In today's fast-paced lifestyle, individuals prefer eating frozen foods like meats, fish and vegetables over fresh ones. These ready-to-eat foods save time and effort in cooking. However, the habit of taking frozen foods may cause several health problems in the long run as the nutrient value of these foods degrades.
This is why it is necessary to stay covered with an effective medical insurance policy if you cannot avoid this kind of lifestyle. In this regard, you also need to know how to select the best health insurance company in India.
Health Impact of Consuming Frozen Foods
You can face the following health issues if you continue consuming frozen foods for a long period:
- Cardiovascular diseases
Frozen foods contain hydrogenated oil and preservatives, which leaves a detrimental impact on the overall health condition of your heart. Such food items can also increase the level of bad cholesterol, and as a result, you can face cardiac illnesses.
- Increased body weight
Since carbohydrates and fats are present in higher amounts in frozen foods, they significantly impact your overall body weight. This is why if you are concerned about increasing body weight, you should try to avoid eating frozen foods.
- High blood pressure
As mentioned earlier, these foods contain high amounts of bad cholesterol. When you consume them for a prolonged duration, they can get stuck in the inner side of your blood vessels. As a result, blood circulation gets hampered, leading your heart to strain more to maintain blood flow. Over time, such a gastronomic habit can cause strokes or cardiovascular diseases.
- Degeneration of muscles
The easy-to-cook frozen foods contain fewer calories than an ideal diet should have. As a result, your body does not get the energy it requires. This may lead to the combustion of fats and proteins stored in your muscles, thereby making you weak and lean.
Besides the extended consumption of frozen foods, lack of physical activities, degraded food quality etc., also increases the chances of being affected by chronic illnesses like diabetes, sugar, cardiovascular conditions, etc. To get financial immunity against treatment expenses, you can opt for a medical insurance policy. In this regard, you also need to know all the benefits you can get from this policy.
Benefits of Health Insurance Plans
Here are some of the advantages that you can get from the policy purchased from the best health insurance company in India:
- Financial coverage for the cost incurred due to in-patient/domiciliary treatment
- Pre and post-hospitalisation expenses up to pre-specified days
- Free healthcare check-ups
- Coverage for doctor's consultation fees, diagnostic charges, cost of hiring ambulance service, etc.
- Cashless treatment facilities from network hospitals
Besides, Section 80D of the Income Tax of India allows you to reduce your taxable income by up to Rs. 25,000 against the premiums paid for the health insurance plan. Furthermore, if you are a senior citizen, you can get a tax benefit of up to Rs. 50,000.
How to Choose the Best Health Insurance Company in India
Here are some parameters that can help you choose the best insurer in the Indian market:
- Number of network hospitals
If the insurer has a high number of network hospitals, it will become easier for you to get the cashless treatment facility from most parts of India.
- Claim settlement ratio
The claim settlement ratio of a medical insurance company indicates how easy it is to get medical coverage from it. This is why you must choose an insurer with a claim settlement ratio higher than the market average.
- Cost-effectiveness of plans
You also need to ensure that the insurer you choose gives a policy with a higher sum insured at a lower premium than others.
To conclude, the habit of eating frozen foods can have a detrimental impact on your overall health condition. It can increase your blood pressure, body weight, and bad cholesterol. Furthermore, the chances of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases also increase. Therefore, you should ideally avoid these food items as much as possible to maintain your health and thereby reduce expenditure on medical treatment. Additionally, you can also get yourself covered under a medical policy extended by the best health insurance company in India to get financial protection against treatment expenses.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of sciencetimes.com
