Bad nutrition practices, the silent killer of our health and economy.

Written by
Kwasi Emmanuel
Nutritionist, Ghana
Tel: +233 0247823111/ 0275646663
Email: kwasiemma@gmail.com

Health is the general condition of body and mind thus a healthy state of wellbeing free from diseases. The most nutritious food and the so call highly reputable foods can cause illness if it is contaminated with pathogens or certain chemicals. Some of the pathogens that can cause foodborne illness include certain bacteria, viruses, molds, worms, and protozoa and these pathogens are found in filthy and dusty environment.

A survey I conducted indicates that food vendors are preparing food with dirty cooking pots and filthy environment. Some overlook the protocol use in food handling and selling process which contaminate the food we consume outside these days. A healthy diet is the cornerstone of any nutritional approach to health. However, intensive farming methods and food processing have stripped our food of much of its vital nutritional content. Many of the foods we eat today are nutritionally lacking. Even if we eat a 'healthy diet' it is virtually impossible to get the amounts of nutrients across the board that we need for optimal health.
Moreover, some traders and producers of food crops are helping in accelerating the emergence of numerous diversity of life threatening diseases and high tender age mortality and morbidity rate in this our generation. This is quite outrageous because they use chemicals such as calcium carbide to hasten fruits ripening process. Calcium carbide is very detrimental and highly toxic and can cause liver and kidney deterioration. Neurological system altered by toxins produced by calcium carbide can result in hypoxia which if prolonged can also cause mental disorders, cerebral oedema and seizure.
We do not recognized the relevance of nutrition in our hospitals, homes, work places and restaurant simply because we do not know that our life and economic stature are dependent on good nutrition. The truth is that malnutrition (over nutrition and under nutrition) is a silent killer to our health and our economy. This is because malnutrition don’t kill fast and it danger signs are unfamiliar as we see in diabetes, hypertension, renal diseases, liver diseases, and general body diseases hence medical professionals, government, institutions in charge of our health and the individual take it for granted. However, malnutrition is the key intruder that trigger the onset of all these ill-like-related diseases aforementioned. Malnutrition is the reason we have a lot of sickness and countless OPD attendance. Medical doctors, Nurses and other curative health care professionals have been prioritized with unforgettable dignity and high reputation. This has resulted in the creation of fear and panic by the government and Ghanaians when they embark on nationwide strike. A lot of countless drugs, and herbal medicines are in the system to cure diseases.
In fact ones nutritional wellbeing is the most important subject that need careful and urgent attention than any other thing on earth. It is true to say that Medical doctors, Nurses, Specialist, and many hospitals government is toiling hard to build will not be needed if critical and appropriate measures are put in place to review our bad behavior hurled on the practice of nutrition in this country.
It is sad to know that a whole Metropolis, Municipals, and districts have at most two nutrition officers and some even don’t have. How do they work effectively in terms of health promotion and education on good nutrition practice in Ghana? Most of the hospitals, polyclinics and clinics do not have Nutritionist/Dieticians in the management of chronic diet related diseases and other life threatening diseases. The reason may be that they mistakenly assume that Medical doctors and Nurses are expert and well equipped with the requisite skills and knowledge to provide nutrition therapy to patients. Nevertheless, Medical doctors and Nurses spend less than a semester in studying nutrition.
The Nutritionist study nutrition for four years or more to acquire evidence based scientific knowledge and the requisite skills to educate, promote, identify, treat and manage diseases with well-planned scientific based diet. So tell me who is more knowledgeable in terms of nutrition? We don’t trace the patients to see if the condition they brought to the hospital is cured or not like we will see that most of them die with their conditions because of bad diet which their condition don’t permit them to take.
Strict state and local laws should be enacted to regulate the commercial production of food in Ghana most especially handling and preparedness of fruits and vegetables for sale. Dairies, canneries, bakeries are all subject to government inspection.