THIS Diwali, if you have set your heart on mouth-watering and lip-smacking sweets, you may end up losing two things. While your plans to reduce waist line by the end of year will go haywire, you may also develop certain long-term health complications after gorging multicoloured khoya 'mithai'.
With the festival season on, all the major roads and lanes have many make-shift sweet shops, offering tongue-tangling and irresistible mawa and bundi ke laddu, malai samosa, kesar and tiranga barfi, pista mithai and other sweets in the shape of crackers, to attract children. But barring a few shops in the city, most of them are using artificial and harmful chemicals to give attractive bright colours to bundi ke laddu, tiranga barfi and even dark green colour to pista barfi, to dodge people.
These chemical colours, according to the doctors are corrosive in nature, and can damage the vital organs. What's more it can also trigger allergic reactions in patients.
"The preservatives and certain types of chemicals used in the sweets, to give it more decorative and festive looks, certainly creates graded risk on the body.
These chemicals are toxic in nature and may disturb abdomen and general body system. It may also trigger allergic reactions in people, who are sensitive to certain types of chemical colours," said Dr DK Nigam, former head of Department of Medicine and also a senior gastroenterologist.
{{/usCountry}}These chemicals are toxic in nature and may disturb abdomen and general body system. It may also trigger allergic reactions in people, who are sensitive to certain types of chemical colours," said Dr DK Nigam, former head of Department of Medicine and also a senior gastroenterologist.
{{/usCountry}}Dr Nigam said anything artificial was bad for the body. Moreover, the use of chemical colours in sweets should strictly be prohibited, he added.
Ayurvedacharya Dr SK Rai said the chemical colours used in sweets to give more vibrant looks were mostly corrosive in nature.
They might cause uncontrolled growth of cells in the body. "Besides, it also affects the liver and hepatobilliary system. The kidney and excretory system also get affected. There is problem in digestion and the excess consumption may lead to jaundice." He says the number of patients suffering from digestive disorders, jaundice and other allergic reactions increases after Diwali. There should be an administrative control on the sale of chemical dyed sweets, he emphasises.
Dr Rai advised to have only colourless and 'chhena' products for Diwali. "But again, dry fruits are much better option than high calorie sweets," he added.