WORLD FOOD DAY 2021 - Nurse Abdullahi Musa

World food day is an international day celebrated every year on October 16 as declared by United Nation (UN), with overall goals as follows: •Eradicate hunger •Food security •Conflict resolution in an infested areas •Shun away the use of hunger in form of weapon for conflict or war against another be it individual, family, community or nation chief_in by numerous organizations such as Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Having the basis of what the day is all about I will like to use this medium to highlight on two important key issues as follows: 1. Food and our health 2. Food security FOOD AND OUR HEALTH Food is a substance when taken it can quench hunger. Health is a state of being free from any disease. For you to be able to work and be healthy you must need food to maintain normal body physiologic functions. However, there are several classes of food includes: •CARBOHYDRATE e.g Yam, Rice, Millet, Maize, Wheat etc they're called energy giving foods.

•PROTEIN e.g meat, fish, bean, milk, egg etc.

•FATS AND OIL (LIPIDS) e.g organs meat, palm oil, butter, vegetable oil, cheese etc.

•MINERALS e.g sodium, calcium, iron, magnesium, chloride, phosphorus which can be found in some of the food we eat such as table salt, milk, seafood, vegetables etc.

•VITAMINS e.g vitamin A, D, E, K, B, C which can also be found in the food we eat such as fruits, vegetables and as supplements in form of drugs.

•WATER very essential to the body physiologic functions. The human body also constitute more fluid than solid of estimated about 60_65% water and 40_45% solid for young adult male and female 50_55% water, 45_50% solid because of the fat disposition that's more in women than men. Thus, the body fluids comprise about 45_75% of the total body weight hence, the body's fluids are determine by age, gender and body composition; fluid volume in the body slop as aged. Water play a vital roles in maintaining kidneys functions, homeostasis, metabolism and thermal control in the body.

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5805803503573544" crossorigin="anonymous"></script> Moreover, all the aforementioned classes of food each has it's own specific function(s) in the body as such increase or decrease in the quantity or quantity of either one may lead to underline disease condition or body malfunction. To be healthy we need to modify our daily food consumption or else align illness(es) might set in such as underweight, obesity, kwashiorkor, marasmus, hypertension, diabetes and alot more. In the same line, children need more supply of nutrients than adults such higher calories of carbohydrate, protein such as egg, meat, fish, fruit etc. It's fact that, some of us became used to or addicted to some processed food such as indomie, cheese, soft drinks, pizza, frozen, candy, ice cream etc rather than natural food which some of them are precursors to certain diseases consequently some are carcinogenic. Below are some tips to maintain health and healthy diet:

•Maintain balanced diet i.e diet that contains all the classes of food in correct proportion •Fruits and vegetables e.g banana, watermelon, orange, pineapple, lettuce, cucumber, moringa etc •Avoid food contain higher salt •Minimize sugar intake •Reduce much intake of fatty food e.g organs meat, cheese, butter etc •Adequate excercise •Eat food rich in fibers mostly fruits and vegetables •More intake of water •Avoid taking weighty food while going on bed •Avoid food contain caffeine such coffee, energy drink, kola nut, green tea etc •Proper cooking habits •Stay for awhile after eating before going to bed •Maintain food hygiene

                                                Written and compiled by Nurse Abdullahi Musa.

                                                            muserabdullahi01@gmail.com