Food for Thought

While I was waiting outside Elizabeth's classroom to pick her up, I overheard some of the other moms talking about different foods here in Nigeria.  My ears perked up a little more to hear what they were saying because I have to admit, I really haven't had any of the "Nigerian" food here. Well, I have had suya ( chicken or beef which is marinated with zesty spices and then grilled on a skewer) which is really good.  But, beyond that, I haven't really ventured to try any other authentic Nigerian food while I have been here.  It was an interesting conversation these moms were having.  They were talking about how good yam was if you cook it the right way...

Below in the lower right hand corner is what Nigerian Yam looks like...it is absolutely huge.  It isn't what you would call a yam in the states.  The yams in the U.S. are very yellow or orange when you cut into them.  The ones here are huge and for the most part pretty white when you cut them open.  They are also fairly really hard before they are cooked.

Yams at Lekki Market

One of the moms was saying that if you bake it in the oven with some tomato sauce it is really good, and her kids love it.  Another said that it is a really good source of folic acid.  Then, another one said that it is loaded with estrogen.  Yep, that's right...estrogen.  Then, another one said that was why there is such a high incidence in twins here in Nigeria.  After that, I was intrigued.  I had to come home and look this information up to see if there was really any truth to it at all.  I checked out a health website and it did say that yams/ cassava / and sweet potatoes have been used "for ages" to boost estrogen and that it is believed by some African tribes that these items can increase fertility. Another website which is actually another blog written by a woman who is a writer for Twins magazine had some information on the subject as well. She wrote that researchers have long thought that the diet rich in cassava ( a type of yam) has been the reason that the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria has the highest twin birth rate with 45 set of twins per 1000 births being twins.  Which means that almost 1 in every 11 Yoruba is a twin.  (To put it in perspective, only one in 33 births in the U.S. is a set of twins).  But, the author does go on to say that the women in the Yoruba villages who experience the higher incidence of twins eat cassava every day of their lives .  You never know...there may be some truth to it!:)

I just thought I would share this information with you as some food for thought.  Maybe we should try some of these yams in our daily diet...right Guy!!!! ha ha ha!!!:)