​NIGERIAN CHILDREN CAN BE WELL NOURISHED DESPITE BEING POOR

In Nigeria, a lot of people believe that children of rich parents are the only kids that can be well nourished and that the kids of the poor cannot be well nourished due to the poor financial state of the family. Is this actually true? What do you think? Take your time to think about it before continue reading this article.

After some minutes of thinking, you might go along with the believe of so many Nigerians, that good nutrition is only for the rich, or you might think otherwise. The surprising truth is that such belief mentioned above is actually false. The truth is, a child from a poor background can still be adequately nourished. But how?

The basic fact is, the nutrition of a child starts from the nutritional status of the mother, even before pregnancy.

A woman can have a good nutritional status without necessarily spending huge amount of money. This is possible with adequate consumption of varieties of locally available foods. Then when pregnant, she should continue this healthy diet that is cost effective.

Examples of these locally available foods in Nigeria includes Grains (e.g. rice, corn, sorghum, millet, oats, barley, wheat, etc), Legumes (e.g. beans, peas, soybeans, etc), Tubers (e.g. yam, cassava, cocoyam, potatoes, etc), Fruits (e.g. citrus, mango, pear, pawpaw, banana, watermelon, etc), Vegetables (e.g. green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, onions, carrots, garden egg, cucumber, etc).
After childbirth, a mother is expected to breastfeed her baby exclusively for the first 6 months. Doing this, the baby will be well nourished without even necessarily spending huge amount of money.

After the first 6 months, complimentary feeding should be introduced so as to meet the nutritional need of the baby. Sadly to say, many mothers struggle to buy infant formulas as complimentary foods for their babies, of which they cannot afford to buy enough to meet their baby's needs. They try to manage the available infant formula by mixing few spoons of the feed (lesser than what is required) with a lot of water, thereby over-diluting the food. This practice will prevent the baby from being well nourished, which thereafter will make the child to be prone to malnutrition. So, instead of struggling to purchase infant formulas, mothers should make use of locally available foods, especially those rich in protein. These foods can be prepared from what the family normally eats, but made in a soft form(semi-solid). It should be noted that these foods should be made soft and lot of proteinous foods should be added.

Do you know that children can also get enough protein at a low cost level?  Yes, this is possible! For example, mixing cereal flour (e.g. wheat, corn, millet, rice, etc) with flour of legumes (e.g. cowpea, soya, etc), makes the amino acids missing from the cereal products to be made available through the supplementation of the amino acids in legumes. Also, making use of grounded crayfish and groundnut in your baby's food provides good quality proteins which are essential to the baby. Nevertheless, another food that is rich in protein and is recommended for your baby is fish, and there are some types of fish that are not expensive such as 'Sawa' fish, Titus fish, Cote fish, etc.

It is better to give your baby adequate amount of what is available and affordable, than to give minute amount of processed foods that are expensive. Some of the locally available foods that are good for your baby includes corn, wheat, rice, sorghum, millet, etc. Mixing these foods with foods rich in protein such as beans, fish, grounded crayfish, soya milk, groundnut paste, etc., and feeding them to your baby will help your kids to be well nourished without spending huge amount of money.

However, your child's consumption of fruits and vegetables is highly important. This is because regular consumption of fruits and vegetables provides the body with micronutrients that are essential for proper growth and development. These fruits and vegetables should be soft for the baby's consumption. For example, fruits and vegetables like carrots, apple, banana, mango, watermelon, berries, pear, garden egg, citrus, etc. can be made into smoothie or fruit juices for your baby's consumption. Varieties of these fruits and vegetables are readily available in our environment and they are not expensive.

Now you see that it is possible for children of the poor to be adequately nourished. Good nutrition is possible irrespective of the financial state of the family.

The belief that good nutrition is only for the rich is actually promoted and upheld ever since due to ignorance. Many people are uneducated and ignorant about nutrition. Many don't even know the benefit of a healthy diet or the harm in malnutrition.

Hence, it is recommended that nutritional awareness programs should be promoted in all areas of the country (both rural and urban area) so as to educate people concerning the importance of nutrition to their health and that of their families. Little money does not simultaneously mean little brains. It all depends on the knowledge derived. So, experts in the field of Nutrition should strive to bring up and promote programs that will educate parents on how to get healthy foods and prepare them in simple ways to feed their children.

Always remember that your child can be well nourished if the little amount of money available is well spent.

REFERENCES
1) Gomez Sanchiz M. et al (2004); "The Influence of Breastfeeding and Parental Intelligence on Cognitive Development in the 24 Month Old Child".

2) Olatona F. (2011); "Rich or Poor, Your Child Can Be Well Nourished".

3) Olayiwola K. et al (2003); "Impact of Globalization on Food Consumption, Health and Nutrition in Nigeria".