+ Tips on how therapy and nutrition can help, as given by Africa’s top Nutritionist and frontliner in healthy nutrition advocacy, Miss Obianuju Onuorah during the high-ranking Platforms Africa e-Discourse
Give us a clear understanding, what is NUTRITION to the ordinary man?
Nutrition in simple terms is a complex process by which the food we eat/drink is broken down, absorbed into the body, then the body uses it for different body processes which in turn either makes us healthier or degraded our health. Thus we can have GOOD nutrition or BAD nutrition. Oh no NUTRITION can be BAD. When you’re feeding your body wrongly then it’s BAD nutrition.
The term itself is usually seen in a positive light but it can be negative depending on the situation and then that’s when one experienced what we call Malnutrition and/or incidence of chronic diseases as a result of the poor nutrition experienceS
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Since we derive nutrition from food. Can food be abused? If so, how?
Oh yes! While we derive nutrients from the food we eat. food can also be abused just like illicit drugs, and a person can eventually develop a FOOD ADDICTION.
Some research-based evidence suggests that foods high in sugar, salt, and/or fat can be very addictive. Example of some of these foods are pizza, Shawarma, Soda drinks, Pastries, Biscuits and confectioneries.
A person can develop addiction to these foods.When a person becomes addicted to the “high” that is felt while eating particular types of food, the man or woman suffering from the addiction will continue to eat even when they are no longer hungry.
The person will eat in excess and eat much more than what is necessary for healthy living and proper nutrition. The continued abuse of food will lead to physical, emotional and social penalties such as obesity, heart disease, depression, low-self worth and isolation.
FOOD CAN BE ADDICTIVE AND ABUSED!
So, is there any relationship between food and illicit drugs?
There’s a very huge relationship between food and drug. This is referred to as *food-drug interaction or nutrient-drug interaction
Chronic drug use can affect a person’s nutritional status and body composition through decreased intake, nutrient absorption, and dysregulation of hormones that alter the mechanisms of satiety and food intake.
Use of hard drugs impact on nutrition absorption, breakdown and excretion. More often times than not these impact is on the negative side.
What are views on drug/substance abuse in Africa?
There are very alarming statistics of substance use among Africans.
Most research based evidence have shown that Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance in the African Region, with the use highest in West and Central Africa.
Then followed by Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) such as “ecstasy” and methamphetamine now rank.
The saddest part is that the use of drugs/ substances impacts not only on the health of the individual but goes further to affect their families and even the community at large. Speaking from the nutrition point of view, drug/substance use also has severe nutritional implications on individuals that use it.
It’s imperative that strategies are put in place to curb the burden of substance use in Africa.
A typical African man/woman that use drugs/substance has not come to the realization of the impact on his or her health.
This in addition to the fact that in many parts of Africa it’s normalized and seen as nothing “unusual” to take hard drugs
Some drug abusers blamed high cost of food for their action of taking to drug. What is your view?
High cost of food is often times not the direct cause of taking drugs or better put why some persons get involved in drug/substance use.
Could it impact on one’s choice to use drugs? Yes but often times underlying causes can include poverty, loss of job or lack of it thus very low finacial capacity of purchase food and many more reasons that are not directly related to food.
Let’s not forget the financial cost of drug addiction is often steep. Sustaining an addition requires having a steady supply of the substance. That dependence can quickly drain a person’s account. So persons who say high cost of food is the reason they go into drug use haven’t truly identified the cause of their choices
What are the implications of drug abuse to healthy living on the continent?
The impact of drug use on healthy living cannot be talked about enough.
People who abuse drugs often have one or more associated health issues, which could include lung or heart disease, stroke, cancer, or mental health conditions.
For example, it is now well-known that tobacco smoke can cause many cancers, methamphetamine can cause severe dental problems, some drugs, such as inhalants, may damage or destroy nerve cells, either in the brain or the peripheral nervous system.
The impact of drug use on healthy living is numerous!
Some reports claim those who use drug, don’t eat “well”. How can we use nutrition to correct the anomaly?
Proper nutrition and hydration are key to the substance abuse healing process because they help restore physical and mental health and improve the chance of recovery.
Medical Nutrition therapy is important to
1. heal and nourish the body damaged by alcohol or substance abuse;
2. Stabilize mood and reduce stress;
3. Reduce cravings for drugs and alcohol;
4. Address medical conditions that are co-occurring or have resulted from substance abuse; and
5. Encourage self-care and a healthful lifestyle.
Of corse a trained nutritionist would be in charge of this. In addition to this, I would always recommend THERAPY as a first line of action while trying to improve the nutritional status of the individual suffering from drug use.
Data released by UN says 3.575 million of Nigerian girls and women are drug abusers. What can be responsible for this?
Not a surprising statistics as the adolescent years are the most significant years of development, years critical to a young woman’s health and success later down the road.
Some factors I believe may be responsible for these include;
Depression and Mental Illnesses: Substance abuse and mental illnesses such as depression often go hand-in-hand. Young women who are depressed and suicidal often self-medicate with drugs of abuse, increasing their risk of drug addiction.
History of Trauma: Girls who have been physically or sexually abused are more likely to use drugs than those who were not abused in childhood.
Stress and Inability to Cope: Young women can have a tendency to internalize their reactions to stress. Stressful life events may include a death or illness in family or friends, parental divorce, changes in school or relationships, and moving from home to home. These things can make them turn to drug use.
Low Self-Esteem: Some women associate drinking, drug use, and smoking with being sexy, trendy, and cool.
*Social Pressures: Many young girls initiate drug use to fit in with their peers.
Other factors include lack of parent-child communication, academic pressures etc. I think the possible causes are varying from one young woman to another.
How can those who genuinely want to quit drug or cigarettes use food as rescue route?
As I earlier mentioned in one of the questions you asked, therapy is always the first line of action that I would recommend for anyone going through substance abuse.
Nutrition will come in play with some of the recommendations I already mentioned in the last two questions you asked. Food itself will not directly help a person quit drug use. It would help with improving nutritional status, mood, appetite, improvement in nerve functions which would in turn impact on their substance use and help them get better.
I would advise on general recommendations on here as the nutrition care plan for anyone who is having substance abuse is personalised so it’s best to always consult a nutritionist.
I would not advise on general recommendations.
Thank you very much Miss Onuorah for spending time with us. We are very grateful. And to members who kept glued to the discussions, a big thank you and you all have a great weekend.
This edition of e-Discourse, a weekly event organised by Platforms Africa, a forum created by award-winning African journalist, Adeola Yusuf, is moderated by Accra, Ghana-based veteran journalist, Francis KOKUTSE
