Do You Want to Better Survive This and Future Pandemics?

Do You Want to Better Survive This and Future Pandemics? The answer lies in eating the right food and saying “Yes” to less

BY MOHAMMAD ABDULLAH

Nearly three out of four American adults are obese and half of them have diabetes or pre-diabetes, says a CNN report (Aug. 7, 2020). This information concerns Americans because for a world crippled by the coronavirus, salvation hinges on a vaccine.

Scientists in the emerging field of immunometabolism are finding that obesity interferes with the body’s immune response, putting the obese at greater risk of infection from pathogens such as influenza and the novel coronavirus (https://westerntoday. wwu.edu>ame).

Obesity is a complex health issue caused by a combination of causes and factors, such as behavior and genetics. Others are “food deserts,” namely, geographical areas that sell poor quality and often processed foods such as sweet desserts, fried foods and sugary carbonated beverages — all high in salt, sugar and fats — instead of healthy nutritious foods such as meats, fruits and vegetables that contain dietary fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals. This is because the latter foods are hard to find in those areas. Eating too much and moving too little stores much of the surplus energy as body fat.

Some blame restaurants and government policy for nutrition insecurity and the prevalence of obesity. A research survey, however, finds that most people blame the individual, not the farmers, grocery stores, restaurants or government policies (https://www.sciencedaily.com).

During this pandemic, farmers and donors have faced a historic spike in the need for food. However, as imperfect as the U.S. food system is, no other country has so much cheap food and wastes so much. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service works to end hunger and obesity via 15 federal nutrition assistance programs, including programs directed toward women, infants and children; food stamps; supplemental nutrition assistance; and school meals program.

The government also provides guidance about eating nutritious and balanced meals through the USDA’s famous “Food Pyramid” of the 1970s, the current “MyPlate” and “Nutrition labeling” programs.

But the government can do more. For example, it can establish long-term sustainability programs rather than short-term payoffs to farmers not to grow certain foods, create incentive programs to attract supermarkets to vulnerable communities, restrict unhealthy food and beverage marketing to schools, regulate calorie labeling in restaurants and revive the like of former First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign.

However, it’s up to the individual to make healthy choices. As one survey shows, people living in full-service grocery store areas where healthy nutritious foods are available still eat unhealthy foods (http://www.huffingtonpost.ca>how-to-eat-healthy). They need to resist how good the food feels in their mouth, its smell and taste, as well as the perfect blend of ingredients that excites their brain, stimulates its reward system and keeps them coming back for more (https:// www.healthline.com>nutrition).

Moreover, new products keep entering the market and soon are available everywhere. Ordering online is also rising, and technological advancements mean more food fraud, the lack of traceability, the ever-decreasing lack of quality and fresh foods, along with other issues. One result of this is that vegetarian and vegan menus, once unheard of in this country, are now being offered on board, conferences and restaurants. The two most popular meatless burgers, “Beyond Burger” and “Impossible Burger,” are in demand.

People naturally like convenience and cheaper foods. Even when those on limited budgets can afford nutritious food, they still want to buy at cheaper priced foods, except, perhaps, millionaires. Food processors worldwide know this. And so they use technological innovations to beat competition and process food to transform it from one form into other forms.

Each year about 39 million cattle from farms, feedlots, auctions and sale barns are slaughtered in the U.S. (https://awellfedworld.org/factory-farms/). There are eight different USDA quality beef grades. “USDA Prime,” the highest, precedes “USDA Choice.” Unlike meat produced on a commercial level that must be inspected for its fitness for human consumption, meat grading, which analyzes the meat’s quality, is optional. Meat inspection is free; however, as the USDA charges for grading services, not all carcasses are graded.

The meat industry integrates all edible tissues, including blood, meat trimmings and bone scraps, into the food chain as protein-rich ingredients for human consumption. For example, blood is integrated into human diets as whole blood or separated blood plasma. There are even processes that remove miniscule amounts of meat attached to beef trimmings and connective tissues. Known as “partially defatted chopped beef” (PDCB) and “lean finely textured beef” (LFTB), they cannot be removed manually. These products meet the official definition of meat, cost less and are added as a meat blend to help lower the price of ground beef.

These realities need to be considered by those who give blanket permission for consuming food produced by the People of the Book.

Ground beef is categorized as ground chuck/ground round, ground beef, hamburger, pure beef patties, pure beef patty mix, beef patties and beef patty mix. Each has its own standard of identity, composition and labeling requirements. Some products contain PDCB or LFTB, which is allowed; in other products they don’t even have to be mentioned on the label.

Mechanically separated meat, which is produced by forcing bones with attached edible meat under high pressure through a sieve to separate them from each other, is

used in hot dogs, chicken nuggets and frozen dinners. Mechanically separated pork and poultry are permitted, but must be labeled.

Due to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) regulations enacted in 2004 to protect consumers against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE; “mad cow disease”), mechanically separated beef is considered inedible, prohibited for use as human food and not allowed in hot dogs or any other processed product.

In addition, various additives are used to enhance flavor and appearance, to increase volume and, more significantly, to meet the growing demand for cheaper processed food products. Equally important, however, is eating low-calorie nutrient-dense foods to maintain a healthy weight.

Healthy eating is not about depriving yourself of the foods you love, but about your overall dietary habits and, more importantly, replacing processed foods with real foods whenever possible. Changing our eating habits and substituting healthy nutritious foods (e.g., vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and lean meats) for junk food will reduce obesity and improve overall health. A University of California, Berkeley study found that students at schools that contract with vendors serving nutritious food perform better on tests (School Meal Quality and Academic Performance, Oct. 23, 2018).

Eating habits can impact your health, and thus you really are what you eat. Some consume soft drinks, alcohol and other foods that have minimal or no nutritional value. Fifty excess calories per day over a 10-year period adds about 50 pounds of extra bodyweight, which can take away many years of a person’s life (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov>pmc). Reading and understanding nutrition labels can help one avoid this fate.

To help consumers identify food ingredients and their nutrient contents, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) was passed in 1990 so buyers could select foods that fit their dietary needs and preferences.

When FSIS implemented its nutrition-labeling program in 1993, I was serving as assistant area supervisor in the USDA Topeka, Kan. office, which had jurisdiction over 200+ slaughter and processing plants in Kansas and Nebraska. Meat processors needed guidance on the new proposed rule.

On Jan. 25, 1992, after I made a presentation on this new rule during the “21st Annual Midwest Meat Processors Seminar” at Kansas State University at Manhattan, I asked the attendees if they had read and understood it. All I got back were smirks. However, things became clearer to them when it became effective in 1993 and federal food inspectors started issuing non-com-

HEALTHY EATING IS NOT ABOUT DEPRIVING YOURSELF OF THE FOODS YOU LOVE, BUT ABOUT YOUR OVERALL DIETARY HABITS AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, REPLACING PROCESSED FOODS WITH REAL FOODS WHENEVER POSSIBLE.

pliance notices.

Islam takes a different approach, because its dietary regulations encourage living a balanced life to seek the good in this world and the Hereafter by eating halalfoods and avoiding the haram (7:31, 20:81). A hadith attributed to Miqdam bin Madikarib narrates that Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “A human being fills no worse vessel than his stomach. It is sufficient for a human being to eat a few mouthfuls to keep his spine straight. But if he must (fill it), then one third of food, one third for drink and one third for air” (“Sahih Bukhari,” vol. 4, book 29, hadith no. 3349).

Islam encourages people to acquire knowledge and accept personal responsibility: “Verily never will God change the condition of a people until they change it themselves” (13:11). To mitigate obesity and better survive this and future pandemics, learning more about the food we consume, reading nutrition labels, eating in moderation and engaging in physical activity is critical. The choice is ours. ih

Dr. Mohammad Abdullah retired after serving for 29 years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, which regulates the meat industry. His book, “A Closer Look at Halal Meat from Farm to Fork” (2016), is available at Amazon.com.

A Request to Scholars and Khatibs

As you emphasize sadaqa and zakat, please emphasize the importance of sadaqa hasana in terms of blood and organ donations. The Fiqh Council of North America also advocates such donations. God says in Quran 3:92, “You will never achieve righteousness until you donate some of what you cherish. And whatever you give is certainly well known to Allah.” When Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) began receiving the revelation, Abu Talha (radi Allahu ‘anh) donated his favorite fruit orchard to benefit the young community -- an act of generosity that the Prophet greatly appreciated. One of our imams recently had a bilateral lung transplant. He is now doing very well. A Muslim college graduate received a kidney from his Jewish roommate. Both are also doing well. Dear scholars and imams, please take a few minutes to emphasize these things, especially blood donation. Organ donation is very personal and can be complicated. But any healthy person aged between 20-45 can donate blood. One should try to donate 2 units of blood every year to help out fellow Americans. Our supply of blood replenishes itself every 4-6 weeks, which gives us new-found strength and energy. In addition, this process helps rejuvenate our immune system so that it can do a better job of fighting off heart disease, diabetes, lupus and other illnesses. Especially during this ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, our donated blood, which contains both red blood cells and antibodies, can be used to fight off the infection. Your jum‘a khutba is the platform for talking with your congregation about such matters. So please use this time to promote this sadaqa hasana. Those who have not traveled abroad for at least a year are the best-suited blood donors. Moreover Muslims, who abstain from drugs, alcohol, and other bad habits, have the cleanest blood. Perhaps this reality will encourage Americans to ask us to donate our blood. This is one of the best ways to give back to our fellow Americans. This can also be one way of countering Islamophobia.