Food is a major part of the African culture, and is right at the centre of it. Common African food types are grown on African’s naturally fertile and rich soil.

Some common groups of African food are listed below.

Plantain

Plantain looks like bananas, except that they are bigger and longer. Plantain can be eaten raw when ripe, or cooked, roasted or fried, both when ripe and green. It would be nice to sometimes replaced fried plantain with roasted or boiled plantain to reduce the amount of oil you would be consuming. It can pose serious health risks easily over time.

African Meat

Meats are a major part of an African diet. Although meats contain a lot of saturated fat, the animals are not usually injected with substances. They are mostly grazed and reared in the fields and get fed natural grass or foods.

African Fish

Fresh fish and dried fish are also mostly added one way or another into African food recipes. Fish contains natural fish oils that are good for your heart and brain, because they contain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Fish in Africa is also generally organically raised, so are healthier versions than those raised in more westernized regions.

Nuts

Nuts are healthy and contain a high amount of unsaturated fat. These are the sort of fats you want to be eating because they are good for you. Peanuts (groundnuts) and cashew nuts are common African foods that make heart healthy eating.

Although they are healthy for you and your heart, you should be careful with the amounts you’re consuming if you’re trying to lose weight or do not want to put on weight. This is because they can contribute to weight gain from fat content.

They can be eaten raw or roasted, but be careful not to overcook them as you can easily lose nutrients in them through overcooking. Some evidence based researches suggest that eating 1.5 ounces per day of mostly nuts, including peanuts as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Peanuts

Peanuts provide an abundance of different essential nutrients, antioxidants and phytonutrients. Antioxidants and phytonutrients help to combat and fight cancer cells. So they are great for you.

Peanuts are a good source of niacin, folate, fibre, magnesium, vitamin E, manganese and phosphorus. They also contain about 25% protein, which is a higher proportion than in any true nut, and they are also naturally free of trans fats and sodium. Trans fats (as well as saturated fats) are the types of fats that clog up your arteries to cause reduction of blood supply to the heart.

Other Major Foods

Pepper soups are also are common African delicacies. They are usually made with chilli peppers, tomatoes and onions, with fish or meat.
Africans tend to overcook food unconsciously as part of their inherited lifestyles.

Healthy Cooking

Any types of food overcooked, be it African food or any other type of food would have lost nutrients and will no longer be ‘live’. In other words, it becomes dead food.

So you must take care to learn how to retain nutrients in your meals while cooking and preparing them. That, is the secret of looking, feeling better, living longer, and prevent and reversing many lifestyle diseases.

African food can be cooked in much healthier ways. You can continue to eat what you like to eat, but make some slight changes in preparation and cooking methods that will greatly enhance your health and lifestyle positively.