Nigerians prepares food a in manner that makes it tates delicious and enjoyabale to eat. Those known to know how to cook uses moderate ingredients in their cuisine. Nigerian have several dishes that I know you probably grew up eating and as well contuinued with the same cuisine for your own family. However, not all nigerian meals are good for your health. Here are popular nigerian cuisine that can have negative impact on your health.
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1. Fried Plantain
Fried plantain tastes great, in fact, many people consider it as one of their favourites. It can be used as a component for dozens of dishes. However, frying plantain in a large quantity of oil makes it a far less healthy dish than it should be. Plus, plantain contains an enormous amount of sugar that can lead to more side effects. To use plantain in your cooking in a healthy way, try boiling it or grilling it with minimal use of oil.
Read more: Foods To Avoid During Your Period | Wellness
2. White Rice
White rice is one of most popular staples in Nigerian cuisine. It can be served with all kind of sauces, and also one of the main component of Jollof rice. White rice can be fine in moderation, but using it in your cooking every day means you are filling your body with refined carbohydrates, which don’t do anything for your health and can lead to weight gain.
3. Cassava
Cassava has become a daily meal from time to time for The Nigerians. I dont if there’s any nigerian family that doesnt consume cassava on daily basis. The most popular cassava dishes in the country, garri and fufu, has several significant negative effects on your body. They are both high in starch and in calories, which is bad news for anyone watching their weight. Cassava also contains a harmful chemical, linamarin, that can only be destroyed with a long cooking process.
4. Soft Drinks
Suprise right? Although soft drinks are not a Nigerian food you make in your own kitchen, but they can still be found in most households. Soft beverages have a strong flavour and a sweet taste, so they seem like a perfect thing to enjoy on a hot day. However, soft drinks are incredibly high in sugar, which is bad for you for obvious reasons. And even if you go for a drink with a sugar substitute, it’s going to be lower in calories but even more harmful for your health.
Read also: Here Are 10 Nigerian Foods That Help Burn Belly Fat
5. Pounded Yam
Like white rice, pounded yam is a great addition to any meat and vegetable-based dishes, and it’s also popular to consume on its own. Pounded yam has certain health benefits – for example, it’s high in dietary fiber – but it also contains a crazy number of calories per serving and a lot of starch. Diabetic patients should keep from consuming pounded yam altogether, and everyone else should eat it in moderation.
6. Palm Oil
Palm oil is one of the most common ingredients that nigerians uses in preparing food. It is used for deep-frying and is frequently added to soups and sauces. Palm oil is known for its health benefits, including its antioxidant effect. At the same time, palm oil contains a lot of saturated fats. In fact, 50% of palm oil is saturated fats. Saturated fats lead to rapid weight gain and heart conditions, so substitute palm oil with vegetable oil whenever possible.
7. Suya And Kilishi
Suya and kilishi are actually popular and also Nigerian street foods, but they are also cooked every day at home. There are several reasons why you need to limit your intake of both suya and kilishi. First, they are made from red meat, which is associated with certain types of cancer. Second, the way they are processed and cooked makes them even less healthy: suya is covered in oil and charred, which can also have a cancerogenic effect, while kilishi uses a lot of salt and is smoked, which is not the healthiest cooking technique.
