Many types of African food are naturally nutrient-packed and help to contribute to fighting or combating one disease or another.

Some of the most common are below. Here goes…

Legumes and Beans

These are an excellent source of protein. Beans and other legumes are excellent for good nutrition in general as a good source of resistant starch, fibre, plus other nutrients. Other than non-starchy vegetables, beans are regarded as one of the lowest glycemic sources of carbohydrates. That is, the starch in beans are slowly absorbed released, and therefore absorbed (low glycemic index – GI).

Canned beans, however, generally tend to raise blood sugar more than beans which you cook yourself. You’re always better of eating foods that you have prepared and cooked yourself, rather than processed food.

Yams

Yams are low in saturated fat and sodium. Vitamin C, dietary fibre and vitamin B6 are also present and promote good health.

They produce a good potassium-sodium balance in the human body, as they are high in potassium and low in sodium, protecting against osteoporosis and heart disease.

Yam will provide a more sustained form of energy, and give better protection against obesity and diabetes, as they have a lower glycemic index than potato.

They are an excellent source of complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are the types of carbohydrates that get broken down more slowly, and therefore released more slowly into glucose than simple carbohydrates. This helps to provide with stable energy over time or hours, as opposed sudden energy bursts which can cause your blood sugar to rise and drop suddenly.

When there’s too much sugar in the blood, it gets converted into fat and stored in the body. Thereby increasing the risks of obesity and diabetes, and other lifestyle diseases. Some other examples of foods that provide complex carbohydrates are beans, whole grains such as brown rice and brown bread, cassava, corn, oats and potatoes.

There are different ways of preparing yams. They could be made into pounded yam (iyan) and eating with leafy vegetables, made into yam powder (amala), or boiled. Take care not boil out the greatly beneficial nutrients in yams though! Avoid boiling in water. If you do, you lose the nutrients in the yams to the water you boil them in. You then throw the water away.

Word of caution. Yam is starchy, so do eat in moderation with lots of vegetables (like jute leaves – ewedu, okro), as you want your meals to be balanced. If you have healthy cookware that de-starches food, then do use that as it gets rid of the excess starch for you. The body stores excess starch in the body as sugar and fat.

Maize

Maize can be used as cornmeal or pap (ogi). Maize is an excellent type of African food. The high fiber content is an important characteristic linked to the nutritional benefits of corn. These benefits make it suitable for diets that are made to lose weight and those made with the aim of lowering cholesterol.

The traditional corn, like other cereals, also provides proteins, lipids and little water. Sweet corn is rich in fiber and minerals such as potassium, calcium and phosphorus. It’s also rich in carbohydrates, vitamins A, vitamin B and C.

Millet

Millets are rich in B vitamins, especially niacin, B6 and folic acid, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, potassium and it contains no gluten. Millets are particularly nutrient-dense.
Millets are used in preparing a type of African food known as Tuwo. Another food millet is used in preparing is oka baba (brown pap).

Melon seeds

Melon seeds are used in making egusi soup. They contain a high amount of poly-unsaturated fat which is good for your heart. Egusi can be prepared with spinach, kale or leek – which are all plant foods high in cancer-fighting compounds. You can begin to tell why certain diseases are not that rampant in Africa.

Okro

Okro is another type of vegetable that is very rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants help to neutralize free radicals in the body, and help to fight cancer. Okro is also known as Okra, and contains a variety of other healthy vitamins.

Jute Leaves (Ewedu)

Jute leaves are a type of leafy green vegetables. Jute leaves contain antioxidants which help to inhibit cancer cells.

Other Vegetables

Other African food vegetables like bitter leaves and water leaves fall in the leafy green vegetables category, which contain phytonutrients and other cancer-fighting compounds.

African food, however, tend to be cooked using lots of cooking oil and palm oil.

Added oils in cooking is mostly the cause of diabetic cases in Africans; and this is rising greatly by the day. Palm oil and palm kernel oil, though rich in great nutrients, contain a huge amount of saturated fat – the type that clogs your arteries and puts you at risk of heart disease and obesity.

Healthy cookware can help you cook these healthy foods in a healthy way without oil, thereby giving you maximum nutrition that you need for your body to perform its functions efficiently and also fight, prevent and reverse lifestyle diseases.