In Ghanaian homes, heavy foods such as banku, fufu and Tuo Zaafi are often eaten for dinner while lighter and less heavier dishes are served for breakfast and lunch respectively.
But nutritionist, Paul Akapanga is rather encouraging the consumption of heavier meals for breakfast while lighter foods are eaten during dinner.
According to him, because the day’s activities start in the morning, it is appropriate to eat heavy food that is rich in carbohydrate in order to provide the body with the needed energy to function properly and also repair cells that may be worn out in the course of one’s endeavour.
“Having your fufu banku, waakye for breakfast is not bad,” he said on Breakfast Today on Thursday.
“Naturally, it is expected that since you are starting the day, you should fill up. You should get enough energy, get enough of the body building food because as you are working, there will be some wear and tear, there will be some cells that will be dying as you are working. So you need to replace them”.
He said similar food could be eaten at lunch to reenergize the body as it may be out of energy at that time of the day.
However, as one closes for the day and sets to rest in the night, the body will not require much energy since it will be at rest and thus, lighter food should be eaten for dinner.
He pointed out that having heavy foods for dinner could be detrimental to one’s health as the body is unable to utilise the nutrients contained such dishes during the night.
Paul Akapanga further indicated that the type of carbohydrate meal one chooses for breakfast should be dependent on the kind of work they do.
He said while dishes such as banku, T. Z and fufu are appropriate for carrying out activities that are energy demanding as they provide the body with the right amount of nutrients and sustain it for long, consuming lighter food like tea for similar activities could result in stomach pains and other health issues.
“If you take a cup of tea and you are going to do masonry work, you are punishing yourself. That’s why some people at the of the day begin to have abdominal problems and it will become because there is no food and the stomach was turning against itself and robbing against itself, there were sores created.
You don’t have to put yourself through that thing. Eat the heavy food, go and do the heavy work and it will sustain you through out,” he advised.
