Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; UCLA defensive lineman Oluwafemi Oladejo (DL58) during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

EXCLUSIVE: UCLA's Oladejo Talks Benefits of Nigerian Cuisine

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Brock Vierra | Last updated Mar 7, 2025 4:06 PM ET

As a man from Hawaii, I was blessed in the fact that, through my Hawaiian heritage, Hawaiian food was a critical part of my upbringing.

However, my daily diet consisted of flavors whose origins were not just from Hawaii but from the Pacific rim as well, along with Americanized meals popularized in the islands. A byproduct of growing up in a racially diverse place was that many of the flavors would mix to create new dishes.

After graduating high school, I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 18 to attend UNLV, and while I never experienced homesickness, the thing I longed for most was the taste of the foods I grew up with.

The modern football diet consists of many of the same things -- chicken, fish, vegetables. While it's what athletes have to consume to perform at the highest level, the meals could become mundane.

It was at the 2024 Mountain West Media Days that inspiration struck about incorporating different cultural meals into athletes' diets after speaking to Wyoming running back Harrison Waylee about some of the foods he ate growing up with a family originally from Liberia.

After Waylee spoke about those dishes and the natural foods that went into them, it sparked an idea that more African cuisine should be incorporated to delight the palette while maintaining the health standards required by meals.

I asked UCLA's Oluwafemi Oladejo about his thoughts on the health benefits of African cuisine, especially cuisine created below the Sahara Desert, as his family is from Nigeria.

"I mean, I'm sure it will help," Oladejo said. "I know it will help. I know it helped me. Foods like egusi, spinach, it's just ... authentic, natural greens, but it tastes so good. The meat in it is good for your health in general. Even if you don't play sports, it's good for you. It's good for your heart. All of that."

Food, while good for the body, is also meant to empower the mind and soul. With many players reconnecting with their African roots and other players' love of food in general, I implore more programs and NFL franchises to incorporate foods from other places in their diets, as the taste is phenomenal, and the benefits are undeniable.

This article first appeared on UCLA Bruins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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