Dietician schools gym goers about healthy eating

A REGISTERED Dietician from the 37 Military Hospital, Naana Anane Adjei, has said there is no guarantee that eating once daily would make a person lose weight.

“Giving the body a lot of energy does not mean you are going to use all that energy during the day. It will not waste that, the body was created to store,” she stressed.

She was interacting with aerobics and swimming members of the JFC Fitness Club on food and nutrition in Accra yesterday.

She said weight management is a process, adding “exercising and eating once a day is not going to help you to lose weight faster, rather eating three small meals a day would. It is better to spread the meal out, at least four-hour interval, than having all at a go, you will be hungry and your body would have stored the energy anyway.”

Mrs. Adjei also advised that combining alcohol and food is not healthy, explaining “the body treats alcohol as a poison.”

“There is a whole pathway in the body that works on alcohol, that is why the more you have, then you start exhibiting hangover signs,” she said, adding “I’m not saying don’t drink but be moderate in your drinking. Be a social drinker, not an everyday thing. Red wine is good for the heart because of the grapes but that same thing is also found in other foods like cocoa powder, groundnut etc. so don’t make it a reason to drink, especially in excess.”

Mrs. Adjei also encouraged the drinking of more water, at least four sachets a day, to help the body in its natural detoxification rather than relying on herbal preparations and medications that are not prescribed by health professionals.

She said, some of herbal concoctions put stress on the liver and might not be able to cleanse the system successfully.

“Eat more vegetables and fruits, drink enough water and take in fermented foods to help in the detoxification of the body,” she added.

The instructor of the JFC Fitness Club, Jay Ice, thanked the dietician and used the opportunity to advice the public on the need to do regular exercise.

He also invited the public to join the team on Mondays to Saturdays, 5am, to train at the Trade Fair Centre, La, Accra.