Nutrition
Conquering heartburn with our diet
A balanced diet
In this chapter, we will be discussing how we can conquer heartburn with our diet.
Heartburn is a painful burning sensation in the chest and/or throat, which occurs when stomach acid and other digestive juices back up into the eosophagus (the tube that carries food to the stomach).
Almost everyone gets heartburn sometimes, but if you have heartburn more than twice a week, you may have gastroeosophageal reflux disease (GERD). Here is what you need to know.
A one-way valve sits just above the stomach, which opens to allow food from the eosophagus to enter the stomach, and closes tightly to prevent vice versa.
In GERD, this valve does not close tightly enough to prevent the digestive juices in the stomach from climbing up into the eosophagus, which irritates the eosophagus, leading to the characteristic chest and/or throat pain and discomfort.
Certain medications, foods and alcohol can bring on heartburn, and management of this condition may be medical or dietary;
Foods to include
• High fiber diet such as whole grains, fruits (with the exception of citrus fruits) and vegetables
• Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, flax seeds, and walnuts
• Water; it flushes out the eosophagus
Foods to avoid
• Fatty foods such as fried foods
• Coffee
• Tea
• Whole milk
• Spicy food
• Citrus fruits
Lifestyle changes
• Weight loss through exercises like going for walks, jogging, and riding bicycles
• Avoiding alcohol intake
To conclude, heartburn can be very uncomfortable and disabling, but it’s also very well controlled and prevented with the above measures incorporated into our diet and lifestyle, which are sure to keep us far away from the clutches of heartburn.
The writer is a nutritionist and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Holistic Health Centre.
By Dr Bernice Korkor Asare
Nutrition
Palm nut soup
Palm nut soup is a Ghanaian dish that can be served with so many foods. It has a rich base of palm nuts combined with tomatoes and various vegetables that makes it very nutritious.
Preparation
Ingredients
– 1 kilogramme of palm nut
– Half kilogramme of beef
-One kilogramme of goat meat
-Three large salmon
-One full tuna
– A handful of turkey berries
-Two large onions
-4 large tomatoes
-3 large garden eggs
– One tin of mackerel
-Ten large peppers
– One large ginger
-2 cloves of garlic
– Four fingers of okro
– Salt to taste
Instructions
-Wash, cook palm nut, turkey berries, and pepper and add salt to it.
-Grind palm nut, turkey berries and pepper with mortar and pestle or mini food processor.
-Wash goat meat, beef, Tuna, salt and put on fire.
– Blend onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes and pour on the goat meat.
– Add smoked tuna and salmon and okro to the soup.
-Use a spoon or ladle to skim off the surface oil.
-Garnish the soup with the okro or garden eggs as desired.
-Serve with fufu, banku or Omo tuo.
Nutrition
Cucumber and apple smoothie
Ingredients
-Two medium sized cucumber
-Three apples
-Four tablespoonful of honey
-Crushed ice
-Two cups of yoghurt
-One tablespoonful of blended ginger
– One tablespoonful of celery and mint
Preparation
-Wash and slice cucumber, apple into smaller sizes
-Blend until it is smooth
-Add honey and a little water to it
-Add crushed ice and yoghurt
-Blend it till you achieve your desired texture
– Then serve
