Top 5 Food Choices

By: Miguel Adrian A. Yu

       They say eating healthy requires lots of money. That’s not the case if you’re in UP. You can actually get a lot of nutrition from consuming widely available, unbelievably tasty, and exceptionally healthy food found in the university. I know we’re all used to our regular cheap meal deals, but the key is actually just choosing the right kind of food.

Let’s talk about basic nutrition. According to Claudio et al (2004), for optimum nutrition, we should have a balanced, a moderate, and a varied diet consisting of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fluids, vitamins and minerals. But let’s face it, for it to be truly effective, we should take into account cost and preference. But who wouldn’t want a taste of the Top 5 Healthy and Cheap Foods of UP such as (1) Taho, (2) Sweet Potato (3) Buko Juice, (4) Banana, and (5) Corn? If you dare to say “me”, well, let’s just say you’ll have a change of heart with the facts that you’ll read below.

Taho is a soybean curd made of fresh silken tofu topped with vanilla syrup and pearl tapioca. The syrup can also be enjoyed with a variety of flavors such as strawberry, jackfruit, and buko pandan. For about 10 pesos, taho is a good source of protein which can make your muscles perform to their finest. In addition, the syrup and tapioca will provide the carbohydrates needed for the sustenance of energy to the brain to keep it functioning optimally. Furthermore, according to a study by Friedman & Brandon (2001), soy-containing food can lower cholesterol and decrease risk of cancer, obesity, & diabetes.

 Another food that you probably can’t say no to are sweet potatoes or kamote. For about 15 pesos, it is jam-packed with complex carbohydrates that can help give you a sustained supply of energy. This steady supply is much more beneficial than the surge of energy followed by the plunging crash of caffeine containing products such as coffee and sodas. Aside from energy, it can also provide fiber. Fiber helps lower blood cholesterol levels by binding with bile which assists with fat and cholesterol absorption thus keeping it from building up. In addition, it also helps improve digestion by adding bulk to our stools.

For a healthier beverage alternative, why not go for a dose of buko juice? It’ll just cost you around 20 pesos. Buko juice or coconut water is taken from a young coconut before its flesh matures. Its young meat is usually scraped and included in the drink to make it more nutritious. It is very rich in potassium and electrolytes which makes it an ideal drink after an intense encounter with the heat. The coconut meat can provide quick and lasting energy that helps you through your classes, especially this summer. Moreover, according to studies published by the Coconut Research Center, the coconut water can help boost the immune system and help fight off viral infections such as the flu. It can also help prevent the onset of several debilitating diseases such as cancer, goiter, osteoporosis and diabetes. Hence, coconut trees were called the “Tree of Life.”

Banana is a fruit that is one of a kind. They just cost around 10 pesos. Bananas are ideal for our health as they taste sweet and are packaged in a convenient way which makes it easy to incorporate into our daily diets. In addition, they also have an immense nutritional content. So instead of the apple a day cliché, why not have a banana instead? According to the Philippine Food Composition Tables (2007), they have twice as many carbohydrates as apples, five times as much vitamin A and iron, three times as much phosphorus, and contain as much fiber – wouldn’t these really keep the doctor away?

Actually, when we talk about keeping the doctor away, for just about 15 pesos, corn is a good alternative. Like kamote and bananas, corn has high fiber content which aids in alleviating weight and digestive problems such as constipation thus helping in lowering risks of colon cancer. Moreover, unlike other crops and fruits, corn is rich in B vitamins which improve nervous function and cognition. Furthermore, it is also rich in vitamin A and E which are essential for good vision and growth, respectively.

So you see, eating healthy doesn’t really require lots of money, all it takes is maybe, in some cases, a change of heart.