The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Ayoola Foods Limited, Mr. Segun Olaye, has advised Nigerians to embrace eating unripe plantain so as to maintain sound health.
He said that was why the company, which specializes in food processing, recently introduced the unripe plantain flour into the market.
He said, “We introduced plantain flour, which is 100 per cent made from unripe plantain, because of its health benefits, because it has so many health benefits.
“You see, Nigerians are now careful of what they eat because as the saying goes, you are what you eat. The unripe plantain flour is a very good food for any age group, demography, gender, body shape. We are using 100 per cent unripe plantain for the product.”
Highlighting the health benefits of unripe plantain, Olaye said, “It has so many vitamins. It contains vitamins B6, C, A. Unripe plantain helps in strengthening the bones because of the high calcium content, helps in enhancing good vision, helps in boosting the immune system and it enhances sexual performance, that is, it boosts libido.
“You can also use it to reduce fat tummy, meaning it helps in losing weight. It also has carbohydrate. People shouldn’t compare an unripe plantain with a ripe one. Once a plantain ripens, the nutrient composition changes.
“The duo have their different benefits, but if you are health conscious, the one you should be eating is unripe plantain. It contains very low sugar, which is why it’s very good for people suffering from diabetes.
“But even if you are not diabetic, unripe plantain is very good so as to control sugar intake because prevention is better than cure. And we have unripe plantain in large quantities in Nigeria, especially in the South.”