bulk up your meal with vegetables.
5. Mix Things Up
Mixing flavors is a great way to add variety to your meals. You can combine vegetables with tubers or load up a one-pot meal with colorful vegetables.
6. Look For Whole Foods
When adopting the African Heritage Diet, it’s best to avoid processed foods. You should look for whole foods or even grow some.
7. Make Healthy Drinks
Another way to incorporate fruits into your diet is to add them to water or smoothies.
8. Celebrate Wisely
If you’re going to celebrate any African festivals, you should still opt for eating according to the pyramid. Indulging in sweets and pastries is allowed but only a little.
9. Have Fruity Desserts
Even if you can’t have a lot of desserts, you can satisfy your sweet tooth by freezing sweet fruits like melons, peaches, berries, and mangos. You can even sprinkle them with chopped nuts or coconut.
10. Involve Your Family And Friends
It’s always easier to stick to a diet change if you have support. Additionally, you’re helping everyone else get as healthy as you. This will also come in handy if you celebrate African festivals together.
Potential Health Benefits For Aging African Americans
Unfortunately, the stereotypical African American diet is linked to poor health. These foods are usually high in unhealthy fats, added sugars, and added salt. By switching to a diet that includes the flavors you like but still makes your health a priority, you can make great strides in reducing your risk of developing the chronic illnesses that plague Black people. Though the structure is a little different from other diets, The African Heritage Diet still emphasizes eating meals that are high in vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts. Unlike other diets, it includes herbs and spices as a separate category, which is good because they have a variety of health benefits.
Some of the benefits of adopting this diet include maintaining a healthy weight, better heart health, reduced risk of developing high blood pressure, reduced risk of developing diabetes, and better brain health. As you age, these are areas you want to focus on because older African Americans are more likely to develop heart disease, breast cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s Disease, heart failure, and other chronic illnesses.
Of course, you should remember that no diet suits everyone perfectly. If you have food allergies or intolerances, choose the food that best works for you. The same is true for those who have chronic illnesses that prohibit them from eating certain things. As always, you shouldn’t make any major changes to your diet without consulting your doctor first,