Foremost Nutritionist, Obianuju Onuorah, offers useful tips on how proper nutrition can help hormonal fight against COVID-19, others, as well as all you should know about eating and healthy living for people aged 40 and above. She was the lead discussant on Platforms Africa e-Discourse moderated by Accra, Ghana-based veteran journalist, Francis Kokutse. Excerpts:-:
Would you say Africans are generally conscious of (proper) nutrition and eat healthily?
In a one word answer I would say NO.
Over the last couple of years of practice, I have observed that the average african man or woman believes “One thing must kill a man”. This singular statement gives them license or justification to eat unhealthy.
Also, most of our local dishes are oily and people don’t make conscious efforts to cook with less oil for a healthy heart. Then we have another set of people who feed on junk and processed foods which are most times high in fat, salt, calories, sugar and increases one’s risk to diabetes, heart disease, hypertension etc
Our New Year resolutions are always on finances, religion and relationship but not on eating habit and healthy living. Is this good enough?
It is often sad to see how people prioritize money, religion, relationship during goal setting every new year and leave out setting goals on health living.
While setting goals for the year, I will always advise people to include health goals. There are tons of healthy living goals you can set for the year. Here are some pointers:
Eat more fruits and vegetables (at least 5 servings combined in a day). You need to increase your physical activity level such as exercising more (at least 3-5 times week). Let’s s ditch the only saturday workouts; taking more walks and doing activities that require you to use your legs more. We also need to drink more water (at least 8 standard glass of water in a day) and make time to rest/sleep more (at least 7-8 hours sleep in a day).
Reduce intake of soda drink (maybe to at least one bottle in a week or even a month only). Snack more rightly by reducing intake of junk foods. Abstain from alcohol intake (protect your livers and kidneys)
There are many more health goals and its important we prioritise them just as much as we prioritise goals for finance, religion etc.
From your previous response, it seems there is a relationship between what food we take in and our health? Why so?
Yes, there is a strong relationship between what we eat and our health. In fact, a poor diet remains the strongest predisposing factor to disease. The more healthy we eat, the more our immunes are strengthened, our organs are functioning at their peak, our chances of getting a chronic diseases becomes almost non-existent
Diet is such a strong factor in one’s health that it can even surpress any disease which maybe gotten genetically or as a result of one’s family medical history. That is how powerful the link between our food and health is.
As we grow older, should there be an adjustment in our eating habit – what we eat and how we eat what we eat?
Yes, there should be adjustments if one is not already eating right as one gets older.
Across all age groups we should aim to practise at least the basics in our diet. I will outline some of these basics;
-Adequate intake of water (about 8 glasses or 4-5 sachet per day)
-Adequate intake of fruits and vegetables (Aim to take 5 servings combined of fruits and vegetables)
-Adequate portion control, this is more or less watching the quantity of food you eat in a day. The more food you eat, the more work you are giving your digestive system and overworking your digestive system can lead to gut inflammation amongst other things. Portion control is very important!
-Abstaining from alcohol (this is a good way to show your liver and kidney love and keep them in good health)
-Snacking rightly (instead of the common consumed processed snacks which are high in fat, salt, sugar and calories, go more for healthier snack option).
Fruits are very healthy snacks and it doesnt have to be eaten whole all the time you can make them into smoothies and juices, eat them as dips etc., then we also have yoghurts, nuts, wholegrain cookies/biscuits, drink such as tigernut milk, soy bean drink, mocktails these are healthy snack options
In summary, we all can make adjustments to eating right by starting with these basics, one step at a time and it becomes a lifestyle!
Specifically, what would you recommend for those above 40 as it is common for most people in this bracket not to care about what goes into their stomach?
One of the most important advice I always give persons who are 40 and above is to go more Plant-based.
Eat less of red meats or animal products generally. Incorprate whole grained foods in your diet eg instead of taking white bread go more for brown/whole wheat bread because it’s made from whole grain. You need to have an adequate intake of fruits and vegetables and make water, your friend. Avoid soda drinks as well as alcohol drink.
As regards oil intake, avoid foods that are high in oil/fat. Also foods that contain salt or high in salt should be avoided or reducers to the barest minimum
It’s important that at this stage, you are more mindful of your immune system and the functioning of your organs. Thus, the above recommendations.
Snacking if done rightly (Healthy snacking) plays a huge role in the body. They help boost energy levels, decrease hunger which helps us avoid overeating. Snacks are small servings of a meal or drink, the emphasis on the word small. They are only supposed to help keep hunger at bay until the time for main meal. It’s not a full meal.
I always advocate for healthy snack options and by these I mean reducing intake of processed snacks which are high in fat, salt, sugar and calories, go more for healthier snack option). Fuits are very healthy snacks and it doesnt have to be eaten whole all the time you can make them into smoothies and juices, eat them as dips etc., then we also have yoghurts, nuts, wholegrain cookies/biscuits, drink such as tigernut milk, soy bean drink, mocktails these are healthy snack options.
Would you describe someone who eats 2 loafs of bread with 4 cups of tea as having taken snacks?
Absolutely not!
As I earlier mentioned, what is been snacked on and how is very important.
Thanks for the insight shared, ma’am. There’s this theory that only the rich can afford a healthy lifestyle. How true is this? And how can the poor man live a healthy life?
The stark reality is that it’s easier for a rich man to afford a healthy lifestyle. Money is an important tool in healthy living but it’s not the only important factor, if not we won’t be seeing cases of rich persons with chronic diseases. Infact it’s even the rich persons who have these diseases more than an average man
It’s important that regardless of one’s socioeconomic class or financial capacity, an individual is intentional to make use of his available resources to still live healthy intentionally.
Let me give some examples; if one can’t afford egg or meat in his food as a source of protein, how about beans and other lentils which is a still a healthy source of proteins? Instead of spending money to buy some soda drinks, it’s even far more cost effective and healthier to take same money buy ingredients to make ZOBO drink which is a very healthy drink and you have stores of it at home
I can give more instances but I’ll end with this while money is an important tool to healthy living, intentionality is an even more important tool.
Can we have an insight into the eating of processed food especially condiments like maggi cubes in cooking and linkage to increasing fibroids in women?
There’s still so many studies going on as regards bouillon cubes commonly called Maggi and the health effects. The health implications have been controversial to say the least and yes, some studies have attributed excessive intake of foods contained bouillon cubes to a host of diseases including fibroid, brain dysfunction, heart disease etc
This is the advice I give to people; since no one is entirely clear of all the health implications of bouillon cubes, it’s best to reduce its intake to the barest minimum and if you can, remove it entirely from your diet.
The good news is we have so many natural spices that can still do the same work of adding flavor to our foods eg garlic, ginger, clove, cinnamon, turmeric, thyme, curry, oregano etc
The best part about these spices is that they even offer amazing health benefits to the body. It’s a win win to use natural spices to flavor foods than bouillon cubes.
How about those with Hypertension, what would you advise?
To persons who are already living with a chronic disease eg hypertension, diabetes and the rest. When handling these cases there is No one size fits all, medical and dietary interventions are often individualized.
I won’t drop a generic Dos and Don’t here because it’s more of a personalized treatment, what works for one may not work for another. Here are some key advice I would give on this;
Ensure you have a medical doctor that’s always following you up especially as regards the medications to take. Your diet is so key here, it can’t be overemphasized. Your blood pressure levels or blood sugar levels can be adequately managed if you’re on a right diet.
Therefore I highly recommend that persons living with a chronic disease engage the services of a Nutrition professional. They are the best bet in handling the dietary aspect of your care. I work with clients on this so do feel free to consult a Nutrition professional nearest to you.
All persons living with a chronic disease should not joke with their diet.
Asides “it’s something that must kill a man” another line people use to justify disregard for healthy eating/ living is “that is what our forefathers ate/drank and they lived for over 100 years.” Are these people not right? Can same food/drink have different reactions in people of different times?
The truth is there’s quite a difference in the eating pattern of then and now.
The eating pattern of the generations before us was based on whole foods, they didn’t have food industries that processed foods back then.
Now in our case, with the advent of urbanisation and industrialisation came with it foods that are high in fat, salt, sodium, calories and sugars.
Our forefathers were not faced with the diverse unhealthy food choices we have now which has greatly increased the prevalence of heart disease, diabetes etc and have reduced the life expectancy of many individuals.
In essence, we aren’t actually eating same food with them, ours have been more processed which makes a huge difference nutritionally.
Thank you ma’am for this very important topic. Please, are there specific types of healthy oil you can advise we use?
The healthiest oil is Olive Oil but the fact is how many persons can afford olive oil as a staple in this part of the world? So, I wll drop some other options we can entertain.
Consider for your cooking, *canola oil, safflower oil, soy bean oil and safflower oil*. These four, I would recommend anytime any day. They are more affordable than Olive oil.
And please let’s be guided on the brands that put out these oils, some will write healthy oil but it’s not actually a healthy oil. Ensure you check the nutrition labels before buying.
E-Discourse is a weekly event organised by Platforms Africa forum, an e-Community of intellectuals, policy moulders and opinion leaders in Africa created by award-winning journalist, Adeola Yusuf
