A Clinical Nutritionist at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Mr Oladimeji Okunola, has warned against consuming cold food, as well as drinking cold water while eating.

Speaking with our correspondent, Okunola said consuming cold food affects digestion, as such people should cultivate the habit of consuming their food while it is warm.

“Once you cook and you allow the food to get cold, there is a change in the composition of the food, especially carbohydrate, temperature affects the flavour of the food. For instance, when frying plantain or popcorn, the aroma will be everywhere, but once it gets cold nobody will notice the plantain or popcorn. That means temperature affects the flavour of food.

“Some carbohydrates, when hot, increase in quality and when they become cold, its quality diminishes lower. Eating cold food could be advantageous to those that are diabetic but for those who don’t have any medical condition, the consumption of cold food is not the best. When you allow your food to get cold, there is a likelihood of bacteria thriving on that food and when you consume it, it can lead to food poisoning,” Okunola said.

He also said that eating food with cold drinks would make the digestion process slower. “When you consume food with cold drinks, it will make the digestion process slower compared to when you consume your food warm without a cold drink. The food might not even get digested at the end of the day and this would cause a lot of discomfort in the stomach. It could lead to a high tendency of gaining weight or outrightly add more fat to the body.”

The clinical nutritionist also warned that drinking cold water before or after eating could have an effect on the teeth and lead to tooth decay.