Food fallacies and taboos in Nigeria

 This is one of the topics on which I am quite enthusiastic to write about because I particularly practiced a certain food culture that was ruled out as a fallacy; don't worry, I'm going to tell you everything; just grab some pop corn or your smoothie and enjoy. 

Have you by any chance read, heard or come across things like:

☬ Taking mango and drinking garri(cassava flakes) would immediately kill you.

☬ Malt and milk taken together gives you blood.

☬ Children shouldn't be fed egg/ meat because it will increase their tendencies to steal while they grow up.

☬ Adding high amount of salt to food will compensate for high sugar intake 😲.

☬ Pregnant women should desist from certain healthy food and fruits such as meat, milk, fish, bananas e.t.c as it will make childbirth harder for her.

☬ The elderly eat gizzards and thighs, while children can only eat the lower legs or sometimes the head.

☬ Certain meats are refrained from because they're seen to be unclean, e.t.c

It's an endless list, and every day we learn about new food taboos and fallacies we never knew existed. 

While food fallacy is the incorrect beliefs that surround the consumption of specific foods, food taboo is when people abstain from certain food or beverage consumption due to religious and cultural rules.

A vast majority have different opinions and discussions as to what constitute food taboo/ fallacy; nonetheless, this is a highly debated topic as some people regard these fallacies/taboos as claims that makes absolutely no sense while others can fight with the last pint of blood they have to see that these cultures are preserved for generations to come.

Sometimes, this comes as a culture shock to some people because some of these theories are obviously baseless and do not have a single scientific backing. 

However, most people explain that one of the most symbolic ways to preserve culture is by practicing what their forefathers have done over the years and would nevertheless claim that since they didn't die as a result of it, it's totally safe to practice without assessing the nutritional repercussions of their actions.

Well, I have evocative memories of my experience with malt and milk— I mean I fell flat like a donlop slippers— I believed this with my whole being. Like how could this sweet and refreshing fad be so wrong?

I looked forward to feeling faint so I could timidly incite that my blood level was low and I needed instant refill.

I still wish to this day it wasn't a fallacy though. I would be so fast to suggest it as an alternative for drugs. The day I discovered it wasn't real can be compared to the day I began to doubt the presence of aliens, which is obviously unrelated, but I said what I said.

Most of these fallacies/ taboos are spread through hearsay. Recent examples include WhatsApp broadcast messages from our parents, uncles, aunties, friends, colleagues, and even strangers who may want nothing more than the best but end up spreading false and deceptive information.

It is sometimes modified to fit a narrative that is appropriate for our reality, and we fall for it without seeking scientific proof on such topics. 

If you ask me, the time we live in is a big plus for us because authentic information can be easily obtained for free and from the comfort of your own home. It's obscure if we get information about an essential thing such as food and have a myopic approach to research on such topic.

So the next time someone tells you it's deadly to combine Coca-Cola with banana be sure to whip out your phone and Google it, because you can never be too sure about these things.

I'm sure you've encountered food taboos and fallacies; please feel free to share your experiences in the comment section below, as sharing is caring.

Fun facts:

◉ The most expensive natural element is  Francium. Altough francium occurs naturally, it decays so quickly that it cannot be collected for use.

◉ Women are naturally better liars than men; they're also better at detecting lies.