Eating healthy in a sapped economy

Staying healthy does not depend on eating three square meals, or by wealth but eating right by balancing protein, fat, carbohydrate, fibre, vitamins, and minerals to sustain a healthy body.

However, in a recessed economy like that of Nigeria, where many families can no longer afford three square meals a day, it is difficult to eat healthy. Average Nigerians do not care about what he or she takes, health wise, as it can hold his or her stomach for long, so anything goes whether healthy or not. The outcome of this is the prevalent terminal diseases in the country.

Funny enough, most of this common food we take can be more nutritious and healthy if we can spice them up and have a limit on their intake.

Rice, Garri, Amala, Fufu, and Tuwo are major foods in Nigeria and many love these because they are easy to cook, and fill up the stomach. Many don’t know their benefits to the body but take them because they grew up with them.

Francis Osagie says rice is his best food because “It’s easy to cook while  Garri and fish are my options.”

 Emma loves rice, vegetable soup and Eba but don’t know why. However, he enjoys others like yam and beans

For Sopia, hers is Uha soup with eba or fufu. “It is what my mum ate 10 minutes after she gave birth to me”.

 “I love chicken and chips. I love the sweet taste of potatoes I also love the way the chicken is prepared. It is prepared in a different way which I don’t know. I eat it often and I learnt sweet potatoes increases the pectoral muscle. Optionally, I can go for rice and stew, Ogbono and yellow eba. They are my favorites and I just cannot even explain why”, said Sandra Emmanuel

However, to stay healthy and safe from disease especially cancer, human bodies require more of vegetables and fruits.

Findings among Nigerians have shown that rice, which is low in calories, though high in carbohydrates are on the daily menu list. One can make it healthier by spicing it up with turmeric, garlic, cinnamon and carrot.

Interestingly, these condiments are not so expensive in the market. Carrot of N100, Turmeric, garlic of N50, N100, can go can a long way to keep a human’s health balanced.

To be on a safe side, brown rice is good even if it’s little. Brown rice has fewer calories, and carbs than white rice. It has also much fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Foods to stay healthy in a recessed economy like ours are fruits and vegetables like salads, raw vegetables, whole grains such as brown rice, or whole grain bread.

Healthy proteins like fresh chicken, fish, lentils or beans are recommended. While a low of processed and red meat, high calorie foods, sugary drinks and alcohol are also recommended.

We should avoid artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin and cyclamate.

Excess of curried, pickled or salty foods is not good for the body and it is best to limit the amount of curried meats in the diet, because they are generally high in fat and salt.

Salt should be consumed in limited amounts to avoid stomach cancer.

Burnt or barbecued foods – a group of carcinogenic substances called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are produced if foods are overheated or burnt.

Peanuts research has it that some laboratory animals can develop cancer after eating peanuts that are contaminated with toxin-producing moulds.

Alcohol – consuming alcohol increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, breast, bowel and liver. The risk is even greater in those people who smoke. Even small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk to the body.

To reduce their risk of disease, men should drink less than two standard drinks a day and women less than one standard a day.

Generally, home foods are safer, than those from eateries which are mostly not properly prepared, and not satisfying even as they are costly.

Sandra Emmanuel loves chicken and chips, and other foods from eatery, but was never satisfied. “I get more satisfied after eating home food”.

Foods from eateries are prone to cancer and other related diseases because of the processes of preparation.

For instance, barbecued foods require relatively low temperature methods. Low-temperature cooking methods include steaming, boiling, poaching, stewing, casseroling, braising, baking and microwaving or roasting which many eateries do not do because of the time required.