Know what and when to eat, how to prepare food
Apr 03, 2011
MANY Ugandans do not know the type of food to eat, how to prepare it, when to eat and in what proportions. <br>Florence Tushemerirwe, a fellow of the Makerere University School of Public Health Centres for Disease Control and Prevention HIV/AIDS Fellow, and public health nutritionist says many peop
By John Kasozi
MANY Ugandans do not know the type of food to eat, how to prepare it, when to eat and in what proportions.
Florence Tushemerirwe, a fellow of the Makerere University School of Public Health Centres for Disease Control and Prevention HIV/AIDS Fellow, and public health nutritionist says many people eat to fill their stomachs.
“You can observe this if you watch Ugandans serve food at a buffet. You can get embarrassed by their choice of food. Some people select from each dish and by the time they reach the vegetable dishes, the plate is full, mainly with energy giving foods and meats, but without vegetables,†she explains.
Tushemerirwe says Ugandans do not have knowledge of the right food portions. “When you make such mistakes, it is your body that is mistreated. As a result, you become over-weight.
And worse still, many Ugandans in the middle class have desk jobs and drive cars, so their physical movement and exercise is limited.
“Eventually, they suffer from obesity and nutrition-related chronic diseases like high blood pressure, cardiovascular heart diseases, diabetes, cancers, stroke, gangrene and lower back pain,†she says.
“Sometime back, I interviewed several people in a rural settings about what a balanced diet is. They said eating beef, pork, mutton, chicken, fried foods and not beans or maize flour (posho) or vegetables signifies good feeding,†explains Tushemerirwe.
“Incidentally, nobody talked about drinking water or eating fruits and vegetables, saying fruits are for children,†she adds.
Tushemerirwe says they also bragged about having one meal a day. “However, three main meals and two snacks in between main meals everyday is recommended for a balanced diet.
These meals should be spread out in the day.†Breakfast should be taken between 6:00am and 8:00am. Thereafter, between 10:00am to 11:00am snack with fruits, and for lunch between 12:30pm and 2:30pm, she recommends any food, eaten with beans or groundnut sauce.
From 5:00pm to 6:00pm, you can take a simple snack such as a fruit, roasted groundnuts, soya beans and simsim seeds. People living with HIV (PLHIV) can snack on maize flour porridge mixed with margarine to meet their energy requirement.
She recommends diner to be eaten at about 8:00pm to 9:00pm. In most cases, this is the time when PLHIV take their medicine, for them to maximize medication benefits.
“Having a balanced diet doesn’t only mean having meals well spread out, but eating a variety of foods, from the three main food groups — energy giving, body building and protective foods,†Tushemerirwe explains.
Energy giving foods include, but are not limited to matooke, cassava, sweet potato, rice, posho and yams.
Body building foods include beans, peas, groundnuts, chicken, fish, meat, eggs and milk.
The protective foods are basically fruits and vegetable types.
Maize and beans make a complete protein, and fruits provide vitamins. People living with HIV are encouraged to accompany their meals with extra energy giving foods such as ghee, sugarcane and avocado. Vegetable oil such as sunflower and corn oil are healthy oils.
Tushemerirwe says one should take eight glasses (three litres) of fluids a day. If water is tasteless, boil it with mujaaja (ocimum gratissimum) or lemon grass (cymbopogon citrates). Fruits, vegetables, soups and tea are also a good source of water.
A balanced diet goes hand-in-hand with exercise and at least six hours of rest.
MANY Ugandans do not know the type of food to eat, how to prepare it, when to eat and in what proportions.
Florence Tushemerirwe, a fellow of the Makerere University School of Public Health Centres for Disease Control and Prevention HIV/AIDS Fellow, and public health nutritionist says many people eat to fill their stomachs.
“You can observe this if you watch Ugandans serve food at a buffet. You can get embarrassed by their choice of food. Some people select from each dish and by the time they reach the vegetable dishes, the plate is full, mainly with energy giving foods and meats, but without vegetables,†she explains.
Tushemerirwe says Ugandans do not have knowledge of the right food portions. “When you make such mistakes, it is your body that is mistreated. As a result, you become over-weight.
And worse still, many Ugandans in the middle class have desk jobs and drive cars, so their physical movement and exercise is limited.
“Eventually, they suffer from obesity and nutrition-related chronic diseases like high blood pressure, cardiovascular heart diseases, diabetes, cancers, stroke, gangrene and lower back pain,†she says.
“Sometime back, I interviewed several people in a rural settings about what a balanced diet is. They said eating beef, pork, mutton, chicken, fried foods and not beans or maize flour (posho) or vegetables signifies good feeding,†explains Tushemerirwe.
“Incidentally, nobody talked about drinking water or eating fruits and vegetables, saying fruits are for children,†she adds.
Tushemerirwe says they also bragged about having one meal a day. “However, three main meals and two snacks in between main meals everyday is recommended for a balanced diet.
These meals should be spread out in the day.†Breakfast should be taken between 6:00am and 8:00am. Thereafter, between 10:00am to 11:00am snack with fruits, and for lunch between 12:30pm and 2:30pm, she recommends any food, eaten with beans or groundnut sauce.
From 5:00pm to 6:00pm, you can take a simple snack such as a fruit, roasted groundnuts, soya beans and simsim seeds. People living with HIV (PLHIV) can snack on maize flour porridge mixed with margarine to meet their energy requirement.
She recommends diner to be eaten at about 8:00pm to 9:00pm. In most cases, this is the time when PLHIV take their medicine, for them to maximize medication benefits.
“Having a balanced diet doesn’t only mean having meals well spread out, but eating a variety of foods, from the three main food groups — energy giving, body building and protective foods,†Tushemerirwe explains.
Energy giving foods include, but are not limited to matooke, cassava, sweet potato, rice, posho and yams.
Body building foods include beans, peas, groundnuts, chicken, fish, meat, eggs and milk.
The protective foods are basically fruits and vegetable types.
Maize and beans make a complete protein, and fruits provide vitamins. People living with HIV are encouraged to accompany their meals with extra energy giving foods such as ghee, sugarcane and avocado. Vegetable oil such as sunflower and corn oil are healthy oils.
Tushemerirwe says one should take eight glasses (three litres) of fluids a day. If water is tasteless, boil it with mujaaja (ocimum gratissimum) or lemon grass (cymbopogon citrates). Fruits, vegetables, soups and tea are also a good source of water.
A balanced diet goes hand-in-hand with exercise and at least six hours of rest.