That we currently live in an economically challenging period, characterised by high food inflation, exponential costs of sundry goods and services, courtesy of poor governance, is stating the obvious. That is all in addition to strange diseases including the trending Mpox as well as freaky weather conditions caused by clima Yet, the breadwinners have to manoeuvre their ways and means to feed members of their families. Indeed, as the parlance goes, “the boys are not smiling”. But what are the best measures to be chosen to get us going forward? That is the million -naira question. The answers are not far fetched.
In line with the harsh economic realities the focus has to shift to food items that have filling effect but are still nutritious. The choice of fruits, nuts and vegetables that boost immunity, have healing qualities and enhance long life have to be considered now, more than ever before. Such food items if well chosen would make you to spend less time, money and resources on visiting the hospital for treatment of preventable diseases.
But first, it should be noted that many of us do not know how to eat. Are you surprised? Do not be.We also do not care to know the nutritional effects of what we eat have on our bodies. And several of us erroneously neglect our abundantly rich, locally available natural food items. Strange as it may sound, but that is the bitter truth.
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On how to eat right, make every meal a celebration. Keep your phone aside while eating. Focus all your senses of sight, smell, touch and taste on whatever you are eating. Do not eat hurriedly to avoid constipation. Relax after every meal. Never neglect any of the meals-be it breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some friends of mine who yours truly warned against neglecting breakfast because they are in a hurry to get to work have paid dearly for it. Skipping a meal could lead to severe hunger pangs and eventually the crave to overeat. Understand the fact that when you sleep at night, you lose some vital calories which you must make up for in the morning.
Generally, eat bigger breakfast and lunch and smaller dinner, because big dinner keeps you awake as your tummy churns the overload. Do not overeat any of the meals. Anyway, where is the money to buy food to overeat these days? One mistake many of us make is to under rate locally available foods.
Yet, as great nutritionists such as the President, International Union of Nutritional Sciences,Prof. Mark Wahlquist stated way back in 2003 during an international conference hosted by Nestle Foods, Nigeria Plc there is evidence-based nutrition. That means such fresh foods our ancestors grew and ate positively impact on our wellbeing and physique.
As for maximizing the little we have, if you want to spend less but eat food that would keep you satisfied for long hours go for food items rich in both protein and fibre. Amongst these are boiled potatoes,eggs, fish, Greek yogurt and popcorn. Also to be considered are our dark green vegetables such as bitter leaf, efo riro, ugu. Also important ars fruits and whole grains.
To keep our bodies high in the immunity index, eat one boiled egg per day, as recommended by Harvard University scientists because they are packed full of useful amino acids,zinc and B-vitamins. They assist to build white blood cells and antibodies. Also highly recommended is yoghurt which contains probiotics that strengthen the immune system. A glass of milk a day is nutritionally dense in protein, carbohydrates,fat, calcium,vitamins A,B1, B2, B6 and phacian. Others are brightly coloured fruits such as tomatoes, watermelon, purple apple, mango and the dark green vegetables, as earlier listed.
While red ball pepper builds and strengthens the body cells, fresh ginger fights viruses, similar to garlic that is nature’s own antibiotics. Raw cocoa and dark chocolate contain powerful antibiotics. Sweet potato is rich in beta-carotene that helps your eyesight in addition to containing potassium,foliate and iron which combined lower blood cholesterol levels. Not left out of immune boosting foods is edible mushroom that boasts of glutamic acid that boosts the body’s immunity,fights cancer, arthritis and lupus. As one has revealed in one of my previous essays in this column, edible mushrooms are those also eaten by ants, a powerful secret known to our ancestors.
For the healing foods, make the wise choice of apples, bananas, oranges, pineapple, tomatoes,lemon, which are all fruits. Other items include beans,cashew nuts, cocoa, olive oil, coconut oil and cod liver oil. From animal sources are raw goat milk, turkey meat, and one egg per day.
In fact, a man by the name Dr. Axe Fans has come up with a healing food diet.According to him foods that prevent inflammation which damage cells and arterial walls are powerful against diabetes, high blood pressure, autism, digestive disorders, fatigue, depression, hormone imbalance and cancer. Such food items alkalize the body,lower glucose level, and eliminate toxins.
Did you know why the Asians, especially the people of Okinawa, Japan live longest amongst all the races? It is because of their diet that consists a lot of fish, plant materials such as periwinkles, fruits, nuts and vegetables.They avoid red meat!
Get used to drinking 6-8 glasses of water per day which acts as the solvent for the nutrients, even as most physiological processes depend on it.
Take away dish:
A mixture of carrot, apple,pear and mango helps to cleanse the body of heat, toxins, decrease blood pressure and fights oxidation.
Above all, combine good nutrition with regular exercise.
To get more vital information, especially on how to choose the food items to eat at whatever age and against diseases, get the e-copy of my book, ‘Food for Health: Eat Right,Every Day ‘. This is indeed the right time to change our eating habits.
