5 Everyday Foods That Protect Women’s Health.
October has arrived, marking the commencement of Pinktober, a month-long celebration dedicated to women’s health, with a primary emphasis on raising awareness about breast cancer. 🩷
Food plays a major role in every woman’s health and I am personally of the view that food truly heals and with intentionality in our food choices, we can live healthier lives as women. Our food choices affects our mental well-being, hormones and overally lifestyle. Whether you’re a busy SAHM, a female CEO or a female student in the University, you need to make intentional healthier eating choices for yourself.
For Pinktober, I’m focusing on simple, wholesome Ghanaian foods/ingredients that do more than fill the stomach — they heal, nourish, and strengthen from within.
Leafy greens
Our markets have an abundance of leafy greens like kontomire (cocoyam leaves), borkorborkor, ademe, gboma which all contain calcium and folates which are super essential for bone health, balancing hormones, boosting immunity, reducing the risk of birth defects and lowering inflammation — all of which play a role in reducing the risk of breast cancer and other women’s health challenges.
Garden eggs
Garden Eggs are rich in magnesium, potassium, fiber which is excellent for gut health and lowering cholestrol. The leaves of garden eggs actually more nutritionally dense than the fruit and are also excellent for stews.
Cooking tip: If you plan on cooking garden eggs for garden egg stew, it’s best you steam them instead of boiling them to retain the nutrients which usually get lost in the traditional method of boiling. Cut them in half and steam them before using them in the stew. Also, use the steaming method for the leaves to prevent loss of nutrients.
3. Millet
An ancient grain which has stood the test of time due to it’s drought resistant properties. The health properties in millet are vast! As a whole grain they help reduce cholestrol levels, blood pressure and give better digestive health due to the high fiber content and a lower glycemic index. It helps in reducing weight loss as it gives you a “fuller” feeling thus preventing you from eating more. It also is a gluten-free alternative if you are gluten intolerant. Millet contains magnesium and potassium which regulate blood pressure thus are heart-healthy ingredients you should add to your diet. Even though in Ghana, we process millet into flour more often for cooking hausa koko, cookies and drinks, you can also find whole Asian millet in asian shops around the city for cooking millet like rice. You can also purchase the sorghum variety of millet which is easily found at the Nima market and cook it like you would for rice.
4. Nuts, Drupes and Berries
Every woman needs to have a healthy portion of nuts in their diets especially almonds, cashew, peanuts, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts offer healthy fats and protein, which contribute to hormonal balance and brain function. Berries such as blueberries, raisins are accessible in most major supermarkets. Drupes which are native to Ghana such as adoŋ (Aidan fruit), shɔ (scientific name: Vitex Doniana) also have anti-oxidant properties which prevent cell damage.
Image Source: https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Vitex_doniana
5. Pawpaw
An underrated fruit in Ghana but is a powerhouse of healing and health protection. The leaves of pawpaw and the crushed seeds can be added to black or green tea to make a healing brew to combat oxidative stress, promote skin and hair health, improves digestion and also has anti-oxidant properties for fighting cell damage. Pawpaw leaves contain valuable plant compounds like papain and acetogenins which fight against cancerous cells.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of superfoods which can reduce the risk to breast cancer, the key thing to always keep in mind is to increase whole fiber foods, have smaller plates of meals, drink more water. Aim to reduce ultra-processed foods and high salt based oily meals. Be more physically active whilst choosing to eat right.
