This week, Meatless Monday Ghana takes readers back to the basics of healthy eating for healthy living and attempts to answer asks the question, why the practice of MM recommends nutritionally adequate meals for all practitioners.
A Nutritionally Adequate Meal.
A nutritionally adequate meal is essential for promoting overall health and well-being. Balanced or nutritionally adequate diets can help manage weight, regulate blood pressure, and blood sugar levels, support digestive health, and promote heart health. An added advantage of adopting healthy eating habits is that individuals can also significantly reduce their risk of developing Non-Communicable Diseases including: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, and certain types of cancer
A nutritionally adequate diet must include a wide range of essential nutrients. These encompass macronutrients, which the body needs in large quantities (such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats), and micronutrients, required in smaller quantities (such as vitamins and minerals). These essential nutrients can be obtained from the four food groups represented in the picture below.
- Staples such as grains such as maize, wheat, rice, millet; roots and tubers such as cassava, yam, cocoyam and potatoes and other staples such as plantain.
- Legumes and seeds such as beans, agushie, werewere, groundnuts and sesame.
- Fruits and Vegetables such as mango, pawpaw, orange, banana, carrots, tomatoes, African eggplant (Solanum macrocarpon) leaves ‘gboma,’ Cocoyam (Xanthosoma spp.) leaves ‘kontomire.’ and Yellow melon.
- Animal Source Foods such as fish, liver, eggs, milk and milk products, chicken and meat which MM recommends should be eaten in moderation.
In addition to these four groups, a balanced or nutritionally adequate meal must contain limited or small amounts of healthy fats and oils to improve the absorption of some vitamins and provide extra energy. Examples are coconut oil, soya oil, shea butter, palm oil, margarine and vegetable oil.
MESSAGE OF THE WEEK
Let the Harvard Healthy Eating plate remain your guide all the time. Print and keep it!
Reduce meat consumption and eat more plant-based foods
on Mondays for a healthier life. Save your life- Save the Environment!
