Staying Power

By FABIAN ODUM
Energy on the go! That is the end point of the digestion of all major foods we eat. Some release more of it than others and the situation in this season of skyrocketing price of rice, one of the main staples, is a case for concern. It means that our energy source is already dwindling with high prices keeping sufficient food out of rich. But the limitation of the decrease in calorie intake is that exercises will be restrained and the body may become prone to ailments.
It becomes important at this time to seek alternative to rice, given that local consumers are so much attached to this grain. In this respect, an inward look to foods like yam, cocoyam, acha, maize and maize-based products as energy source is desirable.
There are several local foods that make up for this as well and it is right to get them.
Drinks like kunu is okay too.

Energy utilisation
While food could be a high-priority item on your list of helpful changes to increase stamina, it could also be pretty far down the list, depending on your lifestyle and non-food factors.
The lifestyle and non-food factors include: our current level of fitness, the type of exercise you’re engaging in, and how accustomed your body is to this type of exercise. If you have not been exercising at all, or if you are not at all accustomed to a new type of exercise, increasing your exercise level very slowly can help you to build stamina.
From a dietary standpoint, our first thought would be to make sure that your diet is meeting all of your nutritional needs.
All types of exercise require energy in the form of calories. The number of calories and nutrients required to fuel physical activity depends on several factors including your age, your gender, your level of conditioning, and the intensity and duration of the activity.

Drinks option
Exercise also causes loss of water through sweating and respiration. Some of the water that is lost gets taken from the blood, which can reduce blood volume. If fluid is not replaced during and after exercise, serious dehydration can result, causing an increase in body temperature and impairing heart function. Drinking water is probably the best way to replace fluids.
However, some experts believe that it is also necessary to replace lost electrolytes.
Electrolytes are electrically charged substances that help our cells send and receive electrical impulses. Some electrolytes are minerals - including sodium, and potassium - that can be lost in substantial amounts when we sweat. (Other minerals can be lost through sweat as well, including the antioxidant mineral, zinc). While many different “electrolyte-replacement” sports drinks are available, you may not need to spend money on these expensive drinks to ensure adequate replacement of electrolytes.
In many cases, a well-balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables can provide an appropriate amount of these important minerals.
Additional reports from: WHfoods

Lycopene Against Cancer

Often diners miss out on the nutritional benefits derivable from tomato, perhaps, due to the common method of handling it – frying the puree. But FABIAN ODUM writes that the use of tomato ketchup provides an alternative, body nourishing ingredient, lycopene, an anti-cancer nutrient. RICH, red tomato and health have things in common. The string linking them is in the anti-cancer ingredient in tomato called lycopene. Lycopene, a carotenoid, is an anti-oxidant that helps the body to war against free radicals that can interfere with normal cell growth and activity, potentially leading to cancer, heart disease and premature ageing Instead of spending money buying anti-oxidants as food supplements, natural sources such as tomatoes could make a lot of difference. Ketchup, the processed and bottled tomato product, appeared in the local market some time ago but for one reason or the other, it failed. For this fact, an opportunity to drive this popular condiment into the menu of Nigerians suffered a serious setback. The product has now resurfaced as imported brands. Although a favorite in American kitchens, recent studies have shown that tomato ketchup (also known as catsup) can be a power tool in the war against cancer and heart disease. The recipe would disclose the inherent attributes that make this food a good item in our menu. BASICALLY, ketchup includes cooked and strained tomato, vinegar, sugar salt, onion or garlic flavour and spices such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cayenne. The old type ketchup used to be much thicker until the review of the standard in 1991. The Heinz Institute of Nutritional Sciences, a few years ago praised the tomato as a source of lycopene. Scientifically, it is known that one tablespoon of ketchup is just enough to make a bland meal of plain boiled yam come alive in the palate; it contains 16 calories and no fat. ON many meals like rice (jollof, fried or white), beans, dodo (Fried plantain) etc ketchup with its rich flavour derived from cinnamon, ginger, cloves as well as onion and vinegar transforms meals. The eye appeal of the product perhaps makes it a choice condiment for young people in the US. It holds no less attraction on our local dining tables. With regards to the storages of the products, still sealed, it can have a shelf life of one year. However, as usual with NAFDAC requirements and credible regulators the world over, the date of manufacture and expiration are usually indicated. Once opened, it can be stored in a cool environment, out of the sum for about a month. Refrigeration would extend the shelf life beyond one month once it is opened. Signs of fermentation indicate spoilage, change of taste and flavour. Such a product should be discarded. Take note that product will tend to darken due to exposure to direct sunlight. Tin or aluminum foil, as a wrapper for your bottle will take care of discoloration. Nowadays, ‘catsup’ and catchup are acceptable spellings used interchangeably with ‘ketchup’. Incidentally, there are workable recipes for making own ketchup at home as it presents an exciting way to present an it presents an exciting way to “tomato-up” meals at home. WFP Asks For $230M In Emergency Food Aid For Kenyans “The U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) last week appealed for more than $230 million to provide emergency food aid over the next six months for 3.8 million Kenyans affected by deepening drought and high food prices,” according to Reuters. The WFP reports that the main maize harvest is projected to be 28 percent below average and that “pasture and water for livestock is dwindling rapidly,” according to VOA news. The agency also says that malnutrition rates are increasing significantly. In some areas, more than 20 per cent of people are malnourished, “which is well above the emergency threshold of 15 per cent,” VOA news writes. Burkard Oberle, WFP Kenya country director, said that at least 260,000 metric tons of food are needed, IRIN reports. WFP is already distributing about 32,000 metric tons of food each month to 2.6 million people. In Kenya, food prices are currently between 100 and 130 per cent above normal, according to WFP spokeswoman Emilia Casella. “This is a country where obviously many people are buying the majority of their food and spending the majority of their salaries on food,” she said. Dealing With High-blood Pressure Nutrition experts at UT Southwestern Medical Center say there’s no better way to lower your blood pressure than by indulging in some of the season’s potassium-rich fruit and vegetables. “Melons like cantaloupe and watermelon are particularly high in potassium,” says a clinical nutrition expert at UT Southwestern and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “One fourth a cantaloupe contains 800 to 900 milligrams of potassium, roughly 20 per cent of the recommended daily value.” Two cups of watermelon contains nearly 10 per cent of the daily-recommended value. The report says dried apricots, avocados, figs, kiwi, oranges, raisins, dates, beans, potatoes, tomatoes and even grapefruit are other good sources of potassium. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that most adults get 4,044 milligrams of potassium from food and beverages each day. Smoking May Worsen Malnutrition In Developing Nations A new study finds that smokers in rural Indonesia finance their habit by dipping into the family food budget - which ultimately results in poorer nutrition for their children. The findings suggest that the costs of smoking in the developing world go well beyond the immediate health risks, according to authors Steven Block and Patrick Webb of Tufts University. The study is published in the October issue of Economic Development and Cultural Change. “This suggests that 70 percent of the expenditures on tobacco products are financed by a reduction in food expenditures,” the researchers write. That decreased spending on food appears to have real nutritional consequences for children of smokers. The study found that smokers’ children tend to be slightly shorter for their ages than the children of non-smokers. Health researchers often use height as a general barometer for nutrition in children. The poorer nutrition in smoking families comes not only because they buy less food in total, but also because the food they buy tends to be of lower quality. The surveys show that, compared to non-smoking families, families with a smoker spend a larger budget share on rice and a smaller share on meats, fruits and vegetables, which are nutrient-rich, but more expensive. The combination of direct health threats from smoking coupled with the potential loss of food consumption among children linked to tobacco expenditure presents a development challenge of the highest order,” the researchers conclude. Educating AIDS Patients About Food Safety Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health have received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to educate AIDS patients on food safety. The three-year, $600,000 award will be used to develop a better way to disseminate information to AIDS patients who are at high risk of developing infections from the foods they eat. Nearly half a million people in the United States are living with AIDS, and the number is increasing. AIDS patients whose immune systems have been severely suppressed by the HIV virus to a T-cell count below 200 cells per micro-litre are at risk of developing life-threatening infections from food-borne illnesses. In addition to their compromised immune systems, people with AIDS may have low stomach acid, which is the first barrier against germs, said Dr. Mark Dworkin, UIC associate professor of epidemiology and principal investigator of the study. Stomach acid normally kills most of the germs that enter the body through the mouth. For example, such patients can become infected with salmonella bacteria from eating fresh fruits and vegetables that are not washed properly.

Lycopene Against Cancer

Often diners miss out on the nutritional benefits derivable from tomato, perhaps, due to the common method of handling it – frying the puree. But FABIAN ODUM writes that the use of tomato ketchup provides an alternative, body nourishing ingredient, lycopene, an anti-cancer nutrient.


RICH, red tomato and health have things in common. The string linking them is in the anti-cancer ingredient in tomato called lycopene.
Lycopene, a carotenoid, is an anti-oxidant that helps the body to war against free radicals that can interfere with normal cell growth and activity, potentially leading to cancer, heart disease and premature ageing
Instead of spending money buying anti-oxidants as food supplements, natural sources such as tomatoes could make a lot of difference.
Ketchup, the processed and bottled tomato product, appeared in the local market some time ago but for one reason or the other, it failed. For this fact, an opportunity to drive this popular condiment into the menu of Nigerians suffered a serious setback. The product has now resurfaced as imported brands.
Although a favorite in American kitchens, recent studies have shown that tomato ketchup (also known as catsup) can be a power tool in the war against cancer and heart disease.
The recipe would disclose the inherent attributes that make this food a good item in our menu.

BASICALLY, ketchup includes cooked and strained tomato, vinegar, sugar salt, onion or garlic flavour and spices such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cayenne.
The old type ketchup used to be much thicker until the review of the standard in 1991. The Heinz Institute of Nutritional Sciences, a few years ago praised the tomato as a source of lycopene.
Scientifically, it is known that one tablespoon of ketchup is just enough to make a bland meal of plain boiled yam come alive in the palate; it contains 16 calories and no fat.

ON many meals like rice (jollof, fried or white), beans, dodo (Fried plantain) etc ketchup with its rich flavour derived from cinnamon, ginger, cloves as well as onion and vinegar transforms meals.
The eye appeal of the product perhaps makes it a choice condiment for young people in the US. It holds no less attraction on our local dining tables.
With regards to the storages of the products, still sealed, it can have a shelf life of one year.
However, as usual with NAFDAC requirements and credible regulators the world over, the date of manufacture and expiration are usually indicated. Once opened, it can be stored in a cool environment, out of the sum for about a month. Refrigeration would extend the shelf life beyond one month once it is opened.
Signs of fermentation indicate spoilage, change of taste and flavour. Such a product should be discarded.
Take note that product will tend to darken due to exposure to direct sunlight. Tin or aluminum foil, as a wrapper for your bottle will take care of discoloration.
Nowadays, ‘catsup’ and catchup are acceptable spellings used interchangeably with ‘ketchup’.
Incidentally, there are workable recipes for making own ketchup at home as it presents an exciting way to present an it presents an exciting way to “tomato-up” meals at home.







WFP Asks For $230M In Emergency Food Aid For Kenyans
“The U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) last week appealed for more than $230 million to provide emergency food aid over the next six months for 3.8 million Kenyans affected by deepening drought and high food prices,” according to Reuters.
The WFP reports that the main maize harvest is projected to be 28 percent below average and that “pasture and water for livestock is dwindling rapidly,” according to VOA news. The agency also says that malnutrition rates are increasing significantly. In some areas, more than 20 per cent of people are malnourished, “which is well above the emergency threshold of 15 per cent,” VOA news writes.
Burkard Oberle, WFP Kenya country director, said that at least 260,000 metric tons of food are needed, IRIN reports. WFP is already distributing about 32,000 metric tons of food each month to 2.6 million people.
In Kenya, food prices are currently between 100 and 130 per cent above normal, according to WFP spokeswoman Emilia Casella. “This is a country where obviously many people are buying the majority of their food and spending the majority of their salaries on food,” she said.

Dealing With High-blood Pressure
Nutrition experts at UT Southwestern Medical Center say there’s no better way to lower your blood pressure than by indulging in some of the season’s potassium-rich fruit and vegetables.
“Melons like cantaloupe and watermelon are particularly high in potassium,” says a clinical nutrition expert at UT Southwestern and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “One fourth a cantaloupe contains 800 to 900 milligrams of potassium, roughly 20 per cent of the recommended daily value.”
Two cups of watermelon contains nearly 10 per cent of the daily-recommended value.
The report says dried apricots, avocados, figs, kiwi, oranges, raisins, dates, beans, potatoes, tomatoes and even grapefruit are other good sources of potassium.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that most adults get 4,044 milligrams of potassium from food and beverages each day.

Smoking May Worsen Malnutrition In Developing Nations

A new study finds that smokers in rural Indonesia finance their habit by dipping into the family food budget - which ultimately results in poorer nutrition for their children. The findings suggest that the costs of smoking in the developing world go well beyond the immediate health risks, according to authors Steven Block and Patrick Webb of Tufts University.
The study is published in the October issue of Economic Development and Cultural Change.
“This suggests that 70 percent of the expenditures on tobacco products are financed by a reduction in food expenditures,” the researchers write.
That decreased spending on food appears to have real nutritional consequences for children of smokers. The study found that smokers’ children tend to be slightly shorter for their ages than the children of non-smokers. Health researchers often use height as a general barometer for nutrition in children.
The poorer nutrition in smoking families comes not only because they buy less food in total, but also because the food they buy tends to be of lower quality. The surveys show that, compared to non-smoking families, families with a smoker spend a larger budget share on rice and a smaller share on meats, fruits and vegetables, which are nutrient-rich, but more expensive.
The combination of direct health threats from smoking coupled with the potential loss of food consumption among children linked to tobacco expenditure presents a development challenge of the highest order,” the researchers conclude.

Educating AIDS Patients About Food Safety

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health have received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to educate AIDS patients on food safety.
The three-year, $600,000 award will be used to develop a better way to disseminate information to AIDS patients who are at high risk of developing infections from the foods they eat.
Nearly half a million people in the United States are living with AIDS, and the number is increasing.
AIDS patients whose immune systems have been severely suppressed by the HIV virus to a T-cell count below 200 cells per micro-litre are at risk of developing life-threatening infections from food-borne illnesses.
In addition to their compromised immune systems, people with AIDS may have low stomach acid, which is the first barrier against germs, said Dr. Mark Dworkin, UIC associate professor of epidemiology and principal investigator of the study. Stomach acid normally kills most of the germs that enter the body through the mouth. For example, such patients can become infected with salmonella bacteria from eating fresh fruits and vegetables that are not washed properly.

Pulpy Munch

By Fabian Odum
Guava is gradually slipping off the season but make it a duty to get some anytime you come across it. Some may not like it as a fruit but the health benefit is compelling enough to snack on it and serve guests at mealtimes. It remains a pleasurable after-meal bite or part of a fruit snack in spite of the hard little seeds embedded in the fruit. Fortunately, some improved variety though not common, is available. This affords those averse to the seeds the opportunity to have a mouthful of pulpy flesh to the bargain.

Nutritional benefits A tropical fruit, guava has served to enrich the diet of people in several ways. Like the tomato, it is a good source of lycopene, a nutrient that has the reputation of being an anti-cancer compound. It has anti-oxidants that help the body war against free radicals that can interfere with normal cell growth and activity potentially leading to cancer, heart disease and premature ageing. For a moment, the money spent for anti-oxidants from the pharmacy could be directed to stocking guava (although its storing ability is poor).

Fibre, vitamins It is also a good source of soluble fibre and vitamin C, a proven aid to fighting cold and scurvy. Current research suggests that consumption of the fruit may reduce the ‘bad’ serum cholesterol. This is good news to health and heart watchers as bad cholesterol ultimately translates to negative heart condition.

Vitamin C It may be in the mind of consumers that orange has a higher vitamin C content than guava but to the contrary, one medium size fresh guava has 165milligram vitamin C. Eating only a third of it offers the daily body requirement. For oranges you need to eat one whole to achieve what a third of guava gives.

Staphylococcus Another benefit attributed to the fruit is its ability to fight against the microorganisms implicated in staphylococcus auerus infection. This disease has been reported to affect man in several ways -- bowel disorder, negative impact on fertility and related conditions.

Storage Ripe guava bruises easily and highly perishable and may not be suitable for consumption on the third day. Though refrigeration can be helpful in the storage, it can only last for 2-3 days when the firmness and the texture (as well as the flavour) begin to change.

Tea in the street

By Fabian Odum
For the average person in this tropical climate where temperatures, even in the season of rain, could hit as high as 30 degrees Celsius, on a sunny day even along the coastline, it is easy to feel cold on a rainy day.
In times like this, tea drinking has become a culture across the country. Though tea drinking appears to have been dropped on us by the British, tea leaves are primarily a product of tropical countries where it is grown – Kenya, Mambilla Plateau or Sri Lanka in Asia.
Take a walk down the streets of Jos, Kano, Onitsha or Lagos, you will see a preponderance of the popular ‘Mai Tea,’ with an array of the usual paraphernalia for brewing – kerosene stove, aluminum kettles or pots, set of tables for the ‘seating committee’ patrons. The long form helps drinkers sit back to back, intertwined like the intricate basket in times when the place overflows with people.
An assortment of bread, with or without brand names, is usually arranged like a block work of a building foundation while the tins of milk take the shape of a pyramid. All other ingredients need find their place in the centre of the table — spoons, cans of granulated sugar, crates of egg and tins of canned fish.
For the teashop, this is a place where the tea producing companies battle for attention as all the brands show up; it may be the round, square, triangular bags as well as the free-flowing leaves in boxes.
The pot of boiling water is almost perpetually on fire to give the best service to those who want their cup of tea really hot.
Irrespective of the windcheaters, sweaters or babanrigas as worn by some patrons, it is more like an all-men affair.
Women are more discrete; they show up once in a while but the case in some cultures. At the household level, tea drinking is a family matter and where bread and spread (margarine) or eggs are in involved, the kids have a field day.
Benefits
Tea, nutritionally, has its own functions as stimulant that can improve blood flow among several other good points. Studies have shown that drinking certain teas does indeed reduce the signs of aging. Some teas have also shown the capability to energize drinkers and boost agility due to the presence of caffeine.
The tendency for some teas to help burn calories faster, and thus reduce weight has been known and could be referred to as slimming teas.
Mannerism
Mannerism at tea drinking is another issue; sipping hot tea from the cup with a guttural sound is heavily abhorred in some circles. The table manner is that the sip is done quietly without any sound. If it is too hot, stirring with a teaspoon is the civilized thing to do instead of blowing it with the mouth to cool it.
Teaspoons are left in the saucer and never in the teacup when taking a sip of the tea. The use of milk is a trend that developed much later than the tea drinking itself. Tea was usually a drink so pure and clean, perhaps with little or no sugar. That has all changed now!

Flesh For Hearts

By Fabian Odum
There is every need to watch the heart; it is the livewire of life and the blood pump station. The type of meat you eat determines the amount of care you give your heart – white or red.
Consuming tons of flesh is just appropriate for a nation that is behind in the recommended daily protein intake. However, there are cities and towns where more meat is eaten than others; the same goes for individuals.
In an age when people are becoming conscious of their diets and the impact of saturated fats on the arteries and overall cardiac health, there has been a shift from eating more red meat to eating white variety.
Nutritionists have shown that red meat with its attendant higher fat is not as healthy as white meat. Chicken, turkey, rabbit and fish are sources of white meat. The component myoglobin is a storehouse of iron atoms, which reacts with oxygen to provide a whole lot of energy to the muscular structures as well as provide energy to the animal for its activities. Chickens and turkeys as also rabbits, do not require so much of energy as such and are able to do with short bursts of energy from the stored glycogen in the muscles.
Other bigger animals that come under ‘red meat’ need more energy and support and thus have more of inbuilt myoglobin. The difference in the proportion of myoglobin is what sets the two meats apart.
With chicken, care should be taken to skin the animal as this part contains a heavy amount of fat; this is not nutritionally healthy. Deep-frying the meat will cause you to return to what you were trying to eliminate; the meat will pick up.
Saturated fat taken into the body do clog the arteries on the long run, impeding blood flow and raising blood pressure consequently.

Blood Builder

BY FABIAN ODUM

Too many people tend to lean on the usual drugs – blood tonic and iron-containing capsules, among others when it comes to replenishing of the blood level in the body. While not condemning it or doubting the efficacy of these remedies, the employment of leaves (vegetables) will remain relevant for as long as man lives. The vegetable of importance here is the leaf of the fluted pumpkin with the botanical name, Telfairia occidentalis. Ugu (Igbo), Iroko (Yoruba), and Ubon (Efik) are some of the local names given to this highly popular vegetable that has taken the pride of place in replenishing of blood in many homes. It is a blood builder and even the seed has been found to contribute to doing justice to the blood. Ugu has undergone scientific researches in some Nigerian research institutions and its effectiveness as a blood tonic has been proved and confirmed. The plant has been known to boost blood levels up to 90 per cent within a short time. Its effect, according to reports, is rapid and does not have any negative effect either on the short or long term. The University of Ilorin arm of the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology and Biochemistry established the haematological activity of the leaves of Telfairia occidentalis in animals. Cases have been reported of patients who resorted to the use of this leaves when they needed blood transfusion. In most of the cases, their blood levels were restored in three weeks of use. Other benefits The use of herbs and herbal products has been on the increase lately that consumers are seeking products that leave little or no side effects in the treatment of disease. Even in developed economies of the world like the US, herbal products can be found on the shelves of supermarkets in various dosage forms – tablets, creams, ointments, syrup, etc. In the country, herbal preparations or direct consumption of vegetables and fruits is commonplace due to a number of factors like: • high incidence of fake, substandard adulterated drugs • slow and non-response of some diseases to current drugs • high cost of drugs and • high poverty level. Due to its use, it is known to contain protein, fat, carbohydrates, calcium, iron, Vitamin A, B2, B5, B12 and thiamine. It is found useful in the treatment of anaemia, used as tonic and can expressed as juice and consumed as such. The leaves can be used to prepare savory yam or potato pottage, as side dish in several meals and in preparation of local Nigerian soups like egusi, okra, ogbono and vegetable.