As the saying goes, “you are what you eat.” Well, it seems we are eating ourselves to death! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
• One-third of U.S. adults are now considered obese (over 72 million people)
• 30% of children aged 2-19 are considered overweight or obese
• Diabetes affects 25.8 million people in the United States (8.3% of the population)
• About one out of three U.S. adults – 31.3% – has high blood pressure.
Americans are consuming too much fat, sugar and salt. Fast, processed and packaged foods may provide a lot of flavor and a lot of convenience, but not a lot of nutrition. Contrary to popular belief, though, eating healthy doesn’t mean giving up taste. You can find many good-for-you, appetizing foods – even outside of our borders.
African food, for example, is healthy, natural and delicious. African cooking incorporates a wide variety of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables. Common herbs and spices are rich in phytonutrients – plant compounds believed to promote good health. African cuisine also give us many of the so-called “super foods” – foods that may give you a nutritional boost, aid with weight loss and prevent chronic diseases. Try adding some of these super foods to your family’s meals:
BEANS
Beans come from legumes – flowering pods that split along their seams and yield edible seeds. Beans are an important food staple in most regions of Africa.
Health Benefits: Beans are a major source of protein and a good source of soluble fiber which lowers your cholesterol and stabilizes blood sugar. They’re great for heart health, too. Beans are also high in folate (folic acid) which can help protect against many health problems including heart disease and stroke.
Women in their child-bearing years and pregnant women are advised to take folate supplements and eat folate-rich foods to prevent birth defects and congenital disorders. Folic acid was shown to help people over 50 with short-term memory and cognitive function.
One cup of cooked kidney beans provides 230mcg of folate (58% of the daily value). A cup of black-eye peas (cowpeas) yield 210mcg of folate. To get more folic acid in your diet, try this tasty recipe:
Fool Medames – Egyptian Beans
1 pound dried small fava or pink beans
½ cup red lentils
3 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon cumin, ground
½ cup green onions, chopped
Lightly salted water
Salt and pepper to taste
Rinse dried beans and place them in a large saucepan, adding the lightly salted water to cover.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover.
Simmer over low heat 2½ hours.
When necessary, add more water to keep beans covered.
Add lentils and cover.
Simmer 30 minutes longer or until lentils and beans are tender and mixture is thick but not soupy.
Stir in lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, salt and freshly ground pepper.
Serve hot, sprinkling each serving with a portion of green onions.
LENTILS
Lentils are flat, round edible seeds generally used in soups and stews. They are also from the legume family of plants.
Health Benefits: Lentils are even higher in folate than kidney beans. A cup of cooked lentils yields a whopping 358mcg – 90% of the recommended daily value. Lentils are also loaded with fiber (63% DV per cup), protein (36% DV) and iron (37% DV).
PEANUTS
Although widely considered to be a nut, the peanut – or groundnut as it’s called in Africa – is another legume.
Health Benefits: Free of trans-fats and sodium, peanuts provide more than 30 essential nutrients and phytonutrients. They’re a good source of folate, fiber, magnesium, niacin, vitamin E, manganese and phosphorus.
PLANTAINS
Part of the banana family, plantains are commonly used as a vegetable in Africa, the Caribbean, the United States and many other parts of the world. Plantains cannot be eaten raw and are not sweet like dessert bananas, but they can be boiled, baked, steamed or fried into a delicious appetizer or starchy side dish.
Health Benefits: Plantains, much lower in sugar than bananas, are a good source of potassium and dietary fiber. With zero saturated fat and cholesterol, one cup of cooked, mashed plantain is a good source of nutrients. You get 36% daily value of both vitamin A and vitamin C, 27% potassium and 18% of your daily requirement of fiber.
POTATOES
The potato is a starchy, edible plant tuber and an important staple crop in Africa, the United States and much of the world.
Health Benefits: Potatoes are high in vitamin C and vitamin B6, and the minerals potassium, needed to regulate nerve and muscle function, and manganese, which helps build healthy bones. The fiber content of a medium potato (with skin) equals the fiber content of many whole grain breads and pastas. A medium potato will yield 15% of the daily value for protein.
SEAFOOD
Seafood is eaten in North and Southern Africa and the coastal areas of West Africa. Meats are also enjoyed in most regions of Africa. But meats are not the central focus of the meal as they are in the American diet.
Health Benefits: Fish and shellfish are rich sources of vitamin A, vitamin D, zinc and other nutrients. Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids in fish may aid in brain development in children and may protect adults from cardiovascular disease. Fatty fish, such as salmon, halibut, herring, even tuna, contain the most omega-3 fatty acids.
SWEET POTATOES
Sweet Potatoes are large, starchy, tuberous vegetables with sweet-tasting orange flesh.
Health Benefits: Low in sodium and saturated fat, sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin B6, and they’re a good source of dietary fiber and complex carbohydrates (carbohydrates that breakdown sugar more slowly and provide fiber).
WHOLE GRAINS
The Whole Grain Council uses the following definition: “whole grains or foods made from them contain all the essential parts and naturally-occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed.” This means the bran and germ are intact, making grains like wheat, millet, sorghum and teff, rich sources of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and protein.
Health Benefits: Millet, a small-seeded grain used in many African regions, is gluten-free and can substitute for wheat for sufferers of celiac disease.
Couscous, which is made from millet or semolina, is one of the healthiest grain-based products a person can eat, containing twice as much vitamin B6, folate, niacin and riboflavin as pasta. Consumed not only in Africa, couscous is a dietary staple in many countries including France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Turkey.
Similar to millet, teff is an important food grain in the Horn countries of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is high in iron, fiber, protein, calcium, magnesium and other important nutrients, and can also be part of a gluten-free diet. Teff is now being grown in the United States and can be easily purchased online from several vendors.
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommend that Americans consume at least half of all grains as whole grains – that’s at least 3 to 5 servings for adults, and 2 to 3 servings or more for children.
Information on the health aspects of African food is thin, at best. But there are some cookbooks available and a few specialty websites as well. There are also a few apps like “A Cook’s Tour of Africa,” which provides a lot of helpful information and great recipes.
SOURCES
CDC.gov — Obesity/Diabetes/High Blood Pressure Statistics
Dietary Guidelines for America — Health.gov
Nutritiondata.Self.com
WholeGrainsCouncil.org
Effect of folic acid on cognitive function in older adults
A Cook’s Tour