A healthy diet must constitute a huge chunk of sufficient fibre, good sources of protein and dietary fats. The body needs fibre to maintain a healthy digestive system, proteins for healthy cells and tissue and dietary fats to protect the organs and also maintain healthy cells. Protein and fats are easily recognisable but fibre is not as such. We all know vegetables (both starchy and non-starchy variety) and fruits contain fibre but outside these foods, do you know which other foods are high in fibre? If you don’t, that is fine because we’ve listed some essential fibre diet below. A research by the the World Health Organisation, with stats declared that the average lifespan of an African and Nigerian man is between 55-60years, while for the women its between 60-65. We need to change some of our average dietary bad habits, And the importance of fibre in that dietary change can’t be underestimated. Here are 5 Fibre high content food that would do your body system whole world of good food if infused into your daily diet and taken regularly.
Whole Wheat Flour:
Lately, The whole Wheat flour as gained some ground in the average Nigerian diet, but it needs to be an essential everyday meal because of it nutritional content level, which one of it is fibre, it contains 10.7g per 100g. Its 10.7g is a high supply of fibre necessary to get you through the rigours of the Lagos lifestyle and Nigeria as a whole.
Ofada Rice:
Ofada rice is the short, thick and robust shaped specie of rice. It is also known as brown rice. The rice is unpolished and not genetically modified. Majority of people are usually put off because it contains some stones and chaffs which add to the stress of preparing it as compared to the other types of rice. There is a saying, which says no pain no gain but the gains of Ofada far much outweighs it pains, here are some of the nutritional values of Ofada rice(Brown rice), Brown rice is important for a healthy heart, prevents heart attack and stroke. Researchers at Temple University School of Medicine report that brown rice is a better choice over white because it has an ingredient that protects against high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. It has about twice the fiber content of regular white rice. Fiber aid digestion cleanses the colon, grabbing passing nasty toxins such as pollutants, chemicals, pesticides and heavy metals. It cures constipation and intestinal blockage.
African Seeds (Egusi Seed, Locust Bean Seed, Ogbono Seed):
So for the sake of time in this article we would discuss only the locust beans seed(Iru, Ogiri, or Dadawa) why you must include the locust beans to your everyday diet and your Ofada stew, or your Efo-Egusi soup, it has to become a mainstay in your diet. The fibre level was found to be 11.75%, which is on the high side. The Locust Bean fibre does not contribute nutrients or energy, it is a source of dietary fibre which is essential for good bowel movement and helps in preventing obesity, diabetes, cancer of the colon and other ailments of the gastro-intestinal tract of man. Though the fibre obtained for the fruit pulp is less than that of the seeds (18.00%) as reported by Uwaegbute (1996) it is much higher than for most food legumes, which range from 2.10% in groundnuts to 7.60% in kidney beans (Ihekoronye and Ngoddy, 1985). This makes the African locust beans seed a potential good source of dietary fibre.
Maize:
The Maize is processed and converted to quite a number of local delicacies so i don’t think i need to dwell to long on it’s nutritional value but rather just give it’s fibre value and the different Nigerian delicacies you can inculcate into your everyday diet to improve your body digestion and fitness level, some of the processed maize products meals in this part of the world are Ogi\Akamu\Pap and Kunu drink.
You make the Pap a part of your morning diet, just before leaving for work. An average maize meal contains 2.4g of Fibre.
5. Legumes(Cashew nut, African Walnut):
Legumes are a source of all three recognised forms of dietary fibre – soluble fibre, insoluble fibre and resistant starch – which are responsible for many of the protective effects of legumes. The total amount of dietary fibre contained in different legumes varies between 3 and 6 grams per 75 gram serve of cooked legumes. Photo Credit: Getty
