Food Habits that can save you from Heart Attack

The GDA with Ado-Odo Ota Prince, Omo Oba Damilare Oloyede takes their meal at a social event in Abeokuta

All
the foods we eat consist mainly of three
types:
carbohydrates, proteins, and fat.  This is not to deny the
importance of vitamins and mineral salts but for the purpose of this
discussion, we will limit our discussions to the first three.


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Shredded beef could make a good health filler
Carbohydrates are the foods that
provide energy for most of the activities of the body, including all physical
and mental activities. The body therefore needs more carbohydrates than any
other food type.  You can say that
carbohydrates are the most important food type and they are the commonest and
cheapest.  This is probably nature’s way
to ensure that the all important carbohydrates are plentifully and easily
available.  The food stuffs that contain
more of carbohydrates include cassava,
yam, grains like rice and corn,
plantains and potatoes.  They constitute
the staple food for most Nigerians.

Shrimp Stew does lots of good to your heart

Proteins are the foods that
are used primarily for regeneration of new tissues, so they are needed for
growth in children and for repair of worn out or damaged tissues in both adults
and children.  Proteins are obtained
mainly from animal sources, such as meat, fish, eggs, chicken, and milk.  You can easily observe that protein-rich
foods are generally scarce and more expensive. People tend to value protein
foods more and those who can afford it often eat a lot of them.  Certain vegetable foodstuffs, such as the
beans family, are also a good source of protein.

Some Big Babes having their meal at a social event

Fat is mainly in the
form of oils and like carbohydrates, it is a source of energy.  The same amount of fat produces more than two
times the amount of energy than carbohydrates. 
One gram of fat produces over nine calories while the same amount of carbohydrates
or proteins produces only four calories. 
There are both animal as well as vegetable sources of fat.
Although
we talk of a particular foodstuff being a source of carbohydrates, protein or
fat, most foodstuffs usually contain some of each of the three food types.
Hardly any food stuff contains only one food type; it is therefore a matter of
a particular food stuff being mainly a source of one food type or another.  That is, when we talk of sources of food
types, it is a matter of a particular foodstuff containing more or carbohydrates,
proteins or fat, hardly anyone contains only a particular food type.

Some Party fun seekers after their meal

Although
we have discussed the functions of each food type in the body, it should be
noted that all food types can be converted to glucose or sugar, which
is the end product of carbohydrates.  Glucose is the form in which sugar is
used to provide energy in the body.  Any
glucose in excess of what the body needs is usually changed to fat for storage
in different parts of the body.  The body
cannot store proteins; proteins consumed in excess of the individual’s daily
requirements are normally converted into glucose for energy or fat for storage.
Therefore, proteins consumed in excess of the body daily requirements are
ultimately changed to fat.

Corn Stew also good for your hear with a bit of red wine

You
can see therefore that any food type that is eaten in excess of body requirements
will end up as fat to be stored somewhere in the body.  So, whether you consume only the highly
valued expensive protein foods or cheap carbohydrates, once you eat more than
what your body needs, you will end up being overweight or obese.  It is particularly dangerous to put on extra
weight from animal protein sources, as later explained in the next section.

Basmati Rice good for your heart with little Dodo


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(From the Book; “Early and Sudden Death; the Price of
Affluent
among Nigerians”. Read
“Overweight & the Science of Heart Attack” tomorrow on Asabeafrika)