News

5 Common Food Combinations That Stop Your Body From Absorbing Nutrients

Published

4 weeks ago

August 26, 2026

Many people spend good money buying healthy food, cooking balanced meals, and taking vitamins to stay strong. However, eating good food is only half the journey. The real benefit comes from whether your digestive system can actually absorb the nutrients into your bloodstream.

When you combine certain everyday meals, natural chemical compounds inside them clash. One food item can easily bind to the vitamins or minerals in another, flushing them out as waste before your body receives any value.

In this article, Tribune Online examines five popular food combinations that secretly block nutrient absorption and explains how you can fix them.

Tea or coffee with cooked eggs and beans

Drinking a hot cup of black tea or coffee immediately alongside boiled eggs, akara, or beans is a staple breakfast for many. However, tea and coffee contain organic compounds known as tannins and polyphenols.

According to clinical reports published by Healthline Nutrition, tannins bind tightly to non-heme iron found in plant foods and eggs. This chemical bond makes the iron insoluble, reducing your body’s iron absorption by up to 60 percent. To protect your blood count, enjoy your hot beverage at least an hour before or after meals.

Milk or cheese with green leafy vegetables

Vegetable soups made with spinach, ugwu, or waterleaf are packed with plant-based iron and magnesium. Mixing heavy dairy products like milk, cheese, or rich cream directly into these meals creates a nutrient battle.

Dairy is exceptionally rich in calcium. Calcium and iron compete directly for the exact same absorption pathway in the small intestine. When consumed together in large amounts, calcium dominates the receptors, leaving the iron unabsorbed. Nutritionists recommend seasoning your greens with lemon juice instead, as vitamin C boosts iron intake.

Whole grains with high-calcium dairy

Eating whole grain oats or whole wheat bread alongside heavy cow milk seems like a wholesome fitness meal. Yet unrefined grains contain natural phytic acid (phytates), an anti-nutrient stored in plant seeds.

Phytic acid binds strongly to calcium, zinc, and magnesium in the digestive tract, forming an unabsorbable compound. To reduce phytates, soak your whole grains in water before cooking or choose fermented grain options like traditional sourdough.

Raw salad vegetables with zero fat dressing

Many health-conscious individuals eat fresh cucumber, tomatoes, and carrots completely dry to cut calories. This habit deprives the body of essential fat-soluble vitamins, namely vitamins A, D, E, and K, as well as antioxidant lycopene.

These specific vitamins cannot dissolve in water and require dietary fats to enter your intestinal wall. Adding a single boiled egg, half an avocado, or a teaspoon of cold-pressed olive oil ensures your system absorbs these vital disease-fighting compounds.

Seafood and grilled meat

Washing down grilled fish or suya with chilled alcohol is a weekend habit for many. However, alcohol irritates the intestinal lining and damages the digestive enzymes responsible for breaking down micronutrients.

Medical researchers note that alcohol drastically impairs the metabolism of zinc, iron, and crucial B-complex vitamins like thiamine and B12. If you are having nutrient-dense meats, pair them with fresh water or natural citrus drinks instead of alcoholic beverages.

News

Six Corps Members Receive N10m Grants To Boost Agribusiness

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2026

Editor

Six members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have received a total of N10 million in grants to expand their agribusiness ventures under the Farmers for the Future Programme.

The programme was organised on Monday by the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF) in collaboration with the NYSC to encourage young Nigerians to embrace agriculture and develop sustainable businesses.

Presenting the cheques to the beneficiaries in Abuja, the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, urged Corps members to maximise the opportunities provided by the service year by venturing into commodity marketing and other viable businesses.

Nafiu said agribusiness remained a viable avenue for young people to build sustainable enterprises, create employment and generate wealth.

He also stressed the importance of value addition to the success and sustainability of business ventures, while commending BATNF for placing Nigerian youths at the centre of its entrepreneurship initiatives through value-chain development, employment creation and its partnership with the NYSC.

“I charge you to spread the news around. We have seen the outcome, and it is a good idea,” he said.

The beneficiaries are Dominic Olufemi (FC/25C/1143), who received N3 million; Temitope Adewole (ED/26A/2251), N2 million; Abdulwaheed Bala (ED/25B/1402), N2 million; Olanike Mayungbe (OG/26B/1037), N1 million; Kingsley Udoeyen (KG/26A/1735), N1 million; and Lorember Lorsue (JG/25B/1742), N1 million.

Speaking on the selection process, the Acting Director, Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED), Mrs Winifred Shopeka, said the programme began with an online registration portal through which Corps Members engaged in agribusiness submitted their business plans.

She said nearly 3,000 Corps members applied and underwent a rigorous selection process that produced 20 finalists.

According to her, the finalists participated in a boot camp and a final pitching session, which produced the 10 best presenters before the six ultimate winners were selected.

Shopeka said the beneficiaries had also been mentored and attached to established market operators to assist them in marketing their products.

She added that Corps Members who did not make the final stage of the competition were also trained by BATNF.

The BATNF Team Lead, Mr Oludare Odusanya, congratulated the beneficiaries and urged Corps Members engaged in agribusiness to master the fundamentals and acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed.

“We are happy with our collaboration with the NYSC, and it will continue,” he said.

Odusanya explained that BATNF was an independent organisation established to contribute to poverty reduction in Nigeria through sustainable agricultural practices and other interventions.

He said the Farmers for the Future Programme was instituted in collaboration with the NYSC to encourage Corps Members to venture into agribusiness and become job creators.

He added that the beneficiaries would be attached to mentors who would guide them towards achieving success in their respective businesses.

According to him, the programme has, since its inception, continued to enhance the entrepreneurial capacity of Corps Members.

News

CBN Reduces Interest Rate To 23%

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2026

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday announced the reduction of the interest rate, also known as Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 23 percent.

Briefing the media in Abuja, the Governor of the CBN, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, said at the 307th MPC meeting held on September 22, 2026 agreed the resetting of the MPR and recaliberation of the monetary policy market.

According to Cardoso, the committe is satisfied with the disinflation progress, adding that members noted stable banking sector following successful recapitalisation.

Meanwhile, according to Nigerian Tribune, reports that that the MPC, at its 306th meeting in July 2026, disclosed its resolution to retain the interets at 26.5 percent.

According to the Governor of the CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, “the Committee’s decision to maintain the current policy stance followed a thorough assessment of the balance of risks. Although headline inflation moderated marginally in June 2026, global uncertainties have heightened, due mainly to the renewed hostilities in the Middle East.

“In view of the evolving developments, maintaining a cautious monetary policy stance remains appropriate. In arriving at its decision, the Committee noted the recent resurgence of hostilities in the Middle East, with particular attention to its spillover effects on global energy prices and the potential pass-through to domestic inflation.”

News

NURTW: KWAM1 Settles Long-time Rift Between MC Oluomo, Tafa Sego

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2026

Editor

Nigerian Fuji musician, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as KWAM1, has brokered a peace deal between the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) National President, Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, and the Lagos State Chairman of the union, Mustapha Adekunle, aka Tafa Sego.

The reconciliation took place at Ojusagbola in Ijebu, Ogun State, where several NURTW chieftains gathered for the meeting.

The development was announced on Tuesday on KWAM1’s digital media page on Instagram, alongside photographs from the meeting.

According to the post, the two union leaders have resolved their differences after years of strained relations.

“After years of an age-long rift, MC Oluomo and Tafa Sego have finally settled their differences. And from what we know now, this is final,” the post said.

The musician was said to have intervened as the Mayegun of Yorubaland, with the aim of bringing an end to the longstanding disagreement between the two NURTW figures.

“K1 acted in his role as the Mayegun of Yorubaland by seeking an end to the long-standing rift, once and for all,” it said.

The post also described the meeting as a significant step beyond previous public displays of reconciliation.

“This time, it was not just another handshake for the cameras. The two old friends and colleagues came together at Ojusagbola, with King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (K1) playing the peacemaker.”

Both MC Oluomo and Tafa Sego were reported to be pleased with the outcome of the intervention.

“Both parties are delighted about the new development,” the post said.

The two men had previously been allies and prominent figures within the Lagos NURTW before their relationship became strained amid disagreements linked to leadership of the union in the state.