Try this easy at home workout. Try to complete it with as little rest as possible. Take no more than 2 minutes rest between each set. Keep track of how much time it takes to complete the entire routine and how much you rest. Next time try and complete it faster with less rest. The more intense you make it the more calories you burn.

1 min cardio (jump rope/high knees/jumping jacks/jog)
15 burpees
1 squat
rest 1min

1 min cardio
14 burpees
2 squats
rest 1 min

1 min cardio
13 burpees
3 squats
rest 1 min

1 min cardio
12 burpees
4 squats
rest 1 min

so on and so fort until your last set should be
1 min cardio
1 burpee
15 squats

If this is too easy try jump squats instead of regular...enjoy!

Bigger is not always better. In fact, in the case of food bigger can be very detrimental to your health and wellness. In past times, it was often necessary for Africans who led  a more labor-some life to eat a carbohydrate loaded breakfast of a large heaping of bread or fufu from the previous night to fuel a long day of walking and work. Or even to eat a large amount of rice or fufu in the after noon and evening to provide the necessary fuel to get throughout the day and fill up after a long tiresome day. Even with consuming such large portions of carbs, populations remain rather slim and diseases like diabetes were almost non-existent; a foreign disease.

But why now the change? You might ask. Why now has the incidence of obesity and related disease like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases skyrocketed? Obviously the change of the quality of food we eat is a culprit. But also lack of portion control for the new less active lifestyles we lead. We no longer need to eat two large helpings of fufu or even a mountainous plate of rice alone. We have to learn to curtail the sizes of the simple carbohydrates we eat, and in place add more veggies and lean protein. This simple move, can add much more nutritional value to our food and simultaneously decrease the calories. Two cups of white rice, what might be commonly eaten by the typical african man in one sitting, though low fat, has just over 400 calories and close to 100grams of carbohydrates. Add your oily filled stew, some meat, fried plantains, and what ever else may be eaten with the rice and you could be eating close to 800-1000 calories in one sitting.

What two cups of white rice roughly looks like

What you will need
4-6 Plantains (The less ripe the plantains the more diabetes friendly they are, plantains are also preferred over yams for a person with diabetes.)
One can also mix plantains and yams when making this dish
1 onion diced
1/3 cup of dried ground crayfish or shrimp
2 Tbs of Carotino oil or tomato stew (substitutes for palm oil)
1 cup of frozen spinach or 1.5-2 cups of fresh spinach chopped
4 cups of water, or just enough water 
Salt and red pepper to taste
Sardines (optional)

Directions
Cut plantains into large rounds  or yams into large cubes
Place plantains and onions into a large pot with water over medium to high heat until it boils
Reduce heat add oil, crayfish
Let contents simmer for 30 minutes or until plantains are tender
Mash plantains slightly to thicken the porridge
Stir in greens and add salt and pepper to taste
Simmer for 5-10 minutes until greens are cooked.
Serve and garnish with sardines
Enjoy!

Let me start off with some statistics

By the year 2030 the International Diabetes Federation predicts that 7.7% (438 million people) in the 20–79 age group will have type 2 diabetes. And the the largest increase is projected to occur in developing countries, mainly in Asia and Africa, and may represent as much as 70% of all cases.

This is a very significant statistic as we all know, the health system in Africa is developing slowly and falls well behind the "developed" world in as far as access to quality health care. There for most of these cases of diabetes in africa will go undiagnosed, untreated, thus leading to premature death!

But what is causing this increased risk and development of the disease in Africa???

Some might wrongfully assume that this is all happening because with the advent of Mr. Biggs and Co...Africans are adopting a more westernized diet...But this really isn't the case if one takes a deeper look at the situation

Well first the world health organization (WHO) says  diabetes main risk factors include obesity, rapid urbanization, physical inactivity, ageing, nutrition transitions, and socioeconomic changes.

But to categorize this to see what is really going on:
Rapid urbanization and socioeconomic changes are leading to nutrition transition, physical inactivity, which is increasing the rate of obesity, thus increasing the rate of individuals with diabetes....as obesity significantly increases your risk for developing the disease.

Let me break this down for you....
Less people are doing more agricultural work and hard labour as before this transcends to less total daily physical activity. The diet is still largely the same. And by largely i mean large portion sizes with primarily complex carbohydrates, little fat, and little protein. Though the fat and protein intakes of Nigerians have increased, the diet is still mainly carbohydrate based...rice, corn, cassava, yam, plantain, bread, fruits, vegetables. But if you check out my Fit Tips page you will see there is nothing wrong with consuming a lot of complex carbohydrates. We need carbohydrates for energy. And the key word here is energy.

Many nigerians have dramatically decrease there energy output, though I would argue most move around a lot more than the average American, but continue to eat the same big portion sizes that was once needed for all the hard labour and agricultural work villagers had to do. So essentially if people curtailed the portion sizes, we would see a decrease in the incidence of diabetes. Really the foods Nigerians and other west Africans eat are quite healthy.

So the other point the WHO mentioned was nutritional transition. More and more people are eating rice than before, rice was once saved for special occasions and events, but now it is an everyday commodity. Rice, though a healthy, low fat, nutritious food when eaten in moderation, when eaten in excess can spike insulin levels quite rapidly and over time and continual prolonged insulin spikes will lead to the development of diabetes. If you are like myself and love rice, try and make the transition to brown rice. I know it will take some getting used to, but it has more fiber and more nutrients than its white counter part and thus will take longer to digest and not cause the same insulin spike as white rice. Another food item to look at is pounded yam flour prepackaged and store bought. Like white rice it will cause insulin spikes...but i will have a whole post alone concerning yams and yam flour, so be on the look out for that.

Check out part 1 for a brief breakdown of diabetes
Check out part 3 to see other reasons for the increase in diabetes by way of the increase of obesity.

You might be doing everything you can to lose weight. You cut out unhealthy carbs, high fat foods, eat plenty of fruits and veggies, eat more lean protein....You exercise religiously 4 times a week for 45mins to a hour, but the weight just won't budge. Have you stopped to think, are you drinking your calories? Most people drink at least one sugary drink a day and many even more. From morning lattes or juices, afternoon coke or smoothies, to an evening beer or fanta, these ever so unassuming drinks may be putting a halt to your weight loss. Cutting these drinks to a minimum in your diet can save you anywhere from around 200 to a 1000 or more calories a day depending on how much you typically drink.

Mayor Bloomberg of New York, City recently tried to pass a bill to stop the sale of sugary drinks over 20oz all for good measure. But big business put a halt to this attempt, knowing how much money they would lose, and many ignorant masses follow suit in complaining on the looming ban. In reality Mayor Bloomberg's ban would have been nothing but good, particularly so for the increasing waist size of New Yorkers.

If you now realize that perhaps you might be drinking too many calories, here are some helpful tips:

1. If you are a coffee drinker who uses a lot of cream and sugar, try tea. Tea has a much milder flavour and requires less addition of sugar or cream. As it also contains caffeine it still may do the trick to wake you up each morning.

2. If you must drink fruit juice, watch your portion sizes, on 8oz serving of juice can have up to 30grams of sugar. Also opt for 100% juices with no added sugar, though it still will contain sugar it will be less than those juices with added sugar, saving you a few calories.

3. Carry a water bottle around. If you find yourself getting thirsty, just take a sip instead of heading to the nearest vending machine or corner store to buy a soda.

4. Simply tell yourself you will only drink one or two drinks other than water a day.

Baking plantain instead of frying can cut loads of calories by cutting out unnecessary fat from excess oil used in frying. Plantain alone is very nutritious providing high amounts of nutrients such as potassium, fiber, vit A, Vit C, and Vit B6. Consumption of unripe plantain is actually advised for people with diabetes to help control blood sugar. But these nutritional characteristics of plantain can be negated when plantain are fried in excess oil. Also, one should keep in mind that 1 medium sized plantain has around 200 calories. So the serving consumed by one person at one time, should be no more than 2 whole plantains depending on what it is being pared with.

What you will need

• 2 yellow plantain (greener for more chip like plantain, more ripe for sweet soft plantain)
• Olive oil
• Salt 
• A baking pan
• Aluminum foil

Using fermented seeds as food flavoring in soups and other recipes has many more benefits than use of your typical bouillon cube. Research shows that fermentation of these seeds increases the protein content,  mineral and vitamin content, and increases the digestibility of the carbohydrates found in the seeds. Thus, addition of these fermented products into our food, would increase the nutritive value of our foods.  In contrast,  Maggi cubes and similar products,  add no nutritive value to our foods, but also actually decreased the healthfulness of our foods. Three primary ingredients in these products are salt, monosodium glutamate(MSG), and hydrogenated oil(trans fat). All three of these ingredients have been found to negatively effect health by research.

It is widely known that excess salt in our diets can lead to high blood pressure and that those with high blood pressure are at  high risk for dying from stroke. Can use of bouillon cubes lead to high blood pressure? The simple answer is yes. The primary ingredient in bouillon cubes is salt. Many people add several bouillon cubes in there cooking plus additional salt. So excess use of these products may be a contributing factor to high blood pressure occurance in particular populations. Should it be no surprise that high blood pressure rates in Africa has sky rocketed in recent times, and likewise death from stroke? Not to say that use of these bouillon cubes is the direct cause, but it certainly may be a component!

Extensive research has been done on MSG, with no conclusion across the globe whether MSG is safe to consume. Research has linked MSG consumption to asthma, obesity, and cancer among other things. And in a small percent of people MSG has been found to cause symptoms such as headache, numbness/tingling, flushing, muscle tightness, and generalized weakness when consumed in excess. For more information on MSG, there is a great website called msgtruth.org that goes into great detail at potential and probable health complications from consuming MSG. 

Trans fat consumption has a definite link to increased chances of developing coronary artery disease, which is a hardening and narrowing of arteries that supply blood to the heart. This occurs do to trans fats' ability to increase LDL(bad) cholesterol and decrease HDL(good) cholesterol in our blood stream. To understand more about cholesterol check out my page on cholesterol. Trans fat consumption has also been linked to increase occurance of some cancers though this has not been confirmed.

Now that we know some possible negative health effects bouillon cube use presents, perhaps we should think twice before adding these products to our foods. My advice when considering whether or not to use bouillon cubes when cooking, is to start of trying a couple of dishes without the cubes and salt only. And decide whether the change suits you. It so, then discontinue the use completely. If not, then at least limit the use of these cubes. You will be surprised that food will taste just as great. I myself no longer use bouillon cubes and I continue to get nothing but compliments on every dish I prepare!

Maggi cube ingredients  (from the maggi website)
SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SUGAR, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED PALM OIL, CORNSTARCH, AND LESS THAN 2% OF DEHYDRATED BEEF, CARAMEL COLOR, NATURAL FLAVOR, DISODIUM INOSINATE, SPICES, TURMERIC, TBHQ (PRESERVATIVE).
MADE ON EQUIPMENT THAT ALSO PROCESSES WHEAT, MILK, EGGS, SOY, FISH, AND SHELLFISH.

Not all Cholesterol is created equal!

Firstly what prompted me to write this post is that, this blog has a feature that lets one see the google searches that directed viewers to the site. Some of these searchers were "how much cholesterol in ogbona" or "does palm oil have a lot cholesterol"....These questions, as innocent and unassuming them may seem, only tell me how miss informed the general public is about nutrition.

I would like to start by saying Cholesterol is only....,ONLY, found in animal products. So if, a food does not come from an animal, no matter how fattening the food is, the food is cholesterol free.

I often see labels on products like different oils or some junk foods stating Cholesterol free. To the unknowing, one might read this and think this is healthier than the other one because it's cholesterol free. But ALL oils are Cholesterol free. Oil comes from plants, ogbonna comes from a plant, eguisi comes from a plant, and likewise they are all cholesterol free.

The only food products that have cholesterol are: all meats, and any products with eggs or dairy in them. Dairy products would include milk, ice cream, yogurt, cheese, and butter.

So what exactly is cholesterol

Cholesterol is a steroid of fat produced naturally in our bodies and found in food containing animal products. But not all cholesterol is created equally. There 4 main types of cholesterol found in our bodies; chylomicrons, VLDL, LDL (low density lipoprotiens), and HDL (high density lipoprotiens). The two of primary concern are the LDLs (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol). So if you didn't know, now you know that some cholesterol is actually good for you. Now let me explain why.

High levels of circulating blood lipids (fats as well as cholesterol) is not a good thing in our bodies. It can lead to plaque build up in the blood vessels leading to high blood pressure, stroke, and other cardiovascular issues. HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), actually helps remove lipids from the blood vessels, while LDL cholesterol, bad cholesterol, transports lipids to the blood stream.

So it is actually a good thing to have high HDL cholesterol levels in our body. Certain foods increases levels of HDL and LDL cholesterol in our bodies; fats in particular. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats like those found in Omega-3 fatty acids actually increase HDL cholesterol levels in our body, which is one way they have a cardio-protective effect on our body. Saturated fats and trans fats, like those found in processed foods, butter, and animal fats can increase LDL cholesterol, which is one reason one should stay away form these types of fats. Yes, palm oil can lead to higher levels of LDL cholesterol, which is why i suggest using carotino oil as a substitute it you use palm oil heavily. Intake of saturated fats have a more negative effect on  blood cholesterol than actuall intake of cholesterol. A high cholesterol diet can still higher blood cholesterol but a diet high in saturated fat is worse. So, particularly if you are suffering from high cholesterol, you should not only monitor you cholesterol intake but also your fat intake.

I hope you now see why not all Cholesterol is created equal. Just remember if you are buying products and they are not animal based, but they say cholesterol free, it is only an advertisement gimmick to make it appear better than similar products. Because all food products not stemming form animals are cholesterol free.

What you will need:

• Beef, Stock fish, goat, smoked or dried turkey, (any meats or combination of meats of your choice) If using stockfish soak over night
• 1/2 cup - 1 cup Ground ogbono
• Okra (optional)
• Ground crayfish
• 1-2 scotch bonnet/Jamaican pepprs
• 1/4 cup Palm Oil ( substitute carotino oil for healthier option)
• Spinach/Collard greens/bitter leaf/ukazi( any one of your choice, bitter leaf or ukazi are best) finely chopped
• 1 tomato
• 1 oinion
• Salt to taste
• Ground red pepper to taste

Steps:

• If using stock fish start by boiling this until tender simply with a pinch of salt.
• Boil other meats in a separate bigger pot, with salt and chopped(diced) onions
• Grind pepper, onion, and tomato
• Wash and chop vegetables of choice
• Once meats are tender, add stock fish to pot with other meats. Add water just at the level of meats barely covering meat.
• If using okra add at this point
• Add oil, ogbono, crayfish, and all the ground ingredients
• Mix well, add salt and pepper to taste and let simmer on medium heat for 15mins or (until okra is fully cooked if using okra)
• Add chopped greens, mix well and let simmer for 10 mins 
• If to thick to your liking add more water and let simmer for addition 5-10mins 
• Voila, you have made Ogbono soup

Wondering whats the best fufu to eat? Click here!