Ethiopian Food and Health Essays

Ethiopian Food and Health Essays Ethiopian Food and Health Paper Ethiopian Food and Health Paper Nutrition is the key to a healthy life and the cornerstone of any cultures cooking. If our food lacks nutrition, we get sick and Inevitably parish. This discussion will examine the food types Indigenous to a very misunderstood country In Eastern Africa: Ethiopia. Boasting diverse landscapes filled with rolling hills, great rivers and majestic wild life, Ethiopia is the site of many of the most ancient and famed human fossils ever discovered, and as the worlds oldest surviving continuously-sovereign nation state, is rich in tradition and cuisine. Sadly however, most Americans today associate the country primarily with the devastating famine that ravaged its people In the meld-legless. When I tell someone I am going to an Ethiopians restaurant, I often get a response like, I thought they dont have food, as if for thousands of years the inhabitants of this bountiful country, who filled it with ancient, world-renown monuments, churches and cities, were bereft of sustenance. The idea is absurd, but most of the people who make such statements had their views shaped by media images of famine victims and so have given little thought to the customary dishes of heir land. In the following passages I will endeavor to expose my audience to the cornucopia of creative culinary combinations comprising Ethiopians cuisine and to research providing evidence that the traditional Ethiopians diet meets nutritional requirements and ensures overall health. Ethiopians number-one agricultural resource is cereal grain. Theft, barley, wheat, maize, finger millet, oats, and rice make up 85% of Ethiopians crops. In order from greatest to least, the countrys remaining crop production includes pulses, like beans, lentils, and fenugreek; oilseeds such as inside, sesame, flax and safflower; vegetables Including a variety of cabbages, peppers, Swiss chard and tomato; root crops Like beetroot, carrots, ginger, potato and garlic; fruits such as banana, papaya, guava, avocado, lemons, mango, orange and pineapple, then, finally, coffee, a huge export from Ethiopia and central to a traditional ceremony that is practiced to this day (Agricultural Sample Survey 19). Now that wave covered the fundamental ingredient sources, I will now discuss some major Ethiopians dishes in more detail, starting with the staple of most meals, leaner, a type of flattered traditionally made from theft and millet. The batter Is slightly fermented then cooked on a large skillet too spongy texture similar too crepe. Many Africans traditionally eat in communal settings with many people at one table eating from one main dish. Injure is the base upon which other foods are served and the bread is then torn away piecewise, to be used as a utensil for scooping, dipping or picking up the proteins and vegetables. Traditional Injure is whole grain, and contains calcium, protein and fiber, as well as Iron elf threshed on the ground while the proboscis generated during the brief fermentation aid In digestion. (K) Ethiopia has many economical resources that offer a variety of fruits and vegetables to the memos, a traditional wicker dining table. Fruits that are common to the country are listed above; other fruits are now being cultivated such as good health. Vegetable dishes commonly include tubers, such as white and sweet potatoes, green beans, onion, collards, carrot, garlic, captain peppers and cabbages. Often vegetables are prepared into their own dishes since Christians in the country have over 200 days of fasting from meats. Common vegetarian meals are fossils a green bean, carrot and garlic dish and miser hot, a red lentil and onion tee. Many legumes from chickpeas to yellow splits are prepared into fantastic dishes like mildly spiced kick Alicia and the above-listed miser hot. Chickpeas are pulverize and stewed into shirr (Selling). All of these dishes have fiber-filled complex carbohydrates, vitamin-and-mineral- rich vegetables, and, when grains and legumes are combined, the amino acid profiles qualify as a complete protein source (Carter ). According to recommendations by nutrition and health professionals, it wouldnt be hard to balance a diet using the foods from the lists above in fact the food list is Ideal for optimal health (Madeline lust). The vitamins and minerals in the green bean and carrot dish (egg serving) would fulfill RD ( recommended daily intake) for vitamin A, 25% for K and 50% for C. It also contains 25% of the recommended iron intake and 10% of daily calcium intake to name a few of the health benefits. The garlic in the dish has natural anti-viral, anti- fungal and anti-bacterial properties and is loaded with photo- and microinstructions as well. Yellow splits and other legumes are also packed with nutrition, containing 16. 4 grams of protein, 40 grams of carbohydrates and 16. 3 grams of fiber per cup. Their criterion density measures up strong too: one cup of split peas provides 196 % of the RD, of molybdenum, 56. % of the RD of thyrotrophic, 39 % for manganese, 31. 8 % of the RD of foliate, 24. 7 % of your thiamine, 20. 3 % of your potassium and 19. 4 % of the RD of phosphorous. In addition to these high encountering values, one serving of split peas is an excellent source of 11 amino acids on top of thyrotrophic(e) and provides between 10 and 20 % of the RD of magnesium, iron, zinc and copper. (Thompson) So far were off to a good start nutritionally and we ha ve only talked about how ruts and vegetables are used in Ethiopians dishes. Now lets talk about meats. As in America, Ethiopians farmers often raise livestock, usually sheep, goat, cattle and chickens, for dairy, egg and meat production. A number of dishes are made from lamb for it is their most well-known source of animal protein and a staple in the East African diet (Traditional Food). Concoctions range from Aziza Tips pieces of meat seasoned and pan seared to Saga Watt lamb stewed usually with garlic and white onion. These dishes are lower in fat since the meat is trimmed of fat and cooked in clarified butter or vegetable oil. The results produce colorful and flavor meals fulfilling a days worth of protein requirement in one serving. Kit ground beef served raw or seared is mixed with Collards or other greens a major source of calcium and photo-nutrients. Even the spices in Ethiopians cooking have great benefits. Seasonings made from hot chilies, fenugreek, cumin, ginger and cloves all contain vitamins, and several have been for other potential health benefits (Beebe) We have touched on fruits, vegetables, spices and meats but dairy is also part of the culture. Most households in Ethiopia produce their own cheese and yogurt in- lain non-flavored yogurt. Both are rich in calcium and protein with the yogurt full of proboscis as well. The career and accomplishments of Beebe Bikini give further proof that the food of Ethiopia is both nutritionally sound and functional for extreme-demand energy supply. This man is a world-champion, multiple-Olympic-gold-medal-winning marathon runner who took the world by storm in the early sixties. (Beebe Bikini the Legend) Ethiopia has low rates of stomach and prostate cancer (Heartbreakingly) consistent with the known tendency of diets low in saturated fat and high in fiber to reduce the risk of developing these diseases. The country seems to have average death rates of other cancers, which is impressive because the medical system is very poor. Though malnutrition has claimed many lives in the country, it is not due to any lack of quality in the traditional dishes but mainly to poverty, regional drought and famine, all of which could be at least partly resolved with careful investment in technology. Transportation and irrigation advancements offer very realistic solutions to the lack of crops and food in certain parts of the country. Fish is a good resource and can be harvested from the Nile River and is only now finding its way to market, due to the cent advancements in storage and transportation availability (Ethiopia, Agriculture). The unfortunate truth is that the deaths of 1,000,000, from starvation caused by famine in the mid-eighties have given this country a reputation as barren, depicting the people as skinny, hungry and poor (Famine In Ethiopia). The effects of hunger still exist, but if you were to ask an Ethiopians citizen if everyone is starving to death there, they would scoff at your ignorance. Most people in the more populated cities live much as you or I do in America. They own or rent houses and property, eat on a daily basis, drink coffee and work Jobs. It is true, however, that in certain areas people living in underdeveloped communities at risk due to the local lack of resources. The unfortunate situation is that 35% of Ethiopia is food insecure (WEEP of Ethiopia) but wild edible plants (WEEP) can be the potential key to putting good meals on every table. New research into the indigenous plant life has been finding wild species of edible vegetation in all regions. The results are astounding: 413 edible species have been identified including trees, herbs and climbers with only 233 already used by the people. The study was done to help identify alternatives for when conventional DOD supplies are interrupted but it may also give information encouraging farmers to cultivate plants that are resilient to the regional climate extremes (WEEP of Ethiopia 72). The only problem is that more research is needed to know what combinations of the newly-cataloged Weeps would give the most benefit. For example, Ethiopia has many varieties of wild mushrooms, a staple in some cultures, but more documentation is needed. Many countries have had similar problems and the research has proven WEEP to be of great value in Tanzania, 85 species of edible orchid were discovered. With mom diligent research there could be great relief brought to the Ethiopia via WEEP. (WEEP of Ethiopia 83, 84) life have developed here in America, Ethiopians traditional cuisine is nutritious and fills the requirements for a complete and healthy diet. It supplies whole grains, fibrous fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats. An array of these edible plants will give substantial doses of vitamins and minerals. Ethiopians dishes are nutritious and delicious, incorporating a colorful spread of finger foods, and are increasingly enjoyed by people all over the planet, bringing renewed recognition to a ultra that had been left in the dark and which, though often seen as the very face of hunger, has much to teach us about healthy sustenance.