How To Create A Well Balanced Diet With Nigerian Food

Many of us must have been taught in school that Balanced diet consists of the 6 important classes of food namely, Protein, Carbohydrate, Healthy fats and oil, Minerals, Vitamins and water but the question is can you create a properly balanced diet with Nigerian Food?

If you didn’t know how to go about it, kindly see how to create a well-balanced meal with Nigerian food.

Balanced Diet With Nigerian Food - Carbohydrate

1. Carbohydrate

Carbohydrate gives energy, store energy and build macromolecules that are needed in the body to function well.

Major consumable Nigerian food that is rich in carbohydrates includes Rice, Yam, Wheat, Maize, Pasta, Sweet Potatoes, Amala, Eba or Garri and many others.

2. Protein

No doubt Protein is a good source of amino acids that make it possible for the building of muscle tissue to happen in the body.

It also gives support to your immune system by conveying molecules in and out of your cells and provide the basis for hormones and enzymes in the body.

Typical Nigerian protein sources include Beef, Fish, Eggs, cow milk, yoghurt, beans, pork etc.

3. Fats

Food that is rich in fats or lipid supply you with a very concentrated source of energy that has a great tendency to store in your adipose tissue for later use.

Fat sources in Nigerian food include Salmon fish, Olive Oil, Skimmed Milk, Avocado, peanut butter, sardines, Whole Eggs etc.

Balanced Diet With Nigerian Food - vitamins

4) Vitamins

The different Vitamins in the sources of food help in fighting diseases in the body.

Functions:

Vitamin A – It is very essential for normal vision, immune system and also helps organ like the heart, lungs, kidney to function properly in the body system.

Balanced Diet With Nigerian Food — Foods rich in vitamin K. Top view; Shutterstock ID 1388788013; Purchase Order: -; Segment/Job: -; Client/Licensee: –

Vitamin B – It helps the body to maintain health and well-being.

Vitamin C – It reduces chronic disease because of its strong antioxidant that has the tendency to improve your body’s natural defences.

Vitamin D – helps the body to regulate the quantity of calcium and phosphate.

Vitamin E – is as important as vitamin c because it is needed for the proper function of many organs in the body.

Vitamin K – helps to regulate blood clot and prevent too much bleeding in the body.

Most fruits and vegetable are very rich in key vitamins such as vitamin A, B, C, D, E and K.

5. Minerals

Minerals play different roles for tissues and cells.

Functions:

– Calcium provides structure to your bones

– Potassium helps regulate blood pressure

– Iron transport oxygen through the blood.

– Zinc helps keep your immune system healthy.

Mineral sources include milk, salt, red meat, fish, potatoes, rice e.t.c

6. Fiber

The presence of dietary fibre in your food helps proper digestion.

They don’t contribute fuel or structure to your cells but affect how quickly food moves through your gut.

They also keep cholesterol levels in a regulated manner.

Food rich in fibre includes oatmeal, roughage of orange, Vegetable, brown rice, banana, apples, mango, etc

7. Water

As you all know both the plants and animal must have water to survive.

In actual sense, if there is no water, there would be no existence of life.

Water is more important than any other nutrient due to its high requirement in the body.

It helps in hydration and with electrolytes.

Drink a lot of water or eat fruits like watermelon which have water content.

With the above classes of a balanced diet, you should be able to create a balanced meal combination.