Monotonous diet isn’t just boring; it’s dangerous

Children need the right foods at the right time to grow and develop to their full potential. Eating a variety of foods in a single meal or across days is one factor that has been shown to increase food intake.

Studies have explored how variety can be used to promote the intake of fruits and vegetables in children as well as encourage greater intake in older adults to combat undernutrition resulting from decreased appetite.

Food variety is generally considered a good indicator of nutritional adequacy and this effect of variety can be beneficial to diet quality. However, a monotonous diet consisting primarily of carbohydrates from one or two starchy food sources for children isn’t just boring, it’s dangerous.

UNICEF, in its State of the World’s Children report for 2019, said that far too many children and young people are eating too little healthy food and too much unhealthy food. More children and young people are surviving, but far too few are thriving due to undernutrition.

The report declared that in 2018, 149 million children under five were stunted, and almost 50 million were wasted. In West and Central Africa, 28.9 million children under five were stunted, and 7.9 million were wasted.

53% of children in West and Central Africa are not getting the much-needed nutrients from animal-source foods. 40% of children in West and Central Africa are not fed any fruits or vegetables. Three in four children do not eat a diverse diet in West and Central Africa. Children six to 11 months old are eating less diverse diets compared to children aged 12 to 23 months.

Mrs Folasade Oladele, Oyo State Health Promotion Officer, said in a reaction that a monotonous diet is rampant because many have stopped cooking their meals using the locally available foodstuffs.

She stated that food packs for many children only contain rice or noodles because mothers no longer cook meals for their families.

«With a monotonous diet, the child can become malnourished and perform poorly in school. That should be a concern for mothers. Mothers who get food for their children from eateries or food joints are doing more harm than good to their wards› health.

«For a picky child that doesn’t like beans, the mother can add ripe plantains to sweeten it. Also, the beans can be served with yams or rice. The child will like it. Such children can also be served many locally available vegetables garnished with locust beans or fish,» she said.

Mrs Oladele declared that such monotonous diets can lead to deficiencies in essential vitamins and nutrients, such as vitamin A deficiency, which weakens children’s immunity, increases their risk of blindness, and can lead to death from common childhood diseases like diarrhoea.

These children may carry the burden of undernutrition for the rest of their lives because their bodies were deprived of adequate nutrition in the first 1,000 days and beyond and may never meet their full physical and intellectual potential.

But far too often, when humans rely almost entirely on a single staple crop, not only are there nutritional deficiencies, but any toxins that naturally occur in that crop will accumulate in the body, causing harmful health effects.

Certain crops common in the diets of poor populations worldwide, such as corn and cassava, can also be compromised due to naturally occurring foodborne toxins. These toxins may be produced directly by the plant, found in contaminated soil or irrigation water, or by organisms such as fungi colonising the crop.

Diversifying diets and agriculture could provide a cost-effective and sustainable means to dilute chronic exposure to such toxins.

Studies found that two natural foodborne toxins produced in foods include aflatoxin, which is produced by Aspergillus fungi that infect corn and peanuts in hot climates, and cyanogenic glycosides found in cassava.

Aflatoxins are directly responsible for thousands of liver cancer cases in Africa and Asia annually and increase liver cancer risk for hepatitis B patients. These toxins also impair the immune system and stunt children’s growth.

Experts say that children are often at the highest risk of adverse health effects, but diet diversification can ensure a reduction in the intake of these toxins, aside from also providing nutrients that counteract the negative effects of the toxin.

This is likely to be the case with the consumption of large amounts of bitter cassava. Adhering to traditional preparation methods of sun drying and/or soaking cassava for two to three days reduces its cyanide content to safe levels.

Cassava cyanide can cause neurocognitive and neuromuscular problems, including a condition of permanent paralysis called «konzo.» Increasing the dietary sulfur amino acids found in eggs, meat, and legumes, which aid in cyanide detoxification in the body, can reduce this risk of cyanide poisoning.

Studies have also shown how variety can be used to promote the intake of fruit and vegetables in children as well as encourage greater intake in older adults to combat undernutrition resulting from decreased appetite.

Providing the right kind of nutritious and safe foods for young children will prevent the scars of poor diets and feeding practices for life. An insufficient intake of nutrients found in vegetables, fruits, eggs, fish, and meat needed to support growth at an early age puts children at risk of poor brain development, weak learning, low immunity, increased infections, and, potentially, death.

 

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