IN OUR quest for healthier eating choices, we are encouraged to eat foods
\nwith less fat and sodium, more fiber, more complex carbohydrates and lower
\nin calories. The foods that are most promoted are usually the imported ones
\nsince more is known about them than about our local foods.<\/p>\n
\nIN OUR quest for healthier eating choices, we are encouraged to eat foods
\nwith less fat and sodium, more fiber, more complex carbohydrates and lower
\nin calories. The foods that are most promoted are usually the imported ones
\nsince more is known about them than about our local foods. We may therefore
\nseek out whole grain cereals and breads, fruits such as the American apple,
\nplum and grapes and vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower. How do our
\nlocal foods compare?\n<\/p>\n
\nWho has not heard the adage, ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’?
\nThis is probably because the American apple has fiber to facilitate gut
\nhealth and rid the body of waste. But do you know that one guava fruit has
\nfour (4) times the amount of fiber, slightly more potassium and nineteen
\n(19) times the amount of vitamin C as an American apple?
\nIn comparison to a whole bunch of grapes, one (1) guava has twenty five (25)
\ntimes more vitamin C, four (4) times more fiber and about the same
\npotassium.\n<\/p>\n
\nLikewise, it would take fifteen (15) American apples to supply the vitamin C
\ncontent of only one (1) West Indian cherry.\n<\/p>\n
\nCranberry juice has become very popular because of its benefits to bladder
\nhealth. But have you thought that similar benefits could be had from coconut
\nwater at less than half the calories and with appreciably more potassium?\n<\/p>\n
\nA glass of cranberry juice will provide about 150 – 200 calories while the
\nsame glass of coconut water contains only 50 calories while giving 400mg
\npotassium compared
\nto the 60mg for cranberry juice.\n<\/p>\n
\nFor those concerned about the sodium content of coconut water, be assured
\nthat a single glass will provide only 60mg sodium compared to the 700 mg in
\nV8 canned vegetable juice. Also, be assured that the coconut water has no
\nfat.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe fat of the coconut resides in the jelly and will thus be found in
\ncoconut milk, but there is no cholesterol since the coconut is of plant
\norigin and cholesterol is found only in foods of animal origin. This means
\nthat butter will have cholesterol but coconut milk, like the vegetable
\nmargarines is free of cholesterol. Moreover, the traditional
\nway of cooking with coconut milk for flavor is better that using margarine
\nwhich is often substituted in porridge, rice and peas and soups. A
\ntablespoon of coconut milk has only 38 calories and 4g fat compared to 111
\ncalories in the same amount of margarine and 11.5 g fat.\n<\/p>\n
\nAlso, the fat in coconut is healthier for the body than margarine fats. Two
\nother sources of fat that are often mislabelled are the Jamaican ackee and
\nthe Avocado pear. Neither has any cholesterol and the fat is monounsaturated
\n– the same type of fat that we pay so much for in the olive oil.\n<\/p>\n
\nAdmittedly, broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts, like other vegetables
\nwill provide vitamin C, minerals, flavonoids and other phytochemical but
\nthey are no match for our local callaloo (amaranth) in terms of calcium,
\niron or vitamin A. Callaloo has more than four times the calcium, two or
\nmore times the iron with more than twice
\nthe vitamin A as the American vegetables. The whole grain cereals are indeed
\na good source of fiber but calorie for calorie our provisions are equally
\nbeneficial.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe Irish potato, brown rice and whole kernel corn provide the least fiber
\nper serving. Those of better value are whole wheat bread, green banana and
\nsweet potato providing 1.5 g per serving of about 70 calories. Richer still
\nis rolled oats at 1.96g but topping the list, you guessed it, our local
\nbreadfruit at 2.45 for a serving of two(2) slices.\n<\/p>\n
\nSo next time you reach for the foreign goods on the shelf, don’t forget our
\nlocal products are the best.\n<\/p>\n
\nPatricia Thompson M.Sc.
\nRegistered Nutritionist
\nThe Nutrition Centre, Eden Gardens<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IN OUR quest for healthier eating choices, we are encouraged to eat foods
\nwith less fat and sodium, more fiber, more complex carbohydrates and lower
\nin calories. The foods that are most promoted are usually the imported ones
\nsince more is known about them than about our local foods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.virginiareggae.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.virginiareggae.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.virginiareggae.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.virginiareggae.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.virginiareggae.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=68"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cms.virginiareggae.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.virginiareggae.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.virginiareggae.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.virginiareggae.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}