FITNESS BENEFITS OF PLAYING SOCCER

Hello people, it has been a long time I wrote an article. 2015 has been a busy year from personal projects like planning a wedding, which by the way happened last month, August 2015, to business projects like planning the annual Shape Up Naija Fitness Carnival which is scheduled to hold on Saturday December 5, 2015.

I often feel sad when I see people struggle so much at the gym or at a horrendous bootcamp session, whilst those have their results, I often wondered if these people had some sports they loved doing. With the growing popularity of group fitness classes and gym based workouts in Nigeria, it looks like many have forgotten that staying fit can be achieved from engaging in good old sports like football, basketball, tennis or even swimming. So, no you do not have to go through those gruesome drills, you can run around for an hour on the football pitch, burn some calories and make friends in the process. Here are some benefits of playing soccer/football.

Increased aerobic capacity and cardiovascular health: The average player runs 5 to 7 miles in a full game. The constant walking, jogging and running helps keep your heart rate up, providing excellent cardiovascular exercise.

Lowers body fat and improves body tone: Soccer is a great sport for burning fat because it works the muscles and your heart in different ways. Soccer builds more muscle mass and burns more fat by employing both slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibers. The cardio workout helps players strengthen their hearts, resist plaque build-up in the coronary arteries, reduce their blood pressure and burn excess calories.

Builds strength, flexibility and endurance: The running, jumping and kicking you do in soccer helps strengthen your muscles and bones. Regular soccer playing builds strength by using the whole body.

Increases muscles and bone strength: As we grow old, our bones density decreases. lack of physical activity can speed the occurrence of this. The repeated weight-bearing loads on the body during a soccer match are an excellent way to increase bone density.

In addition to the above, soccer is a good social sports, it can be done by everyone and played anywhere. It can make a good family sports, office team building, etc. So when next you think fitness, you could try a game of soccer!

NUTRITIONAL/HEALTH BENEFITS OF PLANTAINS

P lantains are widely eaten in West Africa. Plantains are similar to bananas but larger in size. While bananas are termed fruits, plantains are vegetables. Bananas are mostly eating raw, while plantains are usually cooked before consumption. Plantains can be eaten unripe, ripen or over-ripe. When unripe, plantains are usually green in colour, when ripen, they turn yellow. In Nigeria, for example, unripe plantains are usually used to cook plantain porridge, ripe plantains are mostly fried and used as a supplement to main dishes like rice and beans. Over-ripe plantains are used to make snacks like plantain fritters.

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF ZOBO/SORREL DRINK

z obo/sorrel was a must have during family gatherings. As children, we loved drinking it, not only because of how nice it tasted, but also because it coloured our lips and tongues red. Zobo (Nigerian) or Sorrel (Jamaican) is a red coloured drink made from a flower called Hibiscus sabdariffa. The sorrel plant contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, calcium, niacin, riboflavin and a group of compounds called flavonoids. Flavanoids not only gives the sorrel plant its deep red colour, but, are also rich in antioxidants which rids the body of toxins. The sorrel plant also contains nutraceleuticals, which are said to be helpful to the health. Nutraceleuticals can help prevent and treat several diseases including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF LIME AND HONEY

L ime and Honey are two must haves in my house. I use honey as a substitute for white sugar. I remember a friend of mine visited me once and she wanted to drink garri (drinking garri is local to Nigerians, i.e. eating dried cassava with cold water as opposed to hot water), she was astonished when I told her to use honey to sweeten her garri. I'm not a tea person, but my parents are, and a cup of tea for them is not complete without limes.

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