A couple of years back, when I was undergoing my mandatory one year National Youth Service Corps in Enugu, it was the farthest distance I had travelled for that long. My main headache, beyond the bewildered thoughts of the coming uncertainty, was how do I get around the food?
I wouldn’t trade my love for exploration and being a foodie for sticking to the conventional ewedu, abula, iyan and the rest. Abacha, okpa and the best of the rest is new food challenge and I sure made it count. But the thing is throughout this adventure, the idea of trying different from what they are used to was dead on arrival for the majority of the Coal City corpers.
Did you know some people are actually disgusted with the idea and aroma of what you think is the best food in the universe?
Or how would you feel if someone thumbs down to jollof rice, the one almost everyone hates to love? Not eating this food isn’t the problem, the bigger emphasis is on the reason they are saying to these foods that can make you sell your birthright like you know who.
A couple of interactions with some of the people on why they don’t eat what they don’t eat reveal few surprises as their reasons border on tradition, taboo, religion, personal encounter, and health as the case may be.
Talking about personal experience, since Ifeoluwa Dada saw a cockroach in his Ewedu soup age 10, 16 years after, nothing in the world (we’ve not tried a million dollar though) can convince him to eat not just ewedu, but any other draw, slimy food.
Dada is not the only one on this one. Victor Babalola had an encounter eating vegetables once upon a time and somehow ended up with a headache. Now, if it’s the vegetable that birthed the ache (which is highly unlikely because vegetables are supposed to boost the immune system), it wasn’t clear, but one thing happened, dude stopped eating vegetables ever since.
Damilola Olagunju’s story is quite different. She feels semo and kidney makes her feel all mushy and she doesn’t want any of that. Even Innocent Oluwadare says he wonders why everybody keeps hyping jollof rice because he just won’t eat it come what may. Another person has it on good record that anytime he eats bread and tea, he is liable to throw up.
Mr Collins Akanno, founder and consultant at Diet234.com and a seasoned nutritionist affirmed that food folklore has been around since forever and was quick to say that most of them are not entirely true.
“As you already know, there are numerous sayings and beliefs associated with foods in any locality. This food folklore have been found to be passed down from generations to generations. Most of them had been initiated from the ancestral experience with certain foods.
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“Also, some were borne out of plain curiosity or some sort of attribution. I have taken quite a while to compile and categorise the foods and from various resources including; the internet, novels, parents, documentaries and even cartoon/comical books,” the Diet Doctor said.
Mr Akanno categorises the foods under vegetables, meat, nuts and legumes, fruits and others according to what people have said about them over time: Apples: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”; prevents cavities and tooth decay.
Cherries: Cherry gum dissolved in wine relieves a cough; ensures continued fertility
Citrus fruits: Prevents scurvy; causes low blood pressure; cure the common cold
Lemon: Reduces body fat; removes metabolic poisons
Cranberries: Prevent scurvy; prevent cure or urinary-tract infections
Currant: Relieves sore throat
Grapefruit: Should be avoided completely when taking medication; burns calories, dissolves fat, aids in weight loss; is “good for you”.
Beans: They are a natural laxative; causes heartburn
Soybean: “Brings out the female in you”
Coconut water: “Makes a child dull”; very potent in detoxifying poisons; the purest form of water (hydration)
Groundnut: It causes pimples (acne)
Cashew nut: It brings an excessive thirst
Walnut: Food for the brain, no wonder it is structured in every way like the brain
Kolanut: “Chewed to speak to the gods”; drives sleep away and gives energy boost; eaten for clairvoyance (to see a vision or the future)
Bitter Kola: Arrest purging; antimalarial medicine; discolors the teeth; blood purifier.
Milk: Prevents scurvy; helps to heal ulcers; causes constipation; unpasteurized milk has more nutrients than pasteurised; a glass of milk before bed causes drowsiness; mothers who drink a lot of milk have colicky babies; milk and other dairy products are fattening and should be avoided on a low-fat diet; the calcium in milk and other foods causes kidney
stones.
Chocolate: Food of the gods; Causes acne; eating chocolate helps to prevent heart disease Salt: A no-salt diet protects against high blood pressure; sea salt is healthier than tablesalt; salt tablets prevent muscle cramps Alcohol: Helps to warm the body in cold weather; acts as a sleep aid if consumed before bedtime; red wine is good for the heart; a nip of brandy cures a cold; drinking alcohol with raw oysters ensure they are safe.
and then