Go for the green leaf

Food and fitness

By Chris Fernando

How to buy spinach:

Consumption

Cooked and pureed spinach is excellent for soups and pasta. 

Since many people dislike the taste and texture of cooked spinach, it can be eaten raw as a salad. It is the most nutritious of salad greens and can replace lettuce as a base for a variety of salads.

Why you should eat spinach:

It is also an excellent source of carotene, which can help prevent cancer. Research by oncologists has proved that spinach is one of the most potent of vegetables in helping to prevent cancer. 

Spinach also contains a high concentration of carotenoids, including beta carotene, which is the plant form of Vitamin A.

It is also a rich source of lutein, which is a pigment that has an anti-oxidant effect. Several studies indicate that eating spinach and other dark green vegetables regularly can prevent many types of cancer. Research has also shown that a diet rich in carotene reduces the risk of age related muscular degeneration, which is a common cause of blindness in the elderly.

Spinach is also a valuable source of folate, which is essential for blood formation together with iron. Folate is essential for pregnant women to help prevent spina bifida in the foetus.

Use in traditional medicine: 

The myth about spinach:

However, your body will absorb more of the iron content in spinach if you take it along with foods that contain Vitamin C, such as a lime or a tomato.

Dangers of over-consumption

How to store spinach: 

Recipe of the week - Spinach salad 

Method: 

Toss ingredients together to make a nutritious salad.

Beauty tip of the week

Nutritive value of spinach

When you can't stomach it

By Laila Nasry

'Morbid obesity', as this condition is known, is more prevalent among women than men. It is not very common in Sri Lanka but, to the afflicted few, there is no denying the discomfort, embarrassment and heartache. 

"My stomach used to hang in front of me so much so I could carry it," says Mrs. Fernando. Weighing over a hundred kilos she had tried every possible method to reduce her weight but to no avail. 

When her belly began to protrude and sag she was faced with severe back problems as the weight in front caused a strain on her back. "I was even unable to walk properly," she recalled "nor could, I sit still for long periods. I even had trouble using the bathroom."

Excess sweating underneath the skin fold added to her discomfiture as it resulted in fungal infections. "I had to clean the area with surgical spirit daily and use a deodorant to avoid breaking out in rashes." 

"As the skin in the abdominal wall stretches because of the collection of fat the stomach starts to hang and looks like an apron," says Surgeon Dr. Gamini Goonetileke. A sagging belly can also be found in women who are not fat. Repeated child-birth can also cause lax stomach muscles and, with no proper exercise to improve the condition, can lead to similar problems. For such patients, lipectomy offers hope.

Lipectomy is a two to three hour operation where the excess fat between the skin and muscle is cut off. The extra skin is also removed leaving just enough to cover the exposed area. Done under general anaesthesia, this is a painless operation and is preferred to the wiring of teeth and shortening of intestines, two other methods used to arrest weight problems. 

The operation also differs from liposuction where the fat content in the body is dissolved and sucked out. This can be dangerous at times resulting in residual fat particles clogging the brain. 

"Before the operation we first try to ascertain the root cause and treat it," Dr. Goonetileke says. "Most often patients have had too much to eat but at times we find cases with hormonal problems." Those with heart conditions are not operated on and prior tests are carried out to determine other complications like diabetes. "We don't have that many elderly patients for the operation is best done when the patient is young." 

Hernia is a common problem for those with sagging bellies and is treated at the same time as the removal of fat. "We insert a synthetic mesh for the hernia strengthening the weak abdominal wall in the muscle layer." Around seven to ten days after the operation the stitches are removed and the skin heals. 

Aftercare in such an operation is of paramount importance. Dr. Goonetileke strongly advocates healthy eating habits, a low carbohydrate and low fat diet. The sutures healed; three months after the operation, the patient is put through physiotherapy in order to strengthen the abdominal muscles further. Thereafter she is able to lead a normal life. 

However Dr. Goonetileke does not recommend this operation for purely cosmetic purposes. "A protruding stomach can always be cleverly covered up by wearing a saree."

He stresses that this procedure is only for those for whom the other methods have failed. For them cutting away the fat is not a step closer to looking good in an evening gown but the removal of a burden that is both physical and mental. 

"The satisfaction on their faces after the operation is unbelievable." 

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