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Nutrition experts have listed some foods Nigerians must do away with in the new year to stay healthy and avoid coming down with non-communicable diseases and their associated life-threatening complications.
The nutritionists advised them to adopt a healthy diet, adding that living healthy should be prioritised by everyone across the country to boost productivity.
They noted that unhealthy diets predispose humans to several health risks, including cardiovascular diseases.
Some of the foods identified by the nutritionists that put humans at risk of these diseases include high intake of sugar, salts, fatty and processed foods, adding that Nigerians must reduce their consumption of foods in the listed categories.
Consuming too much sugar negatively impacts health, increases unhealthy weight gain, heightens the risk of diseases, high blood pressure, heart disease, damaged teeth, and causes dental caries, according to the World Health Organisation.
The global health body also said simple or free sugars compromise the nutrient quality of diets — by providing significant energy without essential nutrients.
According to the WHO, even fruit juices can have very high sugar content and should be consumed in moderation.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, a former President of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Prof. Wasiu Afolabi, said the intake of sugary things, and salty and processed foods predisposes humans to incurable diseases.
According to him, consumption of too much sugar and salt has been one of the major factors contributing to high blood pressure and other related diseases.
“The consumption of sugary, sweetened beverages should be reduced as much as possible. Salty diets and processed foods should be consumed in moderation if people cannot avoid them because these are foods that can increase the severity of diabetes and high blood pressure.
“People should avoid the consumption of foods that are fried severally using the same oil which also impacts what we call trans fatty acid into such foods that are indicated in the causation of metabolic syndromes such as high blood pressure, strokes and some form of cancers,” the don said.
The professor of Community Nutrition, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, said people who consume foods in those categories are at risk of cancer, diabetes, inflammation, and fatty liver disease.
He, however, said though any food could endanger humans, Nigerians should inculcate safety practices with foods meant for consumption.
“Well, when we say ‘killer’ foods, any food can kill really, particularly when they are not safe. So, people should pay particular attention to food safety practices right from the farm where farmers are growing the foods. The use of herbicides and pesticides should be guided by appropriate guidelines for farmers,” the don said.
According to him, even when foods are already harvested, during storage and preservation, the use of chemicals for preservation should also be taken seriously.
The nutritionist also urged Nigerians, particularly the consumers to practice safety procedures by ensuring proper storage and washing of their food items before eating or cooking.
Advising Nigerians on dietary changes, the expert said, “The people should embrace more plant foods, vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grain and cereals. Let’s reduce the consumption of highly refined foods.
“The people should reduce the portion of their carbohydrates diets and adopt more vegetables in their diets. We are not saying people shouldn’t consume their carbohydrates, but they should take more vegetables and reduce the portion of carbohydrates.”
Corroborating Afolabi’s position, a Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Beatrice Ogunba, urged Nigerians to replace junk foods with homemade foods for healthy living.
The maternal and child nutrition consultant also advised Nigerians to change cooking methods by reducing cooking oil usage. Aside from cooking oils, the don asked the citizens to replace frying meat and chicken with grilling.
“For a healthy life, we need to cut down on our sugar intake, salt, and fatty foods. Any food that is laden with that, we need to run from it. Junk foods; most of these fried foods like doughnuts, puff puff and so on are high in fat. Even in their production, they add fat to it and still fry it. I am not saying we shouldn’t eat it at all, we should cut down on it, but if we can avoid it completely, that is good too. As much as possible, we should also cut down our sugar intake. Also, it is not every food you cook with salt.
“We should take more homemade foods instead of processed foods. Most of the processed foods have lost some of their nutrients during the production process. Also, we should eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. We should take varieties and moderation in whatever we are eating,” the nutrition expert said.
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