Want to get rid of belly fat? Here are 13 Nigerian foods you SHOULD avoid

by Oke Peter

food

 

A lot of our Nigerian meals are carbohydrate-based which in turn create fat in certain parts of our bodies that are rather difficult to eliminate.

These foods are the real reasons why many women (and men) now grow fat, have big belly, grow love handles, get  flabby “Christian mother” arms and have a huge waist line.

If you are concerned about gaining weight in these “problem areas,” then you should avoid the following foods:

1. Pounded Yam

2. Fufu

3. Garri

4. Starch

5. Rice

6. Bread (Agege & Sliced)

7. Excess Palm Oil based soup/stew

8. Biscuit

9. Soft Drinks

10. Fries

11. Alcohol

12. Flour Snacks from eateries (e.g. Meat pie)

13. Canned Foods & Bottled Drinks

Truth be told, our Nigerian foods (listed above) are extremely fatty. This is because they contain simple-to-digest, basic sugars that have little real value for your body. That is why they are referred to as simple carbohydrates.

We have been made to believe that eating fats or foods that contains fat are responsible for making us gain weight. This is not true. Carbohydrates are actually responsible for the fattening.

When you eat carbohydrates based food like rice or pounded yam, your body automatically releases a hormone called Insulin.

This insulin controls the level of sugar (which is a by-product of carbohydrate) in our body by transporting the excess sugar from the carbohydrate foods into the major organs like the muscles, liver and then store the rest of it (excess) in your body fat cells.

When it stores the excess sugar in your body fat cells, that is exactly when you start seeing the manifestation in the form of bulky thighs, big tummy,flabby arms and love handles.

The secretion of insulin in our body is a natural process which is needed to prevent your body from shutting down.

If insulin is not produced to take care of the excess sugar (as a result of the carbohydrate in the Nigerian foods we eat) in the body, this sugar (which is toxic) can damage some vital organs, clog you arteries and block capillaries.

However, you should also know that carbohydrate is very essential for energy production, long life and good health, but that only applies to “good” carbohydrate.

While bad carbohydrates foods (like the 13 foods above) are referred to as simple carbs, the good carbohydrates are referred to as complex carbohydrates.

Research shows that good carbohydrates increases energy naturally, induce fat burning and improve long-term health.

Below is a list of the 17 healthy carbohydrates you should eat instead:

1. Egg white

2. Potatoes

3. Whole grains

4. Citrus

5. Berries

6. Watermelon

7. Apples

8. Sweet potato

9. Nuts and legumes

10. Cereals

11. Dry fruits

12. Pizza

13. Banana

14. Wheat bread

15. Pasta

16. Green vegetables

17. Dairy products

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Read more in Oke Peter Blog

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

Comments (2)

  1. pizza is high fat high carb too , do not eat it , its what makes white people so fat and weak , stick too nigerian food

  2. lol pasta and bread are simple carbs , i lost weight increasing the vegetables and meat and decreasing the carbs

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