On Wednesday, Health Minister Sylvia Masebo went on the floor of the House to give an update on diabetes in the country and delved into a topic which is close to my heart – how problematic our high carbohydrate standard Zambian diet is. But it wasn’t your usual ministerial statement filled with jargon and statistics. Hon Masebo spoke from the heart, and spitted some truths about how problematic eating too much nshima, junk and having a sedentary lifestyle is. I know some people usually get offended when she says having a big belly is deadly, but that is just the truth which we need to learn as a society. I surely had to learn it in order to remould my body into something I am happy with today, and still working on. I look and feel much better today because I changed my lifestyle and chewing habits using the same principles Hon Masebo was putting across.

I know there’s an argument that she and her fellow government officials have no right to discuss nshima in this way because they have failed to bring down the prices of mealie meal, and that is a valid argument for another day. Here, we’ll strictly discuss the demerits of a high carbohydrate diet in the long term.

Masebo: “We have seen a rise in obesity and alcohol abuse in our country and these are seriously impacting the incidence of diabetes in our country. To obtain the prevalence rate of diabetes, a survey at population level is undertaken. In Zambia, the last survey was undertaken in 2017. And according to the findings, the prevalence rate of diabetes in Zambia among adults aged 18 to 69 years was at 6.2 percent. Of the total number of respondents in this survey, approximately 36.8 percent were on treatment at the time with 20.9 percent reported being on insulin treatment. The survey did not include the younger population below 18 years. Madam Speaker, Zambia also relies on global survey data, and according to the World Health Organization, the prevalence of diabetes in Zambia for 2021 was estimated at 11.9 percent in the age group of 20 to 79 years. Madam Speaker, you may wish to know that 50 percent of diabetic individuals are not even aware of having the disease. And of those who are aware, Africans in general have a higher risk of becoming diabetic with Zambians showing about 36 percent risk of developing type two diabetes owing to our high carbohydrate diet and bad eating habits. High carbohydrate diet means too much nshima and worse, too much breakfast.

We must also help our husbands, brothers and sisters, fathers, not to have big tummies, that’s obesity. Because those are the killer bodies, so we have to reduce weight because obesity, overweight is not good. Even for our children who are school going, don’t make a child eat chips, crisps, chocolate and then you think that’s to show that you’re rich, Jiggies and all those kinds of food are not right. Kapenta, unfortunately, it’s expensive now, but those are the best meals. Fish, African vegetables like cassava leaves, pumpkin, those kinds of foods your grandmothers prepared for you are the ones with nutrients. People don’t like cabbage, spinach, those are the kinds of foods you cook for your children. Okra, delele. Zambian women must begin to change their diets because in the foods we eat, that’s where the medicine is. So, if you just eat junk food, I don’t want to mention companies; I might be told that I’m de-campaigning some company, but just chips in too much fat and saladi (cooking oil) swimming on top of it, that’s not good. When our grandparents prepared chicken, there was no saladi because the chicken has its own saladi…I hope the MPs can encourage people to walk; one house the wife is coming out with a vehicle, the husband, children, grandchildren. Everybody is driving and we think that is life, we want to show off. But I can tell you that people should start walking to work, some people the office is 100 meters away but they drive all of them to work and back “.

I could literally lift her entire statement and paste it here because she really hit the nail on the head and I wish more people could take heed before it’s too late. Today, I have decided to share some more before and after pictures of myself because I know the power of images and story telling. I remember when I started my weight loss journey, other people’s before and after pictures were so inspiring to me. I must admit, it is quite a vulnerable thing to share because when I look at my before pictures, I see a sad and inflamed woman, and I remember just how depressed I used to feel, how easy tasks like washing became a toll order because bending for less than a minute made my back really hurt. I remember how I lacked the motivation to get out of bed every morning but I forced myself to wake up, find some loose-fitting dress which could hide my shapeless body and go out to work because I needed to. I would suffer through my days and then look forward to being back in bed once again. I would get pissed off if people called me because I just didn’t want to talk to anybody, I was emitting all round negative vibes, lol.

I had read some literature suggesting that the food you eat not only has a bearing on your body size, but also your mental health and overall well-being. But I also used to just roll my eyes if someone suggested that I stop taking nshima, bread, cakes, chocolates and all those yummy things we have become accustomed to because I didn’t want to give up the things which used to give me some temporal joy. But eventually, as regular readers of my column now know, I had to make the sacrifice because all my health markers were screaming that I was heading towards some chronic conditions like type two diabetes and hypertension; in fact, I was diagnosed with hypertension in March last year. That was a wake-up call for me. I started walking around our neighbourhood, intermittent fasting, and eventually, I started removing carbs from my diet. In no time, I was getting normal blood pressure readings and I was loving the woman I was seeing in the mirror. I was no longer suffering through my days but living through them with a lot of energy and zeal. I was no longer sounding like a bitter old woman if someone called me, but greeting them with so much grace. I was fitting into flattering clothes and retracing my fashion sense. My brain became so sharp I feel like I can conquer the world and this column exists today because I want to help someone else see that it is possible to turn around your life once you put your mind to it.

That is why I love how boldly Hon Masebo speaks on this subject because for a woman in her position, it is hard to speak out about certain things when some of the biggest donors to the Ministry of Health whenever there is a crisis, produce the kind of food which she is warning against. People can roll their eyes all they want but when they keep doing the things she cautioned against, eventually, they will wish they listened when there was still time. Don’t be that person. Many of us walk around without realising we’re sick, because certain conditions only manifest symptoms when it is too late. Yes, nshima, especially breakfast mealie meal, is extremely delicious, but do our bodies love it too? And don’t make a mistake that it is only nshima which is not the best kind of food but also, things like bread, fries, cakes, vegetable seed oils – put simply, ultra processed food. Do some research and avoid being a patient from your mid 30s until you kick the bucket. In fact, with the current eating habits, some people get these conditions much younger than that – it is heart breaking.

If you are already hypertensive or diabetic, worry not. You too can benefit from eating a low carb diet with healthy fats. So many people around the world are reversing such conditions just by controlling what they eat. I can safely argue that I also reversed hypertension – I’d be hooked on drugs today but I took a different route. It is hard to unlearn and to implement things which you previously considered ridiculous, but I urge you to find out how to really live, rather than struggling through the days because something somewhere is always paining on your body. I urge more people with stories to share about the power of such a lifestyle change to come forward and encourage others. Food is the real medicine.

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