Amazing Health Benefits of Afang Soup You never Knew

The first time I ate Afang soup was at a friend’s place. Since then, I have become a die-hard fan of foods from the South-South. Luckily for me, NYSC posted to me to South-South for service. O boy! I had my fill of their delicacies. From Okazi to Nsala to Banga, I made sure I enjoyed the food while the time lasted.

In today’s post, I will be talking about the health benefits of Afang soup. If you do not know, Afang soup is the trademark soup of the Efik people. When I say Efik, I mean the people form Akwa Ibom and Cross River states. From there, the soup has migrated all over Nigeria and even found its way abroad.

Afang Soup is made basically from Okazi leaves and Water leaves. Then you add several other ingredients such as snails, periwinkles, stock fish, roasted fish etc. Okazi leaves are the same leaves used for making Okazi soup (which is native to Imo and Abia States). However, Afang and Okazi soups differ in mode of preparation.

Health Benefits of Afang Soup

So, what do I stand to gain when I take this soup, you may ask?

• Well first, Afang soup is a good source of unsaturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fatty acids make up the HDLs (i.e High-Density Lipoproteins). HDL is known as good cholesterol because it helps to remove other forms of cholesterol from your bloodstream.
• It is rich in essential dietary fibre. Dietary fibre is very good for weight loss and also helps prevent constipation.
• The Okazi leaves used in its preparation are rich in iodine. Iodine helps in preventing goitre.
• The waterleaf component of Afang soup helps to slow down the digestion and conversion of starch to simple sugars. This makes Afang soup useful in managing diabetes.
• It also contains a lot of anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are important in repelling free radicals and preventing oxidation.
• It is also a rich source of Vitamin C. Vitamin C increases the body’s resistance to disease.

Didn’t you know that Afang had this much benefits? Now that you know, you should definitely eat more of it.