Alvine Kapitako
Windhoek-As cliché as it may sound, a person either feeds or fights diseases each time they eat, a dietician says.
People do not realise it but the body only gets rid of a small amount of food that is consumed, registered dietician Annalien Turner told New Era.
“So where is the rest of the food going? It remains on the inside and that is why you become what you eat,” said Turner in an interview with New Era.
People who tend to eat a lot of sugary foods and drinks are more prone to diseases, while those who eat clean tend to fight off diseases much easier.
The human body has the ability to digest all kinds of (junk) food but only until a certain point, explained Turner.
“But then along the way things will begin to show,” Turner added. Explaining why eating clean is important, the dietician explained that the human’s body’s bad bacteria feeds on sugar thus creating risks of diseases.
“Your good bacteria lives on fibre, which you get from whole grains, vegetables, fruits and some of the plant fats. If you eat lots of sugary foods you are feeding the bad bacteria and we start seeing more symptoms like irritable bowel symptoms and immunity problems,” said Turner.
“There is a link between obesity, diabetes and immunity,” said Turner.
“Therefore the fibres in your vegetables and fruits are very important and you should limit your sugary products. It’s not to say that you can never have sweets but it should be a treat,” she emphasised.
Eating clean means that a person eats as healthy as possible, the dietician further elaborated. “This means as natural and unprocessed as possible because every time you eat or drink you’re either feeding or fighting diseases,” stressed Turner.
Turner has observed that Namibians are not health conscious. “Sometimes they are not even aware of what they are eating. We try to empower our patients to understand why they need to eat certain foods,” said Turner.