Study on perception of food items as hot or cold in the rural area of Pondicherry

Introduction: It has been observed in our society that the theory of hot and cold is believed in and practiced by almost all section of the society. It is necessary to know the prevalence of such belief in the community from time to time. Objectives: To know the prevalence of perception of hot or cold food items and their impact on the health status of the community. Material and methods: It was a cross sectional study done between the time period of March and April 2015 among 317 families and their members at t their doorsteps. Pretested questionnaire was filled with the information given by the subjects after their verbal consent. Descriptive questions regarding the family’s perception of hot and cold foods were asked in the categories of cereals, pulses, oils, vegetables, dairy products, non-vegetarian, fruits, beverages, spices and water. Results: Sixty six percent of the families told Brinjal, 84% told chicken and 34.6% told curd are hot foods and produces Gastrointestinal tract (74%) and Genitourinary tract (73%) illnesses. Similarly 15.6% of the families told carrot, 26.33% told grapes, 20% told fish and 58.6% told buttermilk are cold foods leading to development of respiratory tract illnesses. Only one percent of the families did not have any idea about hot or cold food items. Conclusion: The prevalence of misconception of hot or cold foods exist among families and misunderstanding about the nutritive value of food items which are likely to cause deficiency in vitamins, minerals in their family diet.