Food is essential for the proper functioning of the body therefore the need to eat cannot be over emphasized. It is widely said that we are what we eat and what we eat can affect our mental, physical, psychological well being as individuals. What we eat can equally influence our attitudes; save our lives and to a large extent elongate them. It is important that people eat well and stay healthy and live long.
It’s no news that long life and good health can be attained through healthy eating. People can either eat to stay alive and healthy or eat not to be alive and not to be healthy by the choices they make especially with their foods.
Surprisingly, in the society today, the rich or high class people as the society rates them to some extent prefer to eat foods that are already made and that is why you see them in eateries buying things like ice creams, cakes, doughnut, chocolates and all sort of junk foods that are high in calories. These foods if made a regular meal in homes can affect the human body with time and can lead to lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension. Therefore such foods should be eaten sparingly to avoid being overweight and in turn, being sick.
Eating healthy to the average Nigerian may look like such a big thing and an expensive task to take on especially if the family is a large one and the finances available is small. Well what is needed is knowing how to make the right choices of foods that will keep you healthy. This can be done by simply having in mind all the classes of foods while shopping for your family. That is, even with little money, you can actually eat foods that are really rich and contains all the nutrients needed in the body for its proper functioning.
Interestingly, people may think they cannot afford to eat healthy because of their finances but they however sometimes spend a lot of money on unhealthy foods without knowing. This is because these processed and packaged foods that they buy are more expensive than the ones you would cook for yourself.
A person can actually eat much healthier and for less or the same cost by buying fresh foods instead of the processed one, and cooking them at home. A great low-cost way to eat healthy is to cook food yourself and avoid what is called fast foods as much as possible.
There are different ways you can eat healthy foods without having to spend so much money. In Nigeria there are seasons where some foods are expensive no doubt but there are ways you can make up for those periods. What is considered cheap and healthy largely depends on the financial strength of the person in question.
It is not a rare sight in most homes to see people take tea or any kind of beverage for their breakfast. For the average or low income earner, you do not need to go for the exotic sizes of most of these beverages as the producers have made small and affordable sizes so that everyone can have at least a cup of tea whenever they want it.
Meats especially beef for instance, are the source proteins most people prefer to have in their food without having an idea that fish is a better and cheaper option. This is because it is healthier to eat fish than meat that is very high in cholesterol. A little market survey shows that a kilo of meat in the market goes for about #1000 which many people would prefer while a kilo of fish goes for about #700. Going by these prices, fish is cheaper than meat and is also healthier, so it can be a part of our meal instead of meat, that way, we are eating a healthier source of protein. Another good source of protein is crayfish and it can be a substitute for meat when it cannot be afforded.
Also there is a need for people to eat a lot of vegetables as part of their meals. You don’t need to go for the expensive kinds of vegetables. Since there are seasons for these vegetables, you can avail yourself the opportunity and buy vegetables that are in season to eat healthy. For example, during the rainy season buying vegetables like carrots may be expensive but spinach popularly called green or efo at this period is cheap, and can be an option for carrots because they are source of vitamins also.
Furthermore, for homes that have growing children especially infants and cannot afford to buy the already made baby foods like nutrient, cerelac, fesocream, sma and any other baby food. Giving your child a healthy meal can still be possible, all you need to do is to buy soya bean which goes for about #200 a tier, and mix it with either maize, millet or guinea corn which goes for about #200 a tier to make pap for the child and he will be very healthy because soya bean is a very good source of protein and vitamins that is needed for the grow of the child.
There is need for people to know that most of this p r o c e s s e d food can be eaten by the low income e a r n e r s , all that is needed is for them making it for themselves. Foods like wheat can be prepared in the comfort of your home if you choose, instead of buying the already made one because the materials needed for it is available in the markets and at a cheaper rate.
In addition, making fruits part of your daily meal at least at one meal is very important and there are fruits that are cheap and can be afforded by every class of people. Apple is a fruit that is most times seen as fruits for the rich but this is not true because they come in different sizes and prices that even those in the average class can afford if they want to eat apples. There are different fruits that are rich in vitamins and fibre that are affordable like oranges, pawpaw, watermelon, pineapple garden eggs etc. The good thing about these fruits is that it can be bought in small quantities thereby making it easy for all kinds of people to buy them and eat healthy. It is important to add here that processed fruit drinks are not healthy for the body therefore it is much better to take these fruits in their natural state.
Eating good and healthy food is not solely about the amount in ones pocket but having a good knowledge of what to spend the available money on. There is a need for people to be well informed and educated on how to make right choices especially when it comes to choosing the right kind of food and in their right proportions. The challenge most people have is not having a good idea on what to spend their money on when it comes to eating right. People should begin to realise that it is better to eat healthy food in a small quantity than to eat unhealthy food in large sizes. There is a need for people to start making right choices of the food they eat to live a long and healthy life and to age gracefully.