Growing Your Own Food in Hong Kong

3. Plants In Daily Life

 34 PLANTS IN DAILY LIFE  35 PLANTS AND HEAL TH Two thousand years ago Plutarch advised a moderate diet, exercise and restful sleep as a recipe for good health. Nothing has changed. I will leave the exercise and sleep, and simply deal with the “moderate diet”, since as a colorectal surgeon this is an important part of my general advice to patients. Epidemiological observations have revealed a low incidence of large bowel cancer, diabetes and coronary heart disease in parts of Africa. Poverty in these regions means that these populations consume large quantities of dietary fibre of plant origin, for example from maize, and eat very little red meat. Typically these diets are high in unrefined carbohydrates and produce several soft, bulky stools daily. Conversely, affluent societies with a high consumption of red meat and a low consumption of vegetable fibre have a high incidence of constipation as well as of large bowel cancer, diabetes and coronary heart disease. The message is quite clear. In my daily work, I see a large number of people with a poor bowel habit, mostly in the form of constipation resulting from a low intake of fibre. The current record, on my books, is six weeks without an evacuation. But for many, even a day or two without a bowel motion throws the whole psyche into disarray and may result in long-term psychological problems. Cancer aside, constipation contributes to other serious conditions such as haemorrhoids and diverticular disease. This latter is a condition whereby pockets of increased pressure within the colon cause little outpouchings to develop where the colon wall is thinnest—much like little blow-outs. This condition was once rare in Chinese, but in the recent three decades, a change in diet to include more western type food, has resulted in a sharp rise in its incidence. Furthermore, evidence-based research has confirmed that the consumption of a fibre-rich diet can protect against diverticular disease. Western dietary habits also account for the appearance in Chinese of certain inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. These conditions, now common, were virtually unknown in Hong Kong when I was a medical student in the early sixties. Be they humble fishermen or ladies in Prada, most people are understandably reluctant to discuss the very private subject of bowel motions. I have myself, over the years, become inured to any such embarrassment, and will cheerfully embark on a frank and open discussion of scatology. I have become quite skilled in breaking the ice over this subject and it is quite professionally satisfying for me when my patients eventually open up on once taboo subjects such as the frequency, size, colour, consistency, shape and odour of their stool, as well as the effort required to cause its evacuation! Inhibitions now cast aside, they may pull out their smartphones and display colour photographs of the subject. The more enterprising may even rummage among their bags and extricate a plastic container of the real McCoy which we would then critically examine while holding our breaths. This would be their first step to recovery.  36 My best advice is that one should consume one’s daily requirement of nutrients and calories by eating mostly foods of plant origin. Red meat consumption should be limited to 500 g per week. In particular, processed meat such as ham and salami should be avoided as far as possible. Cruciferous vegetables (so named because their four-petalled flowers resemble the shape of a cross) which belong to the Brassica group, are known to provide some protection against cancer. Their action is due to substances called isothiocyanates that alter the metabolism of cancer-producing elements (carcinogens). They are also a good source of fibre. The most effective of this group appears to be broccoli. The rapid proliferation of health food shops and intrusive advertising claiming the value of special supplements for various conditions, shows that in some areas of society, there is a swing in the opposite direction: excessive concern for one’s health, often referred to as “health seeking behaviour”. The World Cancer Research Fund concluded that one should aim for all nutritional requirements to be met by diet alone and that dietary supplements are not recommended for cancer prevention. (“Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer”, 2007, p. xx). A cardiologist once described the vitamin industry as the damnedest racket ever perpetrated upon...