Angela Onwuzoo Amid the biting economic hardship presently ravaging the country and the desperation for several households to adopt coping mechanisms, experts have cautioned against the practice of re-using cooking oil several times, citing health risks. Presently, economic hardship is driving unhealthy lifestyles among Nigerians with many adopting extreme coping measures to survive, among which is the re-using of cooking oil. Nigeria’s annual inflation rate climbed further to a near 28-year high of 29.
9 per cent in January 2024, up from 28.9 per cent in December, and above market forecasts of 29.5 per cent.
With the rise in non-communicable diseases and sudden death, experts say Nigerians must prioritise healthy living despite the hardship. Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, the nutrition and heart specialists said used cooking oil contains trans fats, describing them as the worst type of fat to consume. They stated that trans fats have no known health benefits and are a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases and stroke worldwide.
Already, they said the reuse of cooking oil by food vendors was adding to the burden of non-communicable diseases in the country, which they said had assumed a frightening dimension. A Professor of Public Health Nutrition, Ignatius Onimawo told our correspondent that reusing vegetable oil or any cooking oil more than twice could predispose an individual to the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, hypertension, and .
