By Dr. Evans Sellame Adrah, a registered dietitian, has advised on the importance of limiting the consumption of starchy foods to prevent diabetes.
He highlighted that starchy foods, predominantly from maize, rice, and wheat, are common in many diets but can heighten the risk of diabetes if consumed excessively.
Speaking on JoyNews’ AM show, he emphasized the need to reduce the portion sizes of starchy foods on the plate, recommending a decrease in foods like maize, rice, and wheat.
Dr. Adrah challenged the misconception that satiety can only be achieved through consuming large quantities of starchy foods such as fufu, banku, and kenkey. He stressed that satiety in terms of nutrition can be achieved from various food sources, not solely from starchy foods.
To prevent diabetes, Dr. Adrah suggested reducing the intake of grains and starchy foods like cassava, yam, and cocoyam, while incorporating healthier alternatives.
He recommended controlling portions of starch and increasing the intake of soup or other accompaniments to maintain a balanced diet without sacrificing satiety.
“There is a need to have a replacement. Now, the replacement we can do is that we reduce the portion of the starchy foods. We make sure that the soup, the accompaniment goes up. So, if somebody is taking banku with soup, for example, the soup, if it is with okro stew or okro soup, the person tries to have more of the okro soup or more of the okro stew than the banku itself.
“Now, if the same person is having a rice dish, what can be done is that the stew should be more than the rice itself. So practically speaking, how do we make the stew or the soup bulky? One of the things we can do is make sure that we incorporate vegetables into their preparation”, he noted.
Source: JoyNews
