Nutrition Archives - Page 14 of 16

What happens to food when it goes to the mouth?

September 16, 2020

Just the other day I came across an article written by a one professor who was telling his readers how eating fruit on an empty stomach is a wonder relief or say cure to cancer. Many things in there I could relate to and agree given my nutrition experience but when I reached the part that he indicated that food at a certain point rots in the stomach there by turning into acid, I was taken a back and thought I should write about what happens to food from the point we put it in the mouth and where it goes there after. For some reason I thought it was obvious until I have come across different theories from different people.

I am going to try to make this as simple as possible for everyone reading this.

Our bodies have a system that is responsible for dealing with the food and make meaning of it for the benefit of the body. This is what we call the digestive system. This system has different parts or components if I may use the term and each of them has it’s own purpose. So when food leaves your plate into your mouth, the system begins work. Once food enters the mouth, it is broken down into smaller pieces by chewing. The teeth cut and crush the food, while mixing it with saliva. This process helps to make the food soft and easy to swallow. After swallowing, the food goes down a ‘tube’ we call the esophagus and into the stomach. To keep food and liquids moving in the right direction, this tube has special muscles along its course which we call sphincters. Sphincters act like one-way valves so they relax to let food and liquid pass into your stomach and then tighten to prevent back flow, called reflux.

Does a bolus of food move through the esophagus by peristalsis, segmentation, regurgitation, or hydrolysis? | Socratic — Peristalsis is the way food goes down the ‘tube’
Internet picture

At this point food is now in the stomach. Imagine an enlarged pouch, that is what the stomach looks like although it’s shape and size varies from person to person depending on things like people’s sex and build, but also on how much they eat. At the point where the ‘tube’ coming from the mouth (esophagus) leads into the stomach, the digestive tube is usually kept shut by muscles of the esophagus and diaphragm. When you swallow, these muscles relax and the lower end of the esophagus opens, allowing food to enter the stomach. Once the food is in the stomach, it’s muscles help to mix and break the food down further by churning it around. As this is happening, it mixes this with a strong acid that the stomach produces. This kills many harmful microorganisms that might have been swallowed along with the food. It also has special chemicals we call enzymes that are important for breaking down the food so it can be absorbed by the body. You see food has nutrients in it and it is the role of these enzymes to break up this food to release these nutrients so that they can be absorbed into the body and taken to the different parts where it is needed. So what am I trying to say, food does not end in the stomach for it to ‘rot’ as some theory has it.

The Stomach (Human Anatomy): Picture, Function, Definition, Conditions, and More — Internet picture

I think it is important to note that the absorption of these nutrients that the enzymes have released from the food (digested food) does not happen in the stomach but rather in the place where the food goes next once it leaves the stomach which is the intestines.

Intestines are divided into two parts which are the small and large intestines. Digested food is absorbed in the small intestine. What this means is that it passes through the wall of the small intestine and into the bloodstream. The blood then carries the useful substances around the body to where they are needed. Can you imagine how genius our God is! By the time the remaining contents reach the large intestine, most of the digested food has been absorbed leaving waste material that the body doesn’t need or can’t digest. This is what makes up faeces or poo, which we get rid of when we go to the toilet.

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So briefly that is the fate of the food we eat from the time we put it in the mouth. So the next time you eat food, remember this is what happens to it or at least this what we expect to happen to it although we have instances when the system might malfunction at a point and we see something different for example; when someone has a heartburn, constipation or diarrhea, something has interrupted the system. That will be a story for another day though.

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Lifestyle, Nutrition

Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (P.C.O.S)

September 9, 2020

The gynecologist told me that my ovaries had developed numerous small collections of fluid (follicles) that failed to regularly release eggs

Said if I paid 100 dollars he would give a wonder regimen that would make the endless bloody bouts cease

I would comfortably count my safe days and know when exactly I would see the red moon reappear within 28 – 30 days

Said my head would not fly away in endless worry

The Nutritionist said all I had to do is make a change in my diet

Said if I could switch much of the red meat for green leafy vegetables and fruits, kicked out fats from my plate, this would improve my body’s use of insulin

My hormones would return in check within no time and I would have less wings to stick every month

The psychotherapist told me my heart was heavy

The trauma it carried from failed attempts in this journey was great

Invited me to her couch and we had endless talks about my past and how I felt in time

Promised me that all I needed to do was talk about and all would be okay

The pharmacist said Clomiphene, Letrozole, Glucophage, Gonadotropins

The doctor said fluvoxamine would mute the pain

The pain and shame said do not write this article

Everyone is so busy dealing with bigger issues to deal with your trivial issues

Faith can be seen. Faith is defined as believing in God… | by Christopher Toh | The Alternativists archive | Medium

But the faith in a God bigger than me told me you can write this article

Typing Troubles: How to Avoid Wrist Pain – Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

My hands trembled on the computer as I typed

The chandelier of my insecurities fell and cut deep through my soul

My eyeballs rolled and turned red as the veins in my head bulged to allow more blood flow

The tomorrow that has come and gone

And it has not gotten better

Much has been done but nothing has worked yet

But when I thought I hit bottom, it started hitting back

There is no bruise like the bruise of thinking this will be your story for-ever

But over the years I have learned to live with something many may never understand

Never even know it exists

I have learnt to believe in slimmest of hope

Learnt to be happy even when it does not seem worth it

Learnt to love and put myself aside for another

Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a part of my story but NOT my story

Maybe it happens for the lessons I may have never learnt if this was not part of my story.

If you are out there and you see no reason and lesson in what you are going through, put that pain aside and search within you. That pain is NOT your story but it is a part of your story.

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Nutrition

Keto Diet

August 3, 2020

We are in an era where anything and everything can get viral. The internet and social media has fueled this process and many will follow with out even giving it thought. Currently we have so many ladies jumping onto the Keto diet wagon with little or no knowledge about the science behind it. All one knows is it will be solution to weight loss. I will tell you something about this diet and hopefully this will help some one out there make an informed decision.

What is a Keto diet?

A ketogenic diet, normally shortened simply as keto diet is one that is comprised of high fat, adequate proteins and low carbohydrates, what many refer to as carbs. This diet is usually used as medicine for epileptic children although it has become popular for weight loss in these current times. This diet forces the body to burn fats as its primary source of energy rather than carbohydrates.

How a Keto diet works?

I will talk about the way it works first in its primary function which is as medicine in epileptic children.

The body’s primary source of energy from our diet is carbohydrates and this energy is in form of glucose. This glucose is transported around the body and is important in fueling brain function for every human being. So when the primary source is less in the the diet, the body looks for plan B. Through the liver, it converts the fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies. The ketone bodies are passed into the brain replacing the glucose as the source of energy. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the blood, a state called ketosis will eventually lower the frequency of the epileptic seizures.

Coming to weight loss, the same analogy is applied, the keto diet forces the body into using a different type of fuel. Instead of relying on the glucose from carbohydrates, it relies on ketone bodies that are produced from breaking down the fat by the liver. So as the body burns the fuel, your body is thought to shed off that excess fat.

Much as this may sound very obvious and a straight forward process, getting the liver to make ketone bodies is tricky:

It requires one to deprive yourself of carbohydrates, fewer than 20 to 50 grams of carbs per day (keep in mind that a medium-sized banana has about 27 grams of carbs).
It typically takes a few days to reach a state of ketosis.
Eating too much protein can interfere with ketosis.

What to eat while on a keto diet

Due to the fact that a keto diet has such a high fat requirement, you must eat fat at each meal. In a daily 2,000-calorie diet, it might look like 165 grams of fat, 40 grams of carbs, and 75 grams of protein.

Some healthy unsaturated fats are allowed on the keto diet like nuts, seeds, avocados and olive oil. But saturated fats from oils (palm, coconut), lard, butter, and cocoa butter are encouraged in high amounts.

Protein is part of the keto diet, lean protein foods as well as protein sources high in saturated fat like beef, pork, name it.

All fruits are rich in carbs therefore they are eaten in small portions. Vegetables are also rich in carbs therefore for this diet vegetables are restricted to leafy greens such as spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, dodo, bell peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms, cucumber, celery, to mention but a few.

The risks

A ketogenic diet is very high in saturated fats which poses a very high risk for heart related diseases as there is a risk of high cholesterol in the blood.

I have heard of people who have fallen victim of scurvy. This is a deficiency of Vitamin C in the body. If you’re not eating a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, and grains, you may be at risk for deficiencies in micronutrients, including selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamins B and C. Nutrient deficiency is one the down sides of a keto diet.

Liver problems is another risk that can ensue. With so much fat to metabolize, the diet could make any existing liver conditions worse.

The kidneys help metabolize protein, and the keto diet may overload them resulting to kidney problems. (The current recommended intake for protein averages 46 grams per day for women, and 56 grams for men).

Keto diet is low in fibrous foods like grains and legumes resulting in constipation.

The brain requires sugar from healthy carbohydrates to function. A low-carb diets may cause confusion and irritability there by resulting to fuzzy thinking and mood swings

These risks are not meant to discourage you but rather to know what lays ahead of you, therefore make sure you work with a doctor and a registered dietitian before and as you attempt to use a ketogenic diet.

Before jumping on the Keto diet wagon, read and check with your doctor and dietitian.

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Nutrition

Food Poisoning

July 22, 2020

It is not a good feeling having to use the bathroom every 30 minutes or less and your stomach making unpleasant churns and noises for God knows how long. This is the reality of food poisoning.

It was one lazy evening I decided to gift my body with one of my best dishes. A cheese dish. My love for cheese is on another random level; I will have no problem chewing to the firm fluffy but salty flakes of the cheese. So that day I settled for regular french fries and chicken wraps sprinkled with cheese served with a vegetable salad on the side. (Don’t judge me; it is far from a healthy dish of course but I often have those times.) I opted to choose the drink later which I ended up abandoning all together because of the satiety after the sumptuous meal. The wraps tasted like a homespun masterpiece. A wild array of textures coupled with the mind boggling collection of assorted flavors, the shattering airy crunch of the cheese sitting in the middle of the wrap sent my taste buds screaming for more. The crisp toasty brown fries sprinkled with the mint green parsley together with the unending conversations from an old friend made my evening more than what I had asked for. At that moment in time, my whole self was very thankful and could not even notice the time pass by. We even had time to have a late evening walk in the airy wind before we could both go our separate ways.

Shortly after I had reached home and taken a relaxing bath, I lay on the bed and my body decided to gang up on me. The only relaxing position to lie was down on my tummy. There was an enraged monster very active in my belly giving hard to take kicks, jumping up in all directions with no even timing and screaming to death once in a while. The pain was gruesome and as if that was not enough it made me a frequent bathroom resident for the night. Gosh!! it was very exhausting. Lucky by morning with the help of some medication it had quieted down and life was slowly coming back to normal. My physician said it was food poisoning and I didn’t know where to place the blame. Could it have been the glorious meal that had crowned the day or my earlier bites in the day. I couldn’t place a finger to any that moment in time.

So!! Food poisoning is a result of eating contaminated, spoiled or toxic food and usually manifests through nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms can appear between an hour (explains when mine appeared) to 28 days. And did I mention it can be life threatening as well? Oh yes!!! You can lose life to it especially when breathing is impaired. Anyone and everyone is at risk of coming down with food poisoning at least once in their lifetime. Believe you me, it could be your mother or your child or your bar man. Literally anyone; however some populations are at more risk than others.

If you are pregnant, you may need to be very keen as your body is coping with changes to your metabolism and circulatory system so you can fall prey in a blink of an eye. The elderly too owing to a declined immune system, the body may not quickly respond to infectious “monsters’ as well as children whose immune system is not as developed as that of the adults.

Under attack of food poisoning? Make drinks your best buddy. The body has lost or is losing bouts of water which need to be replaced the shortest of times. So fruit juice is perfect for this time as it restores lost water, replaces lost minerals and vitamins but most importantly deals with the fatigue. Running back and forth from the bathroom is itself very exhausting. Do not ignore plain water by the way. It is vital. You have to take leave from any kind of caffeine. Caffeine irritates the digestive tract and am sure you don’t want that. Decaffeinated teas with soothing herbs like peppermint, the famous ‘mujaaja’ will be your heaven at this moment in time as these calm an upset stomach.

It took me over 8 hours before I could dare eat food. No, it is not that I wasn’t hungry or the food wasn’t available, I just didn’t want to annoy the ‘monster’ again. Was not about to put up with another round. It was knock out time for me.

Nutritionists advise that it is best to gradually hold off on sold foods until vomiting and diarrhea have passed as you drink as much as you possibly can. Then ease back to your regular diet by eating simple to digest foods that are bland (boiled, or food with none or minimum oil and spices) like bananas, rice, bland potatoes, boiled or steamed vegetables, chicken or meat soup, diluted fruit juices, oat meal to mention but a few. Stay away from dairy products apart from low fat yogurt, highly spiced or seasoned food, fried food and food with too much sugar.

Lastly do your best not to fall in the trap cause food poisoning drains life from humanity. Practice safety precautions while handling food and eat from trusted places. And in case Mr. luck doesn’t smile to you that day, visit your physician and or do the above and spring back to life in no time.

Luwombo

June 16, 2020

It doesn’t matter which part of Uganda you come from, you should have tasted this sumptous cusine that has it’s roots in the Buganda culture but has now broken it’s banks and found it’s way in all parts of this country.

Luwombo or ‘oluwombo’ in it’s proper name as it was referred to in Buganda, was first prepared in 1887 for Kabaka Mwanga by his creative chef who was called ‘Kawuuta’. It is a traditional dish that is cooked in a banana leaf by steaming. It can be made of beef, chicken, smoked fish, goat meat, ground nut sauce or even mushrooms. Though this meal was once reserved for the palace, it evolved and started to make an appearance at special occasions especially when a girl brought her soon to be husband to meet her parents. The ‘luwombo’ to be given to the groom was specially prepared by the girl’s ‘senga’ (the girls paternal aunt). This was often a whole chicken prepared to perfection, in most cases it would be cooked for the whole night and by the time it is served that chicken is very tender and busting with countless flavors. The groom was meant to eat it all least it be an offence to the girl’s family. This tradition still continues even to this day although the dish is no-longer reserved for only the royals and special occasions. Ugandans from all walks of life enjoy the dish and we have seen restaurants add it to their menus as well as some that only serve luwombo for example ‘Luwombo restaurant here in Kampala.

Recipe

Preparation

Luwombo has a distinct aroma and this comes from this here. Banana leaves are key ingredient for this cuisine but not any kind, young banana leaves are used. First the young banana leaves are smoked in a special way because it’s the aroma is derived from the smoked leaves that gives good oluwombo its uniqueness and great diners appreciate the smoked seasoned taste of the stew inside the leaves. The beauty with this cuisine is the fact that one has the leverage to alter the contents apart from the constants which are banana leaves, salt and water. Otherwise one may choose to use beef, chicken, goat’s meat, mushrooms, dried fish or even simply groundnuts.
Here is another secret, when the subject of the meal is meat, make sure that yo smoke it.‘kukalirira’ Traditionally this is how it is done; the charcoal on the stove is also covered by light banana peels, the idea here is to make sure that the heat remains under and the peels transport the charming smoked savor into the meat.
The luwombo taste is not only derived from the way the banana leaves are smoked, but also the way the meat is smoked and the type of the banana leaf. The banana leaf is specifically from ndiizi type of banana, and they are smoked over a specific flame from dry banana leaves and they must first become brown before they are removed from the fire. Lucky for you and me is lately these smoked banana leaves are sold so you may not have to worry where to get them from or go through the process.

How to make the luwombo

Carefully inspect that there are no holes in your smoked banana leaf. Then carefully remove the central rib making sure that you do not tear the leaf and clean the leaf with a damp cloth and then fold the leaf into two.
By now you should have a clean basket ready, place the above leaf in its centre. After that, cut a small part from another cleaned leaf and place it under the other fold.(Locally it is called ‘akawuwo’)
Now you are ready to bring your ingredients; meat, chopped up vegetables, salt, pepper and all others to your taste and then cover the meat. Other ingredients often used include, onions, green pepper, carrots, tomatoes, garlic, spices, black pepper, chilli etc. Make sure you measure the water you add carefully such that it is just enough to cook the meat and also remain to make soup for the meat.
Having put all you need, it is time to tie up your luwombo.
Holding the two sides of the folded leaf up and then collecting the side of leaves on both sides while making sure that none of the ingredients spills and then tie up your luwombo with a clean string which is usually the other central rib or midrib of the leaves you removed earlier or a banana fibre.
Depending on the number of people you are preparing for, repeat the above exercise to make the number you want.
When completed, steam them for about six hours until ready and serve. Luwombo can be served with any food of your liking from matooke to potatoes, cassava to pumpkin or even millet bread

Nutrition Value

Luuwombo is a steamed dish and nothing of it’s ingredients is fried so there is no need to worry about cholestrol. It is one of the healthiest foods you will partake.
The banana leaf sheathing and the steaming not only creates a delicious aroma very specific to the luwombo, but also prevents the loss of nutrients which would have otherwise been lost in the cooking liquid.
The smoking that is done to the meat kills certain bacteria in the meat and slows down the growth of others, prevents fats from becoming rancid, and enhances the smell and flavor making it more appetizing.

Should you be among the unlucky ones who have never tasted a Luwombo, find yourself this cuisine sooner or later and gift your taste buds. They deserve it.

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