Lifestyle

Eat Right or Die Fast – Making Food Your Medicine

January 13, 2024 1682

Lately every health conscious person is making food their medicine. Why is that you might be pondering, well let us find out.

We know that many nutrients in food promote health and protect our bodies from disease. Eating whole, nutritious meals is vital to good health and is akin to taking supplements rich in vitamins and minerals. Nutritious foods, including vegetables, fruits, beans, and grains, boast numerous beneficial compounds, such as antioxidants.

Antioxidants protect cells from damage that may otherwise lead to disease [ 5-9Trusted Source]. In fact, studies demonstrate that people whose diets are rich in polyphenol antioxidants have lower rates of depression, diabetes, dementia, and heart disease.

Protein and healthy fats are good for the body. Amino acids which are the building blocks of protein aid immune function, muscle synthesis, metabolism and growth while fats provide fuel and help absorb nutrients. Omega-3 fatty acids found in foods like fatty fish regulate inflammation and are linked to improved heart and immune health. Whole, nutritious foods boast vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, protein, and fat, all of which promote health and are key to optimal bodily function.

It is now obvious to many that diet plays an important role in their health and wellbeing. The social media is agog with people testifying to the fact that the secret to longevity and good health is tied to what they eat and drink. Eating nutritious food has been proven over time to have the power to complement conventional treatments for most diseases. The right diet we all know play an incredible role in weight control, energy and mood and most importantly saves lives.

Now let us look at the genesis of the idea of ‘food as medicine’. It is a movement that started in the 1980s with its roots in the HIV pandemic when public health advocates launched nutrition programs to aid management of AIDS. The right nutrition affected the progress of persons living with AIDS incredibly. Over time many people adopted that best practice and changed their eating styles and habits as it influenced recovery from sickness, prevented diseases, influenced quality of life and enhanced longevity.

According to the founder and CEO of Diet ID and past president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine , “We have known for literally decades that 80 percent of all chronic disease and premature death that happens in the world around us is completely preventable just by routine physical activity, not smoking, and eating optimally. The only complicated variable in that is eating optimally,” If diseases and un-timely death can be prevented it beholds any wise person to eat healthy. It is therefore never too late to start getting your food right.

Now is the right time to take stock of what you like eating. The question to ask is if I continue eating this way will it lead to chronic disease or will I live healthy avoiding all manner of health issues. If you junk and pay no attention to balanced meals, it is yet again time to have a rethink.

As a social development worker programming in the areas of communicable and Non communicable diseases such as HIV, TB, Diabetes, Hepatitis etc for the past 20 years, it is troubling to see the high rise of non-communicable diseases [NCDs] in Nigeria and other parts of the world too. Lately it appears that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is fast overtaking that of infectious diseases with the burden on people overwhelming as most NCD care is paid for through out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses, thus causing financial strain on those without insurance.

The thing is that people can avoid being sick by what they eat. I think it is the right time for everyone to begin to eat right so they can be healthy and live longer. The question ought to be, what should one eat to keep healthy. The answer to this question determines if you live or die. Do you know that each year poor nutrition is responsible for 11 million global deaths from ailments such as cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in April 2019 in the Lancet.

Meanwhile, in the United States, there is an estimated 900 deaths per day from heart disease, stroke or type 2 diabetes and these deaths could be the result of poor diet according to a study analyzing the association of diet and heart-metabolic linked death-metabolic linked deaths published in march 2017 in the journal of the American Medical Association. Young, Black, Hispanic, and relatively less-educated people are more likely to die due to poor diet, the authors wrote.

Commemorating the World Food Day the 16^th of October 2023 a coalition of CSOs comprising of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), decried the increasing fatalities arising from unhealthy consumption of junk foods, saying that 500,000 persons die annually across the globe. The theme for 2023 World Food Day is “Our Actions are Our Future – Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life,’’. What brilliant theme, calling people to action by producing and eating quality organic food so they can live healthy.

There are many diet plans to help people eat healthy. Some are planned to facilitate faster healing process for certain diseases, some for weight loss and others for a healthy lifestyle and good health. Certain diet plans are scientifically supported to help prevent many chronic diseases just like the heart-healthy DASH diet, which has been shown to lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol, per the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Dr. Katz cites the plant-based Portfolio diet, which when combined with a low-fat regimen has been shown to lower potentially harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and lower cardiovascular disease risk, according to a review published in the May-June 2018 issue of Progress in cardiovascular Disease.

There is also the soft diet. Healthcare providers commonly prescribe these diets to people with certain medical conditions or who are recovering from surgery. A soft food diet is often recommended to help people heal after surgery or an illness. This diet consists of easily digestible foods instead of tough or spicy options. Soft food diets are used in many settings, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, and in the home. This diet plan is usually followed for few days to few weeks and in some situations few months. But the thing is, whether we are eating for weight loss or for quick recovery from sickness, we must be mindful of what we consume as prevention is better than managing poor feeding induced sicknesses.

Healthy eating concept

The then minister of Health Professor Isaac Adewale Presenting the keynote address in Lagos, during the First Annual Black Tie Gala event organised by the Tristate Heart Foundation (THF), to raise N500 million in support of cardiovascular care in Nigeria, observed that unhealthy diets contribute significantly to the development of NCDs in Nigeria. He said that ..”too many Nigerians are dying of unhealthy diet even as he cautioned that the economic loss from Non Communicable Diseases, NCDs, such as stroke, High Blood Pressure (hypertension), heart attack, and diabetes among others, could rise to a projected US$8 billion over the next 10 years in the country”.

Adewole also said that hypertension is the leading cardiovascular disease in Nigeria and can result in stroke if untreated and that 1 in 5 Nigerians are hypertensive and at risk of premature death, with the cause being poor consumption of unhealthy meals. He talked about the widespread low consumption of proteins, fruits and vegetables and increasing patronage of fast food outlets by the population. He was also concerned about the promotion of sweetened products such as carbonated drinks, pastries, candies and other refined sugars and the excessive intake of salt promoted by food additives such as monosodium glutamate common in delicacies such as suya, kilisi, isi-ewu, ngwo-ngwo, among others.

Continuing he pointed out that the characteristics of a poor diet include consuming too much sodium, meat (especially the red or processed variety), and sugar-sweetened beverages, or not eating enough fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains, polyunsaturated fats, and seafood-based omega-3 fatty acids. Warning against poor feeding habit and the consequences, he remarked that current estimates, show that death rate from stroke is 40-50 per cent within the first three months of diagnoses, while 39 per cent of those who survived stroke after three months died within a year, with 12 per cent developing severe disability. “I can say without fear of contradiction that at least five out of 10 adults seated here tonight have elevated blood pressure and more than half of these people are not aware of their situation. “This is frightening because the dire consequence of neglected hypertension is stroke without warning. Unless we take drastic and sustained actions, we will keep counting losses”.

Well you have heard it from the mouth of a man heading the health section of the Nation Nigeria. This and the many evidence of health challenges people are going through lately should sway you to a healthier lifestyle. I will continue with tips on what to eat and not eat in the next post as this article seems to be along one.

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