By Dr. Terhemba Shija
On the day I was sentenced to a lifetime of taking anti-hypertensive drugs by an American hospital 28 years ago, I was also directed to face the hospital’s Chief dietician for my final verdict about what my diet should be in order to live.
The poker-faced middle aged man, took one long look at my bulky frame with obvious pity, congratulated me out of courtesy for surviving what could have been a fatal BP attack, and then handed me a list of food items that should constitute my menu for the rest of my life.
Of course, in far away US, I did not expect the list to be an akpu, garri, jollof rice or pounded yam affair. The list had two columns spelling out the foods I could eat and those I was strictly forbidden. For a moment I felt like Adam listening to his creator in the garden of Eden. It was a list of the exotic and the cryptic; pastries, pizzas, pastas, carbonated drinks, hotdogs, sweets and chocolates and so on. Most of either the agreeable or non agreeable items on the list were unknown to me. I was amused and my smile betrayed me as a stranger.
“Where do you live?” The doctor asked.
“Nigeria” I responded.
“Oh! I see. Are you on a visit?
“Yeah, I’ll be here for six more days” I explained.
“Ok then, I thought you live here in Baltimore. That’s what your address here shows”
“No. I live in Africa” I replied this time with pride, stressing deliberately on the word, Africa.
“Oh then you don’t need this list since you seem to have only a few days to stay in the US. Go back to Nigeria and just eat anything you can afford. Make sure it has the dominace of fruits and vegetables. I once lived and worked as a doctor at Ibadan. Nigerian foods are natural, fresh and healthy.” He said
“Wow! It’s good to know that” I responded encouragingly.
“Yeah, honestly you have a great and healthy environment in Nigeria. You should be proud of it. American foods are generally processed, a lot of junk, oil, pastries and stuff are not good for the heart” He explained further.
I looked straight into his face and I could sense honesty in spite of what appeared like flattery. Of course, I had noticed the difference long before my encounter with this Johns Hopkins University dietician.
This confirmation was really heartwarming. The chicken served in McDonald’s or KFC were possibly genetically bred and were as soft as baked bread, their bones, brittle like biscuits.
America certainly surpasses most countries in the quantum of food they produce. They are able to feed themselves lavishly and export or donate to food charities abroad. But it is indeed this very procedure of processing and preserving food as merchandise that makes it junk and unhealthy.
The next step in the capitalist value chain then comes the idea of the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry of food supplements. Even while accepting the superior quality of our natural food in Nigeria, Americans with a smart sense of commerce still reap billions of dollars from us who don’t need these supplements, to boost their economy.
Do we as Nigerians imagine that we could retaliate by flooding the American or European market with the most sought after fresh foods and reap dollars for ourselves?
Meanwhile, the recent WHO statistical information about life expectancy puts US at 79 years and Nigeria at 54. So does it really appear that living well or living long is a function of only good food? What is your opinion?
Shija is a lecturer
