Helping Hands internerly

In recent times there have been claims and counter claims on the health effect of   r ather consequences of replacing wheat flour with cassava flour in Nigeria. In fact, two print media reported recently that the House of Representatives rejected a bill on mandatory inclusion of 40 per cent cassava flour in bread because it was alleged to be responsible for rising cases of diabetes in the country. A school of thought says cassava flour has low glycaemic index (GI), is high in calorie and starch and thereby predisposes the consumer to obesity and diabetes. They say cassava can be harmful if it not properly prepared to remove a toxic compound called hydrogen cyanide. Some researchers believe that the cyanide in cassava could cause diabetes, or that it could worsen the health of people who already suffer from diabetes Another school of thought says that if cassava is not properly prepared, it contains toxic compounds that may increase one’s risk of developing diabetes. However,