A nutritionist at the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Ghana, Prof. Matilda Steiner-Asiedu has stressed the need to return to healthy Ghanaian traditional diets, home gardening and stronger community collaboration as part of strategies to help prevent iron deficiency anaemia in children.
Focusing on prevention, Prof. Steiner-Asiedu urged parents to move away from heavily processed food and focus on feeding children balanced traditional diets are rich in iron and protein.
According to her, meals such as rice and beans, kontomire, vegetables and grains are more beneficial for children’s growth and blood formation than oily rice dishes and poorly balanced fast foods.
Speaking to Graphic Online, she stressed the importance of giving children green leafy vegetables daily, alongside citrus fruits such as oranges, mangoes and pawpaw to help improve iron absorption.
The professor also highlighted turkey berries, legumes, fish, eggs and meat as important iron-rich foods that support healthy brain development, energy production and learning ability in children.
She said iron deficiency remains the most common nutritional deficiency among children and warned that inadequate iron intake could affect children’s cognitive development, muscle growth and academic performance.
She encouraged parents to pay attention to warning signs including paleness, weakness, irritability, poor appetite and tiredness, and seek medical attention early whenever such symptoms are observed.
The nutrition expert further advocated school and home gardening initiatives to improve access to affordable nutritious foods. She said schools could integrate gardening into learning activities to encourage children to grow vegetables and legumes for consumption.
According to her, community gardens could also help improve food security and reduce malnutrition if supported by agricultural extension officers, local government authorities, educational institutions and social welfare agencies.
Prof. Steiner-Asiedu expressed concern over high anaemia levels recorded in some rural communities, where studies found prevalence rates among schoolchildren reaching as high as 78 percent due to poor diets and limited access to nutritious foods.
She also called for more research into preserving fruits and vegetables during harvest seasons so they remain affordable and available throughout the year, particularly during dry seasons when prices of leafy vegetables rise sharply.
The professor criticised food pricing practices in markets that make nutritious foods inaccessible to ordinary families, urging market leaders and traders to support national efforts toward achieving food security and reducing malnutrition.
She noted that preventing iron deficiency anaemia requires collective action involving families, communities, schools, researchers, ministries, farmers and the private sector.
Drawing from her own research and nutrition outreach experiences, Prof. Steiner-Asiedu said many families had successfully improved their health simply by learning how to select affordable nutritious foods and grow vegetables in small spaces, even in urban communities in Accra.
She maintained that food remains the best medicine and that improving nutrition education and access to healthy local foods would help Ghana raise healthier, stronger and more productive children.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh