Watch what you eat this diwali

Consider that mouthwatering platter of sweets that will soon come your way on Diwali. It might make you salivate but it is poison for a diabetic. Again, consider those colourful fireworks that light up the sky during the festival. They are deadly for people suffering from asthma and other allergies.

The much awaited and probably most widely celebrated festival of Diwali brings its share of health problems. The two things synonymous with the festival, sweets and crackers, can cause heart, lung and stomach ailments. Says general practitioner Dr Raghu Satyanarayan, "Diabetics tend to indulge in sweets rich in sugar and ghee during this period leading to weight gain and soaring sugar levels. I also get cases of gastrointestinal infections as people eat outside and sometimes consume sweets of poor quality." The post-Diwali period is also the time when diabetes gets detected in some people.

According to another GP Dr Anand Nair, "Overeating of sweets and oily foods leads to high cholesterol as well eventually causing heart problems. Moreover, I get cases of asthma and allergic bronchitis with patients suffering breathlessness, cough and discomfort.”  

The cause for the respiratory problems is the burning of crackers which increases levels of sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide in the air. These gases irritate the delicate airways of the lungs. "Contact with crackers can also cause contact dermatitis - a skin reaction due to exposure to irritants. Also, the consumption of excessive sweets during Diwali can lead to acne," says Dr Ranjan Rawal, skin specialist.

Moreover, noise making fireworks are bad for heart patients and the elderly. Noise pollution causes stress which raises the levels of certain chemicals in the blood which increase blood pressure, serum cholesterol and clotting tendency of blood. Carelessness while lighting crackers can lead to burns.