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Nutrition experts have said that despite the economic situation and rising food inflation, Nigerians can still eat healthily and maintain a healthy diet.
The nutritionists explained that education and the right information are important when it comes to food and maintaining a healthy diet, adding that a diet doesn’t have to be costly for it to be balanced.
They argued that there are several alternatives Nigerians could adopt to make up for their necessary nutrients, saying the important factor is for individuals to make informed choices on the right substitutes for all the nutrition sources.
A healthy diet involves eating a variety of foods from all major food groups, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein sources, and healthy fats.
According to the World Health Organisations, consuming a healthy diet throughout the life course helps to prevent malnutrition in all its forms as well as a range of noncommunicable diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
WHO noted that the exact makeup of a diversified, balanced, and healthy diet will vary depending on individual characteristics (e.g. age, gender, lifestyle, and degree of physical activity), cultural context, locally available foods, and dietary customs. However, the basic principles of what constitutes a healthy diet remain the same.
Meanwhile, the Inflation Expectations Survey Report published by the Statistics Department of the Economic Policy Directorate of the Central Bank of Nigeria puts Nigeria’s inflation at 34.60 per cent in November 2024, reflecting a 0.72 per cent increase from October’s rate of 33.88 per cent.
According to the data, the rise in inflation is largely driven by food price increases, which continue to place a strain on Nigerian households. On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate showed a marginal slowdown, standing at 2.638 per cent in November compared to 2.640 per cent in October.
However, the year-on-year increase still highlights the ongoing pressure on consumers, with the cost of living continuing to climb.
Food inflation also saw a sharp rise, reaching 39.93 per cent in November 2024, up from 32.84 per cent in the same period last year. Prices for staple foods such as yam, rice, maize, and palm oil have surged, contributing to the increase in food inflation. Other items such as guinea corn, millet, and meat have also seen notable price hikes.
But speaking in a separate interview with PUNCH Healthwise, the nutritionists explained that maintaining a healthy diet is still achievable with the right information and education.
They also advised Nigerians to inculcate the habit of having a garden in their homes where they can grow fruits, some vegetables, proteins, pepper among others to help boost their healthy diet.
A Professor of Public Health Nutrition, Ignatius Onimawo, said Nigerians can explore alternative foods that are cheaper and still give the body the same nutrients to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
According to the don, Nigerians should be educated on how to eat healthy in a cheaper way. “Well, a healthy diet does not have to be expensive. The question of nutrition knowledge will come into play here. There are a lot of alternatives that can give the nutrients that make up for a healthy diet,” Onimawo said.
Onimawo, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of Ave Maria University, Abuja, stressed that the citizens should explore several alternatives that would give the same results.
He said, “Things are expensive, but you can make it less expensive for yourself by choosing the best or cheaper alternatives. It is a question of nutritional education to understand what are those alternative foods that can give you what you really want.
“There are groups of foods that have the same nutrients, including energy, minerals, and proteins. There are always different and cheaper alternatives. With adequate information on nutrients, Nigerians can prepare cheaper meals and still eat healthily.
“Despite the reality of our economy, many Nigerians are increasing their body weights, which means they’re not cutting down on their diets. You can also cut down your diet.
“If you do not eat meat, chicken, or fish on a particular day but you eat beans, groundnuts, or bambara nuts (okpa), you still have taken protein for that day, it’s just that one type of protein is animal-based while the other is plant-based. Though one is a superior protein, it does not mean the body won’t survive without it.”
On her part, a Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Beatrice Ogunba, also stressed the importance of the right information, adding that nutritional understanding would help Nigerians make informed choices.
“Make sure you have information about healthy foods, then you choose the one your budget can take care of. Knowledge is very key to what makes a healthy diet. When it comes to food, you need at least 4 to 5 colours in your food and those colours talk about nutrients,” the don said.
Ogunba added, “For those on a tight budget, they need information about the type of food and the nutritional content of those foods, so they can pick those ones that their budget can take care of.
“For example, to get protein, eggs are cheaper than chicken and it is still protein. Locust beans are also protein so you should choose the type that your budget can afford. Also, for fruits and vegetables, one apple is around N700 but you can take bananas of N300 which may be around 10 fingers of bananas that can go around the family instead of one apple of N700. So, when you look at the nutritional content of the food, you pick the one you can afford. Just make sure you are eating the various food groups daily which include fruits and vegetables, cereals, proteins, and milk groups.
The maternal and child nutrition consultant also advised Nigerians who own homes to practice subsistence farming in their garden where they can rear chickens and others for proteins, grow vegetables and fruits, plant tomatoes, peppers, ugwu, and others instead of buying.
Also speaking, a former President of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Prof. Wasiu Afolabi, said while food inflation remains a critical factor in decision-making, there are ways Nigerians can work around it to still eat healthy.
According to the don, what can help people on a tight budget, particularly if they live in most rural areas, is to access local foods, fruits, and vegetables that are not too expensive within their locality.
“When we say a healthy diet, we are talking of a diet that is well diversified and adequate in all the nutrients that are required by an individual to live a productive and healthy life. Such food will have a full complement of the various food groups, including cereals, legumes, fruits and vegetables, roots and tubers, but more of fruits and veggies.
“But when you look at the price of foods and vegetables in the market now, I must say that it is quite out of hand for most individuals. Let me confess to you that in the situation we currently find ourselves in Nigeria, it is a bit very difficult to access or maintain a healthy diet within the context of income, particularly for a lot of Nigerians,” Afolabi said.
The don added, “Most fruits and vegetables are out of the reach of many. Beans are also out of reach for individuals and this is a healthy component that we need not talk of animal source foods such as chickens, fish, eggs, and so on.
“I must say that it is a difficult thing to meet now, but my advice is that people should still strive within their budget to see if they can access locally affordable foods, fruits, and vegetables to make their diet healthy including an appreciable amount of legumes, cereals and animal source protein.”
Afolabi, who is a professor of Community Nutrition at, the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, however, advised Nigerians to practise subsistence farming.
He said, “What can also help people is that within their little income, if they can rear birds, chickens, produce eggs, and grow vegetables in their gardens, this will help in maintaining a healthy diet and I think that is what the Federal Government is also currently promoting with particular reference to in-house gardens; that is people should engage in backyard farming to grow vegetables, fruits and chickens and birds to help.”
