Nutrition Work

The past few weeks I have been doing nutrition education with each of the villages in my community. People here have not been growing up in an environment that bombards them with information on what constitutes a healthy meal. There aren’t campaigns that promote healthy foods, not much knowledge on “eat your vegetables,” and little talk about diets within schools. You eat to feel full, to have enough energy to work at the farm, but you don’t worry about what exactly you are putting into your body. This often leads to people eating lots of starches and carbs—things like fufu or rice or plantains, with only very small amounts of fruits or vegetables. They’ll eat a giant plate of rice, with a tiny spoonful of boiled bitter leaf. Or a couple of balls of fufu with one small bowl of soup. Often, even the way in which they prepare their vegetables works against them and voids them of nutrition. Most meals consist of heavily boiled vegetables, which results in the vegetables losing most of their nutrients. People haven’t been taught how to balance a meal, they don’t always know that each type of food should be represented or even what type of food belongs to which group.

 I have been teaching men and women a simplified way to construct a meal, in which food is divided into three groups (a starch group, a protein group, and a fruits and vegetables group). We go over which local foods go into which category and talk about why each group is important for your health. Equally as important, we go over proper proportions and encourage a higher ratio of vegetables and protein in comparison to their starch food. We also discuss which traditional meals meet the standards of a healthy diet and which ones fall short. People have been incredibly interested and eager to learn. So far, the information has served as a good reminder to some, or as a new skill to others. The real issue is going to be behavior change now. Often these foods are traditional, culturally appropriate foods that families have been preparing for as long as they can remember. It is going to be hard to get people to alter their diets or prepare food in different ways than they are used to. I am planning some cooking demonstrations in the following month, so hopefully actually seeing and trying some new dishes will go over well!