‘We are what we eat’

A medical expert, Professor Ezekiel Iwalewa, says natural whole nutritious foods are important in preventing inflammatory responses in the body, a silent and unknown cause of many chronic diseases, including diabetes and hypertension.

Professor Iwalewa, at the University of Ibadan’s 2020/2021 inaugural lecture entitled “That I may Live in Health: checkmating the Silent Killer” said what individuals eat mirrors what they really are because healthy foods reduce inflammatory processes while unhealthy foods cause and aggravate inflammatory responses.

Iwalewa, a pharmacologist, said that fueling the body with whole foods proven to boost health will help to support insulin regulation, reduce inflammation, optimise digestion and may even promote fat loss thus helping the body to function at its best.

The expert stated that traditional medicinal herbal remedies, including spices such as garlic, turmeric and chilli pepper, abound in the environment that individuals can tap into to checkmate chronic inflammation, the silent killer, to live healthy and balanced lives.

According to him, “for people who have mastered the life of healthy living, a healthy diet is not all complicated, it simply contains mostly intake of water, fruits, vegetables and whole grains but little or no processed food or sweetened beverages. A healthy lifestyle includes getting exercise every day along with eating a healthy diet. We are what we eat, take into and upon our body.”

Professor Iwalewa suggested that to effectively reduce the subtle but harsh condition of different forms of chronic inflammation, there was the need for recognition of its early symptoms, which are pain, fever, body part swelling and loss of bodily functions.

He declared that sugary and processed food substances are contributing immensely to chronic inflammatory disorders, and urged individuals to be watchful of what they eat.

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