FOOD: Any substance that human beings or animals eat or drink because it is nutritious to them or that plants absorb to maintain life and growth.
HEALTH: A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity – WHO
INTRODUCTION
3 John 1: 2 – God’s representatives on earth (political, traditional, and family leaders) ought to possess behaviour and put in place policies and actions that ensure good health for human beings under them
PROVISION OF FOOD
GOD: Psalm 136: 25 – God is the provider of food for all creatures; Psalm 104: 27 – God provides various foods at various seasons; Psalm 145: 15, 16 – In nature God has made provision to satisfy ALL with food
HUMANKIND: Job 24: 1–4 – Lack, pain, suffering, and hunger are principally the handwork of humankind (and can be reversed or perpetuated)
TAKE NOTE
We are similar – in the sense that we all need food to survive, grow, develop, stay healthy, and succeed.
We are different – in the sense that “one man’s meat is another man’s poison”; you need to know what food is good for you as an adult or good for the young members of your family.
FOOD CLASSES
Broadly speaking, food groups are:
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Fats
Vitamins
Trace elements
CARBOHYDRATES
Carbohydrates contain 3 types of atoms: carbon (‘carbo-’), hydrogen (‘-hydrate’), and oxygen atoms;
They are formed by plants by photosynthesis;
They are the major sources of energy as they are eventually broken down to glucose which is “cellular fuel” i.e. fuel required to power the numerous cells in our bodies;
Carbohydrates include complex sugars e.g. potato, yam, cassava and simple sugars e.g. sugar cane, sweet fruits, etc.
PROTEINS
Proteins are compounds with large molecules; they basically contain nitrogen atoms and long chains of amino acids;
Protein for food is sourced principally from animals but plants also produce protein;
Body tissues and organs e.g. muscle, skin, liver, blood, intestines, hair, nails, etc. contain protein;
Protein is needed for body structure, building, protection, repair/healing.
FATS
Fats may be solid or liquid; the liquid form is usually called oils; the basic molecules are fatty acids;
Saturated fats are generally found in animals (e.g. beef but also in palm oil, coconut oil, and palm kernel oil);
Unsaturated fats are generally present in plants;
Unsaturated fats may be monounsaturated (e.g. in avocados and almonds) or polyunsaturated fats (e.g. in soybeans and fish);
Plant fats are usually liquid at room temperature.
VITAMINS
Vitamins are dietary requirement got from outside our bodies as our bodies do not produce them;
Vitamins are required in small amounts; they do a great deal of good to virtually all parts of our bodies;
Just as they help us in small amounts, they hurt us when taken in excess or inadequate quantities;
Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, get stored in the body, and large amounts are injurious;
B-group vitamins and Vitamin C are water-soluble and are easily excreted when taken in large quantity.
TRACE ELEMENTS
Trace elements are required in even smaller (minute) amounts than vitamins;
Essential trace elements are zinc, copper, selenium, iodine, cobalt, chromium, manganese, and molybdenum;
They are components of some enzymes, hormone (e.g. Iodine in Thyroid hormone), and vitamin (e.g. Cobalt in Vitamin B12).
OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF FOOD
FIBER – Whole grains, beans, peas, fruits, and vegetables;
VEGETABLES – A variety of fruits and vegetables, in particular,deep-yellow/orange and red, and dark-green leafy vegetables are rich in carotenoids. Flavones, Indoles and Vitamin C are in Vegetables. Soybeans are rich in Phytoestrogens and Lignans.
FOOD : HEALTH RELATIONSHIPS
Food affects health;
Health affects food;
It is important to know and pay attention to these relationships;
The relationships may be positive or negative:
In positive relationships food boosts health and health boosts food;
In negative relationships food becomes injurious to health and health restricts what we can eat safely.
EFFECTS OF FOOD ON HEALTH
Broadly speaking food boosts our health by forming tissues even before our birth, during our childhood, teenage years, adulthood, and old age. These tissues are also protected by our immune system, get repaired by the restorative system, and protect the cells, tissues, and organs from cancer changes;
These are the positive effects of food on our health. To achieve this, all food types should be eaten in right amounts at right times;
Food also has negative effects on our health. A lot of what our bodies experience have to do with what we “take in.” Food is basically what we take into our bodies via our mouths rightly or wrongly considered as nutrition;
Usually, food becomes injurious when it is taken in excess, inadequate amount, not at all, wrong combination, wrong timing, etc.
EFFECTS OF HEALTH ON FOOD
Unhealthy populations (people) cannot produce enough food to feed themselves or other people;
Good health enables people to eat a wide variety of food for as long as possible during their life span;
Poor health limits what people eat – that is when the people know that certain foods affect their health;
Removing from your diet what is not good for your health helps you to maintain your health reasonably.
EXAMPLES
Meat – How meat affects health negatively:
Prostate Cancer – ?Meat increases testosterone production making men more prone to developing prostate cancer;
Breast Cancer – ?Meat stimulates estrogen production making women more predisposed to developing cancer of the breast;
Colorectal Cancer – ?Absence of fiber in meat and increased heterocyclic amines subject meat eaters to developing cancer of the colon and rectum;
Daily eating of red meat (especially in large amounts) leads to increased colonic cancer risk when compared with persons who avoid red meat vegetarians;
Diseases – How disease affects health negatively:
Diabetes mellitus is a disease condition that has a negative impact on the patient’s consumption of carbohydrate, especially the simple sugars – the diagnosis simply means that it is “no longer business as usual”;
Kidney disease, especially failure, dictates that the patient’s diet is altered significantly. The principle is to expose the patient’s kidneys to as little work as possible – and so the foods that give the kidneys great work load are removed from dietary list while others that are not so bad are significantly reduced in quantity and frequency.
WHAT WE EAT
Cooked food – The source (fuel), type, and degree of heat, fire with or without smoke, etc. matter. Duration of cooking also determines the amount of the original ingredients of the food still present after cooking;
Uncooked food – The challenge here lies in the quality of the food that is eaten uncooked or partially cooked. If the food is originally infected, e.g. by bacteria or with worms, the infection may be transmitted to the eater;
Re-heated food – Re-heating of food may not always be properly done. If food in the freezer thaws and gets re-frozen (over and over) before re-heating, the food may no longer be fit for human consumption. The amount of time food stays outside before it is re-heated and consumed is important;
Water and Drinks – Many people forget that water and drinks are food and treat them differently; the body does not! Water and drinks boost or hurt our health also – the source and type/quality of water that we drink or use to prepare food are important. Drinks come in various types and the content, amount, and duration of consumption may make the difference between drinks being friend or foe to our health.
HOW AND WHEN WE EAT
Like “Passover” – i.e. always eating hurriedly?
Eating impulsively? – Some people give little or no thought to what they eat;
Like our world depends on food? – At parties where food is free you sometimes encounter people whose behavior seems to show that food is the most important thing in their world;
How much? – Certain people eat very little food, too little to meet their dietary needs. Sometimes the restriction is not in amount but in type/variety of food. Other people eat too much – the unused/unneeded one is stored in the body;
How many times? – Some people eats just once a day; other people may lose count of the number of times they eat on some days. There are some people who do not consider certain things they put in their mouths e.g. snacks as food, but they are!
Any regularity? – You may belong to the class of people who have no regularity attached to eating; in extreme cases they eat only when they see food or food is presented to them. This applies even to those who are busy pursuing other matters and consider food as secondary (or of no) importance;
Eating at any time of day and night? – This is one of the commonest eating habit challenges. We must know and respect the fact that the body has its natural “clock” and desires to rest;
Is there time for everything when it concerns food?
WHERE WE EAT
Broadly we eat:
At home – here you know what is in your food and how the meal is made;
Outside home – here you know the cost and presentation of the food, are unsure of the type and amount of ingredients or how the meal is prepared, and may be unwilling to reject the food when “in a crowd.”
WHO PREPARES HOME FOOD?
Males and food;
Females and food;
Husbands and food;
Wives and food;
‘House-helps’/Cooks and food;
Others: Mother-in-law, Sisters, Aunts, Children, etc.
Even when given the same ingredients these and others may all prepare food differently!
YOUR HEALTH
As an adult the responsibility is primarily yours – knowledge of your current health status is crucial;
Care for it even at the level of what enters your body from your mouth;
Other things enter your body through your skin and through breathing – control the ones you can;
Issues of food may affect not only your physical (but also social and mental) health. It could also affect your spiritual health – “Ask Adam and Eve.”
CONCLUSION
“The right to decent working and living conditions, so relevant to health and won through many years of hard struggle, now appears to be at risk” – Zsuzsanna Jakab @ 14th European Health Forum in Austria, Oct. 2011.
The above statement is relevant in many countries; People’s state of health is linked to food and their state of nutrition.
We must all ensure that those who want to work can get and keep the work that will feed them and their families – and that food will be their friend, not enemy.
Thank you for going through this article. Share its contents with your loved ones.
Dr. Inyang Ukot, M.B.; B.S., FMCGP, FWACP, DOccMed.(London) is a
Chief Consultant, Family Medicine, and Medical Director at
RST Clinics Ltd., Uyo, Nigeria
