Dr Kaku Kyiamah, a fellow of the Ghana Institution of Engineers, has advised Ghanaians to revert to the old traditional eating habits to prevent non-communicable diseases.

Delivering a scientific lecture on the topic:“Engineering Principles and Concepts on the Role of Edible Fat in the Body,” Dr Kyiamah said the escalating rate of non-communicable diseases could be stopped and reversed if Ghanaians returned to the diet formulation of “our ancestors.”

He accused the international community as the source of a global epidemic of metabolic diseases and superbugs.

Citing research studies, Dr Kyiamah grouped fatty acids into three and said the first and second groups had fatty acids, which human cells could produce naturally in the body but not those in the third group.

He provided both theoretical and practical evidence to show that groups one and two fatty acids could prevent and heal most common ailments such as headaches, menstrual pains, colds, white, and illness attributed to various microorganisms and metabolic diseases.

On the other hand, group three fatty acids, though can alleviate fat deficiency diseases, are also associated with many different kinds of non-communicable ailments and diseases.

“Should we, as a people, change our traditional diets and oils, which have mainly groups one and two fatty acids or do we continue to follow the ‘International Community’ by consuming diets with high levels of group three fatty acids?” he asked rhetorically.

In attendance was Professor Jerome Djangmah, a former Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), said the scientific depth the lecture provided required a very serious attention by universities and the GES.

Mr Tony Oteng Gyasi, an Economist and former President of the Association of Ghana Industries said that the scientific evidence should be the basis for a review of the national policy on edible oils, using our God-given tropical saturated oils as the pivot.

Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, a Pathologist, expressed concern about the questionable edible oils on the Ghanaian market and their contribution to the high rates of diseases in the country.