Ghanaians In North America Asked To "Kiss A New Start"

A Ghanaian Surgeon based in Memphis-USA, Dr. Isaac Fordjour has called on Ghanaians living in North America to live a lifestyle that will prevent diseases and enhance their health. Dr. Fordjour was speaking at a health seminar organized by the Toronto cum Heritage Ghanaian Seventh-day Adventist Church for the Ghanaian community in the Greater Toronto Area on May 24, 2003.

Address a large number of Ghanaians who gathered at Attwell Drive, Toronto to participate in the seminar, Dr. Fordjour drew attention to the fact that "our bodies are precious to God." He however regretted that, "many Ghanaians do not respect their bodies". "They only think more about beautifying their bodies to the detriment of their well-being", he lamented. Dr. Fordjour stressed that health is part of our Christian living and supported his claim with some Bible texts, which included Gen. 1:27-28; 1 Corth. 6:19; 3 John 2; Deut. 30:19; John 10:10; 1 Corth. 10:31 and Rom. 1:2 among others.

Dr. Fordjour walked his audience through what he termed as KISS FOR A NEW START-Keeping It Simple/Small and Sanctified (KISS)your Nutrition, Exercise, Water, (NEW) giving attention to Sun(shine), Temperance, Air, Rest and Trust-Divine (START). He urged his listeners to follow the Ghanaian traditional way of eating we knew back home and advised us to eat more of the greens, fruits, and fewer fried foods. "It is necessary to eat breakfast and use vegetable oils in place of solid fats", he pointed out.

He also warned us to exercise and find time to rest from our jobs, citing God’s own plan for perfect rest-1,2,3,4,5,6, rest; 1,2,3,4,5,6, rest ...

He said that eating outside could be dangerous for our health. We should therefore be very careful when eating out and also read food labels before buying or eating.

Dr. Fordjour admonished Ghanaians wherever we are to adopt a healthy lifestyle for disease prevention and health enhancement. He later interacted with his audience and answered their questions.