma, Preeti Jhangiani to your highness among many. You complained Pakistan doesn’t celebrate Indian legends such as Lata G. People love Hollywood movies and music legends here, from Kishore Kumar to Arjit Singh. And truth be told, Pakistani actors are only invited in India when they have some commercial value. In the wake of recent events, they are also banned from working there (Fawad, Mahira and others) while you were sitting in the cultural capital of Pakistan.

"You were denied accommodation in Mumbai because of your Muslim identity despite you being an ardent secular and an open atheist. Please fix your own house before lecturing others. There are enough people in Pakistan who are vocal against extremism and at a very high cost unlike you."

You were right about extremism but again you were not honest about it. Who is roaming free in Pakistan? The main culprit of 26/11 was hanged in your country, the rest were killed, and the masterminds are behind bars in Pakistan. You know who is roaming free? The perpetrators of APS attack. We, the Pakistani people, are suffering to the levels unimaginable to you. The audience sitting in front of you who applauded your comment are the ones who are against this extremism and terrorism. You didn’t need to say that to them in their face. They were your allies. And bitter truth be told, you are in no moral position to lecture us on that when your own house is collapsing under the weight of extremism and your premiere has a shady history. You were denied accommodation in Mumbai because of your Muslim identity despite you being an ardent secular and an open atheist and that too, long before BJP came in power. Please fix your own house before lecturing others. There are enough people in Pakistan who are vocal against extremism and at a very high cost unlike you. I do not disagree with your stance, but I disagree with the occasion.

And to those who are saying that Javed sb’s comments are a mirror etc, please open your eyes. You know who is endorsing his stance? People like Kangana Ranaut – Bhakts and Sanghis, RSS and BD goons, the extremists on the other side – even when Javed sb “doesn’t consider them important.” The damage is done. The hate won. Ghus kay maara. Have some self-respect. Stop blindly following ideological icons (just like the ones you criticize) in order to show off your rebellious nature and to look different. You don’t need to be politically correct about it. This was plain stupid. It will also damage the future prospects of visitors to both countries. It will damage peace. Nobody will invite anyone anymore.

Only when things start to get better, some idiocy ruins the whole thing. The people were happy. They welcomed you and you had to ruin it. Please, remain vocal on matters of concern but be wise about it. More is expected from you. Don’t lose your admirers and don’t benefit the haters.

لہندا کیا ہے؟ کیا ہندکو، سرائیکی اور پوٹھوہاری لہندا یا مغربی پنجابی زبانیں ہیں؟

 لہندا، جسے لہندی بھی کہتے ہیں شمال مغربی آریائی زبانوں کے گروہ کا نام ہے جو کہ پاکستان اور بھارت میں بولی جاتی ہیں۔ لہندا کی جینیاتی گروپنگ متعین نہیں ہے۔ یعنی یہ ثابت نہیں ہے کہ یہ زبانوں کے کس خاندان سے تعلق رکھتی ہیں۔ 

لہندا یا مغربی پنجابی کی اصطلاحیں “ایگزونم” ہیں جو کہ ماہرین لسانیات (کالونیل آقاوں) نے اپنی سہولت کے تحت ان زبانوں کے لیے استعمال کی ہوئی ہیں اور ان زبانوں کے بولنے والے لوگ یہ لہندا یا مغربی پنجابی کی اصطلاحیں اپنی زبانوں کے لیے ہرگز استعمال نہیں کرتے۔ 

ایگزونم اس نام کو کہتے ہیں جو باہر کے لوگ کسی چیز کے لیے اپنی سہولت کے لیے استعمال کرتے ہیں جیسے جرمن جرمنی کو ڈچ لینڈ پکارتے ہیں مگر انگریزی میں اسے جرمنی کہا جاتا ہے یا جیسے پختونوں کو باہر کے لوگ پٹھان پکارتے ہیں۔ 

فیسبک پوسٹ کے لیے نیچے والے لنک پر کلک کریں  

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