The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Vegetables

  • Professor, others get $4.5m to promote vegetables

    To promote indigenous vegetables, professor of Soil  Science at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife , Duro Oyedele, will receive $4,450,000 million for a project to promote indigenous vegetables.

    The project, which will be in partnership with the Osun State University, University of Parakou, Republic of Benin, University of Manitoba and University of Saskatchewan, Canada, is to advance the Under-Utilised Indigenous Vegetables (UIVs) in Southwestern Nigeria and Benin Republic.

    In Nigeria, according to findings,  more than 1,000 farmers increase their yield and income by using improved farming practices to grow UIVs. These improved farming practices were developed during the field research carried out in Southwestern Nigeria. In Benin, fertiliser micro-dosing and rain water harvesting techniques also helped more than 10 thousand farmers achieve equally beneficial results with other crops despite degraded soil.

    The team of Nigerian, Beninoise and Canadian researchers are now combining these two innovations to bring the farmers’ practices to 50,000 farmers. The recommended farming techniques will be spread through demonstration trials, outreach efforts, supports and trainings for seed producers and marketers, by establishing local committees to address issues such as productivity and marketing.

    Support to indigenous vegetables farming and processing business will increase demand and improve income of 1,000,000 West African farmers and the  University of Manitoba  in Canada.This project is among the four international projects that have been collectively awarded $17 million by the  International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. They are part of an effort to scale up the most promising research supported under IDRC- Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF).

    The CIFSRF is a  programme of IDRC, Canada, undertaken with financial support of the government of Canadian provided through Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, Canada. The fund support research to increase food security in developing countries while fostering collaboration between developing-countries researchers and Canadian experts.

  • Vegetables protect you from lung cancer

    Vegetables protect you from lung cancer

    The odds are 50-50 you were born with a gene that prevents lung cancer. But even if you were not you can protect yourself just by eating certain vegetables.

    That is the good news from a top medical researcher, who says the special gene stimulates production of an anticancer enzyme called glutathione transferase.

    “About half the population has the gene. To produce this chemical and half do not,” revealed Dr. Gary Williamson.

    “This may be why some people can smoke all their lives, never develop lung cancer and die in their sleep at the age of 90.”

    Those who are not blessed with the gene can still get the benefits of glutathione simply by increasing their intake of broccoli, cabbage and sprouts, revealed Dr. Williamson, a biochemistry department head at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich, England.

    These members of the Brassica vegetable family also contain other chemical compounds to boost the body’s defences against several types of cancer, he added.

    Similar benefits can be obtained by eating onions and garlic.

    Studies at the institute found that most people think they eat more vegetables than they really do.

    “To some people, a slice of tomato would qualify as a portion,” said Dr. Williamson.

  • Vegetables, fruits, others vital to life, say scientists

    Which meals are good for the body? Meals that are rich in nutrients and fibre, say Unilever scientists in the report of a cinical study. Such meals, they said, could also help combat obesity and type 2 diabetes.

    The scientists presented their preliminary findings at the 20th European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool. The study compared two meals using readily available ingredients, a healthy modern meal and a Palaeolithic age-inspired meal, which is so called because its composition mirrors a range of foods that people have easy access to in the olden days.

    The scientists compared a healthy modern meal comprising fish, rice, one portion of fruit and one portion of vegetables with a Palaeolithic-inspired meal comprising fish, no rice, a broad variety of different fruits and vegetables, nuts and mushrooms. All the meals contained the same amount of protein, fat, carbohydrates and calories.

    The Paleolithic-inspired meals are majorly Phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are bioactive plant-derived compounds often associated with a range of positive health effects. Some phytonutrients are orange colour- squach, mango, carrots; red/purple colour- grapes, cherries, strawberries; orange/yellow colour- orange, pineapples; green/yellow colour- avocado, spinach, green beans; red colour- tomatoes, watermelon; green colour- brocolli, cabbage, dark green vegetables; brown colour- nuts; white colour- coconut, maize.

    Also incorporated in them, and a broader range of plant- based foods like nuts and spices such as cinnamon in addition to fresh fruit and vegetables.

    The metabolism of these are used for the experiment, and was monitored three hours after eating and those that consumed the modified meal felt much fuller.

    The results also showed that they had significantly higher levels of PYY, a hormone that tells the brain that a person has had enough to eat.

    Explanatory reasons for the results include that the Palaeolithic-inspired meal had a low energy density resulting in a physically bigger meal for the same amount of calories than the modern meal. This could account for the increased satiety levels. The meal was also designed using plant-based ingredients chosen to be both high in fibre and rich in phytonutrients.

    Prof Mark Berry, Senior Scientist at Unilever who led the research said: “Initial findings from our study suggest we might do well to get back to basics and eat a diet for which our bodies have evolved. With its mix of lean meat, fresh fish and a very broad variety of plant-based foods, our ancient ancestors’ diet was different from what most of us consume today. Furthermore, the human genome has not had time to respond to radical recent changes in our diet and therefore human physiology is at odds with the vast majority of modern diets.

    “The great thing is we didn’t have to invent a time machine to do this study – all the ingredients needed for the Palaeolithic-meal could be readily purchased.”

    Prof Gary Frost from Imperial College London said the initial findings could have other profound benefits: “Up to now surgery has often been the only viable solution to tackle chronic obesity but this research has exciting future possibilities of opening up a genuine alternative to gastric surgery. The observation that Palaeolithic diet leads to an increase in PYY raises the possibility of designing a diet that would act as a sort of nutritional bypass.”

    Dr Frances Bligh, Lead Scientist at Unilever said the team now plans to work with academic colleagues to investigate some of these effects further. “We want to see if the findings could be applied to foods of the future,” he stated.

     

  • Vegetables, fruits good for health, says biochemist

    Many local fresh vegetables and fruits are rich sources of antioxidants and other micronutrients that support good health, a biochemist, Prof Sylvia Malomo has said.

    She said these vegetables and fruits if regularly consumed would reduce the scourge of diseases like cancer, diabetes, coronary heart diseases and infections.

    Prof Malomo was delivering the 127th inaugural lecture of University of Ilorin (UNILORIN). The lecture was entitled:The invisible behind and beyond the visible.

    She said: “Soko (Celosia argentea) is a vegetable that could be used as a component of fresh vegetable salads, I recommend its use in restaurants and at home. Indeed such findings like this, call for closer working between the gown and the economic machinery of town in Nigeria,” she added.

    She canvassed appropriate information for the public on the dangers inherent in combining drugs based on herbs with pharmaceuticals.

    “Because of the scarcity of information of herb drug interactions, the generality of the public should be made aware (through appropriate channels) of the dangers of combining drugs based on herbs with pharmaceuticals for therapeutic purposes as some toxic effects may not be reversible. This may be a place to call more for mutually respecting interaction between our more scientific practitioners and our traditional ones.

    “Government agencies, such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) should ensure that new chemicals and pharmaceuticals introduced into the market are subjected to thorough toxicological evaluation to prevent any health disaster. Collaboration with the country’s tertiary institutions may not be a bad idea at all,” she stated.

    Prof Malomo said: “If Nigeria must grow her economy and earn back much of the lost past glory, it must address issues of poverty, illiteracy, diseases, hunger, environment, unemployment and most importantly, poor governance. These issues make the attainment of the Millennium Develoment Goals (MDGs)MDGs in Nigeria, seem like a mirage.

    “I wish to add my voice to those emphatically calling for increased funding of education as it is paramount to improving education delivery in particular, but particularly more so for science and technology education. If Nigeria must improve its pace towards becoming a developed nation this must be addressed since development is driven faster by science and technology.”

  • Vegetables, others can be used to manage diabetes

    Vegetables have been recommended for the treatment of diabetes.

    According to a traditional healer, Dr Lambo Adebisi, eating vegetables, seeds and nuts can help manage the condition.

    He said the disease can be treated naturally, especially with raw diet and by making some life changing decisions.

    Diabetics can also use natural herbs and remedies to survive diabetes, he added.

    “There are many remedies available today, it all depends on people’s body and genetics. No cure works 100 per cent for everyone. A raw diet is only the beginning. Diabetics should continue to eat healthy for the rest of their lives to ensure they can be free of the disease returning,” he said.

    Adebisi said there are herbal preparations which help to remove sugar from the body, thereby providing succor to the patients.

    He identified fig leaves as one of the best known therapies for treating diabetes, adding that it has other uses.

    “The fig leaf has anti-diabetic properties. The diabetic needs less insulin when on a treatment of using the fig leaf extract. The diabetic should take the extract with breakfast, first thing in the morning. An additional remedy is to boil the leaves and drink it as tea,” he said.

    “Black seed, also known as Nigella Sativa is a cure for many diseases. and considered to be a miraculous cure. It has been used for everything from acne to pancreatic cancers and doctors are raving about the results.

    “Another remedy for the treatment of diabetes is to take one half cup of the seeds that have been heated and a half cup of water cress seeds (mustard seeds can be substituted) and a quarter of a cup of ground pomegranate peel.”

    Cinnamon, Adebisi said, has been reported as a good source for the treatment of diabetes in a study done in 2003 by Khan and Associates.

    “Sixty people were tested in the group and one-third of the group was given a placebo. The end results were very impressive and the overall health of the group was increased with glucose down 18 per cent; LDL cholesterol and triglycerides also showed reduced levels. Everyone was excited and the word of using cinnamon spread,” he added.

    Grape seed extract, he said, is another notable therapy for diabetes. “This has been proven to improve the conditions associated with this disease. Grape seed performed greatly in studies conducted in 2006 in Toyama, Japan in 2009 in Romania and also in Portsmouth, United, Kingdom.

    “The Department of Health Sciences of the University of Jaen Research found that an oil rich diet may prevent diabetes,” Adebisi said.