Pregnancy Food: Is Eating Ogbono During Pregnancy Safe?

-Ogbono soup is one of the popular "draw soup" delicacies in Nigeria. Scientifically, it is known as African Bush mango and valued highly because of its richness in protein, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus and iron. The Igbo people call it ogbono, while Ibibio and Efik people refer to it mbukpabuyo, and the Yoruba people call it Apon. For all its nutrients though, is eating ogbono soup during pregnancy healthy?

Is eating ogbono soup during pregnancy healthy?

Pregnancy is a delicate time when you're not just looking out for yourself but also for the little one growing inside you. You have to avoid foods and chemicals that affect your pregnancy and your baby's growth and development. Because ogbono is the main ingredient in ogbono soup, we will go over its nutritional value and see if it's healthy for pregnant women.

• Prevents heart disease

You're required to be in good health during pregnancy to avoid complications arising from underlying health problems. Ogbono soup is known for its reduction of C-reactive protein, which protects people who are at risk of heart disease.

• Reduction of cholesterol

Ogbono soup lowers the levels of bad cholesterol, triglycerides, and C-reactive protein. These are direct factors in the possibility of heart failure and vascular problems.

• Weight loss

During pregnancy, you're cautioned not to put on so much weight or lose too much weight to avoid complications. Ogbono comes in handy for those looking to lose some weight because of its ability to promote fat burning. It triggers an increase in adiponectin, a molecule that promotes body composition and then weight loss in turn.

• With ogbono, you can regulate your blood sugar

Ogbono regulates blood sugar, which in turn reduces mood swings and fatigue and also increases exercise performance. It is also excellent in protecting the heart and reducing the risk of diabetes during pregnancy.

• Prevents constipation

Constipation is one of the effects of the changes that occur in the body during pregnancy. Fortunately, the high content of dietary fibre helps improve bowel function and prevent constipation during pregnancy. On the plus side, ogbono soup digests easily and also helps with detoxification.

Although some people complain of experiencing nausea after eating ogbono, making it spicy can help with that. Also, this is just based on people's taste.

Because of its lack of negative effects, ogbono is safe for human health. Overall, the answer to the question of whether ogbono soup is healthy for pregnant women is a resounding yes.

Here is an ogbono soup recipe for you

Ogbono soup is quite easy to cook. The major challenge people commonly have with cooking is finding good ogbono seeds and ensuring the soup has a lot of slime after cooking. So here are two tips before we dive into the recipe.

1. Ogbono gets a soapy taste when it has stayed for too long. Buy your seeds and grind yourself instead of buying already ground ones sold at the market and supermarkets. This is because it is better preserved as seeds, also you can't be certain of when the ground one was made.
2. To ensure your soup draws (slimy) and the ogbono doesn't have lumps, mix the ground ogbono in palm oil before adding to the soup, or you fry it in palm oil.

Now let's start cooking

Ingredients

• 1 cup of ogbono
• A handful of okra
• Uziza leaves
• Goat meat
• Stockfish
• 1 cup of palm oil
• 1/2 cup of Crayfish
• Atarodo and tatashe
• Stock cube
• Ogiri
• Atarodo
•  Salt to taste

Direction

• Season your meat and stockfish with salt, stock cubes and onions and boil.
• While it's boiling, you can start prepping the rest of your ingredients. Cut your uziza leaves, grind your ogbono and mix in palm oil. Then blend the red bell pepper (tatashe) and habanero pepper (ata rodo).
• Heat palm oil in a pot and add the blended pepper. Fry it until the palm oil floats to the top, add the ogbono and fry this for 5 minutes. Then add your crayfish and ogiri to the mix and fry for 2 minutes.
• At this stage, you can perceive the ogbono's aroma. Add your boiled meat and stock to the mix. If the stock is not enough,  add some water. Add Maggi and salt to taste.
• Let this cook for at least 20 minutes, add your okra and stir. Then add the chopped uziza leaves, leave it to cook for a few minutes and you are done.

Also read: Pregnancy Food: Is Egusi Soup Good For Pregnancy?

Sources: www.healthfacts.ng, www.pharmanewsonline.com