''Avoid Smoked Fish, Roasted Corn and Plantain If You Want To Live Long” – Expert

By Ugwu, Chinagorom Joseph

        For Nigerians to defeat non communicable diseases and live long, they must avoid excessive or continuous intake of smoked fish, roasted corn, roasted plantain and other enticing, but unhealthy foods, the Managing Director, Integrated Medical Centre, Dr. Damilola Familoni has said.

        She noted that though these are hard to resist delicacies for Nigerians, they were ladened with cancer causing effects and other disease risk factors which manifests much later in life, stressing that one of the surest prevention methods against cancer, diabetes, hypertension and obesity was adopting a healthy lifestyle which includes healthy living.

        Speaking at the celebration of AVON Health Management Organisation at Three, and the launch of its online service in Lagos, she said Nigerians must be educated on what types of foods to be avoided or eaten, as education was key to tackling the rising health indices in the country. “For instance, anyone with Blood type O has no reason eating plantain at all,” she added.

        According to her, “disease burden was becoming prominent in Nigeria, hence it was best to adopt healthcare provision that would make them spend less while getting adequate and appropriate diagnosis, treatment and management of their various health issues.

“All these can’t be addressed by out-of-pocket health provision as majority of Nigerians are living below the poverty line and are unable to afford healthcare. But with health insurance, it is easier to maximally take advantage of healthcare provision. Organisations, governments and individuals should adopt this model if we must reduce incidence of health issues in the country,” Familoni added.

       Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer, AVON HMO, Mrs. Adesimbo Ukiri said with the launch of the online service, Nigerians can now buy and enroll to health plans from the organisation’s website via their mobile phones, laptops and tablets.

She said: “When we started three years ago, our belief was that Nigerians from all walks of life should be able to access good quality healthcare services when they need it, without financial constraint leading to unnecessary complications and fatalities.

“With our health plans starting as low as N15,000 per year, we have indeed brought quality healthcare services to the average Nigerian. Subscription to an Avon HMO plan means that whenever a covered ill health or accident occurs, the state of one’s finances won’t matter as Avon HMO oversees the healthcare service delivery and foots the bill. By giving people the ability to buy and subscribe online via mobile phones and other devices, we are bringing convenient and affordable healthcare services to everyone.”

She said with the innovation, the current three to four per cent of Nigerians using health insurance will increase.