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Nutrition

Combatting ageing skin with diet

• Ghana team

 In this chapter, we will be discuss­ing how we can slow down the ageing of our skin through our diet.

As we age, we start developing wrinkles, age spots and dryness on our skin. The skin also becomes thinner as we lose fat and mus­cles, making it less plump and smooth and may take longer to heal.

Fortunately, it is never too late to start pro­tecting yourself. Many products, including medications claim to revitalise ageing skin or reduce wrinkles but the dietary aspect has proven to be equal to the task.

Foods to in­clude

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• Monounsat­urated fatty acid rich foods such as; olive oil, almonds and avocados

• Vitamin C rich foods; oranges, tangerines, lemons, bell peppers and pineapples

• Vitamin E rich diet; spinach, sun flower seeds, pumpkin, peanuts and kiwi

Foods to avoid

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• Sodas and caffeine rich drinks

• Red meat and meat prod­ucts

• Processed foods

Lifestyle modification

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Modifying our lifestyle from a predominantly sedentary lifestyle to incorporating exercises like going for walks, jogging, and riding bicycles, as well as cutting down alcohol intake, and cigarette smok­ing will serve to prolong a healthy, strong and ageless skin.

In summary, it is obvious that there is no fountain of youth to keep us young forever, but main­taining healthy, vibrant skin for many years is not out of our reach. By implementing and including desired fruits and vegetables to our diet, as well as good lifestyle choices, our skin will thank us for generations to come.

The writer is a Nutritionist and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Holistic Health Consult.

“Your diet, your health, your health your wealth.”

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e-mail: info@holistichealthconsult.org

 By Bernice Korkor Asare

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Nutrition

 Benefits of chocolate

Chocolate

 Antioxidants

Dark chocolate contains several compounds that possesses antioxidant prop­erties, such as flavanols and polyphenols. Antioxidants neutralise free radicals and prevent oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress refers to the damage that excessive amounts of free radicals can inflict on cells and tissues in the body.

Oxidative stress contributes to the natural aging pro­cess. Over time, the effects of ox­idative stress may also contribute to the development of a variety of diseas­es.

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Heart disease risk

Regularly eating dark chocolate helps reduce a person’s likelihood of develop­ing heart disease. Some of the compounds in dark chocolate, specifically flava­nols, affect two major risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Blood pres­sure

The flavanols in dark chocolate stimulate nitric oxide pro­duction in the body. Nitric oxide causes blood ves­sels to dilate, or widen, which improves blood flow and lowers blood pressure.

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Cholesterol

Dark chocolate also con­tains certain compounds, such as polyphenols and theobromine that may lower levels of low-den­sity lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the body and increase lev­els of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Doctors often refer to LDL cholesterol as “bad cholesterol” and HDL cholesterol as “good cholesterol.

Anti-inflamma­tory effects

Inflammation is part of the body’s natural immune response to germs and other harmful substances. However, chronic inflammation can damage cells and tissues and may increase the risk of some health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and certain types of cancer.

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Dark chocolate contains compounds with anti-inflam­matory properties that may help reduce inflammation in the body.

Insulin resistance

Insulin resistance occurs when the body’s cells stop responding to the hormone insulin. Insulin resistance can cause abnormally high levels of blood glucose, which can lead to prediabe­tes and type 2 diabetes.

Brain function

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Eating dark chocolate may improve brain function and help prevent neurode­generative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

The findings of a small 2018 study Trusted Source suggest that the flavanols present in dark chocolate may enhance neuroplasti­city, which is the brain’s ability to reorganise itself, particularly in response to injury and disease.

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Nutrition

Koose (fried cowpea bean cake)

Delicious Koose
Delicious Koose

Ingredients

• 300 grams of cowpea (dehusked) flour

• 200 ml of oil (for deep frying)

• 20 grams of ginger

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• 10 grams of fresh or dry hot pepper

• 50 grams of onion (op­tional)

• 2 tablespoonfuls of salt

• 1000 ml water

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Preparation

-Wash, peel ginger, hot pep­per, onion (Grind or blend)

-Mix water with cowpea flour and beat until mixture is fluffy

 -Add ground spices (ginger, hot pepper and onion) and salt to cowpea flour in bits and continue to beat

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-Add water and stir to mix evenly and to obtain a soft dropping consistency cooking

-Put oil on fire and add chopped onions

-Drop mixture by spoonfuls in the hot oil and fry, turn­ing occasionally until golden brown (frying may take about three minutes)

– Take the cakes from hot oil, drain in a colander and place on kitchen paper to extract excess oil

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• Serve hot with corn, millet or sorghum porridge or alone as a snack

 By Linda Abrefi Wadie

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