Health benefits of Nigerian traditional diets(2)

Food & Beverages

First and foremost, let me fully appreciate the positive feedback messages from many of our esteemed readers who are eager to know much more about the nutritional benefits of our local diets. Certainly, many of our ancestors had some vital knowledge about the health impact of the food they prepared and consumed on regular basis. So, based on popular demand more information is hereby provided as a follow up to the earlier one published here.

Health Benefits of FURA DA NONO

Millet (fura) helps to reduce the effects of migraines and heart attacks due to the presence of magnesium. Millet (fura) helps in fat metabolism, repair body tissue and provide energy in the body.

Vitamin B3 in millet (fura) helps to lower cholesterol levels. Nono (milk) yogurts have power boosting protein and bone building calcium. Nono is an excellent probiotic which help crowd out harmful micro organisms that can cause intestinal infections. The alkaline nature of fura da nono helps to promote digestion and prevent constipation.

Public Health Concern for Consuming Fura da Nono

Although fura da nono in itself have no recorded side effects, hygiene is a public health issue to consider. When it comes to fura da nono, it is can be common for individuals to develop typhoid fever after consuming a poor hygienically prepared fura da nono contaminated with salmonella typhi.

Other micro-organisms such as Escherichia Coli and campylobacter can also contaminate nono during the milking process. The most common source of contamination comes from faeces and other intestinal contents.

It is advisable that an individual should ascertain the hygiene conditions of the fura da nono vendors before buying and consuming the delicacy.

What is ZOBO DRINK?

Scientific Name( s): Hibiscus sabdariffa L. Family: Malvaceae (mallows)

Common Name(s):theroselle is known as the rosella or rosella fruit in Australia. It is also known as in Senegal, Guinea Bssau, Mali, Burkinafaso, Ghana, Benin and Niger, Réunion, the Congo and France, dah or dah bleni in other parts of Mali, wonjo in the Gambia.

Zobo in western Nigeria ( the Yorubas in Nigeria call the white variety

Isapa (pronounced Ishapa)), Zoborodo in Northern Nigeria,

Zobo has a unique taste that makes it pleasurable to all classes of people. In Nigeria and Senegal, Zobo is served cold, while it’s served warm in Egypt. It is a sharp tasting herbal infusion taken as tea or juice. The flower is also used in making wine, juice, tea and spices. It can also be used in preparing raw salad. Serve chilled with snacks.

Roselle (Hibiscus) has been used in folk medicine as a diuretic and mild laxative, as well as in treating cancer and cardiac and nerve diseases. Although information is limited, the potential for hibiscus use in treating hypertension and cancer, as well as for its lipid-lowering and renal effects, are being investigated.

Although roselle is being studied, it hasn’t yet been proven to have the healing powers of bael fruit. It is high in calcium, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin C and iron, as seen on this Purdue University page. And the beverages have no caffeine. In East Africa, “Sudan tea” is consumed as medicine to cure coughs. In Guatamala, roselle is believed to cure hangovers. In Senegal, a roselle extract is said to lower blood pressure. In India, Africa and Central America, infusions made from roselle calyces or seeds are prescribed as a diuretic, to stimulate bile production and to treat fever.

Ingredients

2 cups dried hibiscus flowers 5 cups water, ½ bunch pineapple, 2 tbs vanilla extract, ¼ cup sugar, 1 ½ tbs grated ginger

Preparations

Lightly rinse the hibiscus flowers in cold water.

Wash the pineapple and peel the skin (though some prefer to cook it with the skin). Slice and set aside.

Add the water in a pot and bring to a boiling point. As soon as it starts boiling, add the rinsed flowers, ginger and pineapple.

Cover and boil for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow cooling for 5 minutes.

Using a large bowl, put a paper towel inside a sieve, then drain the mixture (be sure flowers don’t go inside the bowl, and if possibly sieve).

Pour the drained mixture into a pitcher. Add additional water if desired and vanilla extract. Taste to gauge the level of sweetness before adding sugar.

Stir and refrigerate. Best served chilled.

Health Benefits of ZOBO DRINK

1. Thirst

Hibiscus tea can be drunk hot or cold. As iced tea, the infusion is known to satiate thirst quite effectively. It is often recommended as an alternative to artificially made commercial “sport drinks” that are marketed to physically active individuals. Hibiscus tea’s ability to cool the body is well documented by cultures that include it in their diet or medicinal practices. This benefit is probably associated with the diuretic properties of hibiscus, a property that helps in the excretion of excess fluids from the body.

2. High Blood Pressure

The antihypertensive properties of hibiscus tea were noted by a study in which 70 people were involved; half of them drank hibiscus tea once daily and the other half took 25 mg of antihypertensive medicine twice daily. After a month, 79 percent of the tea drinkers experienced a ten point reduction in blood pressure, 84 percent of the ones that took pharmaceutical medicine also experienced the same reduction in blood pressure. Hibiscus is an antioxidant. It has properties that prevents the oxidation of lowdensity lipoproteins; a substance in our blood that if increased beyond normal quantities may cause high blood pressure.

3. Weight Loss

Some tea drinkers use hibiscus tea to aid in weight loss. The body produces an enzyme known as amylase which functions to break down complex sugar and starch molecules in food. When a person consumes too much carbohydrate-rich food (full of sugar and starch) that individual is most likely going to gain weight. According to pubmed.gov, hibiscus contains a substance that can inhibit the production of amylase. A person regularly drinking hibiscus tea can thus prevent too much absorption of carbohydrates and consequently not gain excess weight.

4. Cough and Colds

According to the book “Healing Herbal Teas,” fresh hibiscus flowers contain around 6.7 mg of ascorbic acid, a form of vitamin C, which is one of the more essential nutrients needed by the body. Along with this significantly beneficial substance, hibiscus is known to have anti-inflammatory and mild anti-bacterial properties.