1,500 layer birds have been distributed to selected 500 staff of a cashew processing company in Ilorin, Kwara state as part of measures to encourage nutritional and healthy eating habits among the workers.
Speaking at a seminar organised by Olam Food Ingredients on community nutrition aimed at sensitising the workers on healthy lifestyle, the factory manager, Mr Ajibade Idris, said that the programme was part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the establishment.
“We’re trying to sensitise our workers on nutrition, how to eat what, what to eat and the importance of good nutrition in their body system. We started with some other programmes like provision of scholarship to more than 50 beneficiaries. The scholarship was presented to some workers to further their education, or to their children in payment of their WAEC and JAMB registration fees as well as tuition fees. Also, 1,500 layer birds were given free of charge to selected 500 staff to rear and lay eggs. A worker gets a cucu containing three layer birds. This, we believe would give them added nutritional value”, he said.
In his presentation, a nutrition expert from the state ministry of Health, Komolafe Phillip, said that, “You are what you eat”.
“There are certain types of food that can be taken to give nutrients to the body system. We would not visit hospital with illness if we take good and nutritious food. It’s the kind of food we take sometime that causes diseases to our body system.
“It’s a wrong notion that only rich people eat good food. This is not so. An average Nigerian family can eat good and nutritious food. For instance, fortified pap made from soya, cray fish, groundnuts, maize in appropriate proportion is good for both children and adults. A child that’s given such food can do well and be in good healthy condition, even better than those eating refined and imported processed tin food”.
The nutritionist, who advised the workers to discourage too much fats as contained in oil in their food or fried food, said that they should discourage junk food as it creates more damage to the body.
“Local rice is more nutritionally benefitting than polished and foreign parboiled rice as local rice contained all what is needed as nutrients for our body system.
“Cashew nuts is also very nutritious, because it contains fibre as well as good and beneficial fats, he said, adding that vegetables and fruits should be included more in their food.
“Too much of carbohydrates turn to fats in our body system and we become fat. Fats are not only got from oils but also from carbohydrates.
Mr. Phillips, who said that exercise is good for the body system, lamented that people don’t do regular exercise, saying that, “that’s part of why people get sick”.
“Sedentary life style is killing many people nowadays. When you don’t engage yourself in much physical activity, but sit down for a long time at a place, it becomes a problem. We should create time for exercise to live good and healthy life style. Engaging in physical exercise allows bad contents in the body to go out and good contents that benefits our body to stay inside the system”.
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