Wednesday 22 February 2012

News Brief: cut back on those "all you can eat" buffets and hot pots

A salutary warning about the dangers of “all you can eat” buffets and hot pots was reported by the China Times online yesterday (full Chinese-language article here).

A young man from Taichung who likes to eat “bottomless buffet” almost once per week and eats hot pot pretty much every other day had gout (痛風) by the age of 18, didn’t ameliorate his diet or take the medicine prescribed him, and three months ago was found to have a serious edema (dropsy; 水腫) in his calf. Now subsequent blood tests show his kidney function is roughly one-tenth of normal and he faces a lifetime of dialysis (洗腎).

Taking the tastiest items from a buffet provides a diet with too much potassium and sodium, which can be a dangerous factor in causing high blood pressure. Combined with popular, more expensive items such as seafood and beef, the protein content often exceeds recommended levels, which over extended periods can lead to kidney disease. This kind of diet is also implicated in the onset of diabetes.



Translation © Jiyue Publications 2012

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