Nutrition
Overcoming breast cancer with diet: vegetable edition
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Vegetables are important part of our diet
Last week’s piece was about how we can protect our health against breast cancer with fruits. In this week’s episode, we will be talking about how we can maximise our health against breast cancer with vegetables.
Vegetables are a very important part of our diet. Knowing the types and amount of vegetables is paramount in optimising our overall health.
The following include a variety of vegetables that contain the minerals and vitamins necessary to boost our immune system to fight against breast cancer.
• Green leafy vegetables: lettuce, kontomire, bokoboko, ayoyo, bitter leaf, alefu
• Cruciferous vegetables: cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli
• Marrow vegetables: pumpkin and cucumber
• Root vegetables: beetroot, carrot and potato
With any food of your choice, for example rice, yam, etc., a number of recipes can be made from combinations of the aforementioned vegetables. These include:
• Vegetable stew
• Vegetable soup
• Vegetable salad
• Coleslaw
Some of these vegetables, such as carrot, cucumber, beetroot, etc. can also be eaten raw as snack.
In our next chapter, we will discuss some foods/recipes that are low in cholesterol and saturated fats, as well as lifestyle modifications in general, which is also an integral part of the fight against breast cancer.
The writer, Bernice Korkor Asare is a Dietitian and CEO of Holistic Health Consult
“Your diet your health, your health your wealth”
E-mail:
info@holistichealthconsult.org
When we talk about nutrition in Ghana, the conversation often focuses on individual choices: eat more vegetables, reduce sugar and salt, drink more water and exercise regularly.
These messages are important, but they tell only part of the story. Good nutrition is not just a personal responsibility; it is also a food-system issue.
What Ghanaians eat is influenced by what farmers produce, what food costs, how it is processed and marketed, what is served in schools, and what information consumers receive.
Ghana has the agricultural capacity to produce a wide variety of nutritious foods, including vegetables, fruits, legumes, fish, eggs, roots and tubers. Yet production alone is not enough. Poor storage, transportation challenges and weak market access mean that an estimated 30 per cent of food in Ghana can spoil before reaching consumers or retailers, according to a 2025 study by the International Growth Centre. The losses are particularly significant for fruits and vegetables, reducing both farmers’ incomes and the availability of nutritious foods. This is where policy becomes important.
Agricultural policies should consider not only how much food Ghana produces, but also whether that food contributes to healthy diets. Greater support for diverse crops, local vegetables, fruits and legumes could strengthen both agriculture and nutrition.
The food-processing industry has a role as well. Processing can reduce food waste, improve convenience and create new markets for local produce. But greater attention should be paid to the nutritional quality of processed foods, particularly those high in salt, added sugar and unhealthy fats.
Public education must also become more practical. Telling people to “eat healthy” is not enough when nutritious foods may be unaffordable or unavailable. Consumers need information, but they also need a food environment that makes healthier choices realistic.
Good nutrition begins on the farm, continues through the market and food industry, reaches the school and household, and ultimately ends on the plate.
What is needed is greater coordination.
A successful nutrition strategy should connect agricultural production with health objectives, school feeding with local agriculture, food processing with nutritional quality, and public education with the realities of household income and food prices.
The ultimate goal is not simply to produce more food.
It is to ensure that Ghanaians have reliable access to safe, affordable and nutritious food throughout their lives.
Feature Article by Women, Media and Change
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Igredients
– 2 cups of white rice
-1 large onion
– Vegetable oil
– 1 teaspoonful of grinded turmeric
-Salt to taste
– 2 carrots
-1 green pepper
-Spring onion
Method
-Pour the oil in saucepan and put it on fire
-Wash and cut onions. Add it to the oil and allow it to turn golden brown
-Add rice, stir for sometime to make it crispy
-Add water, turmeric, salt and allow rice to cook for sometime
-Cover the saucepan, reduce heat to low, and simmer until water is absorbed and rice is cooked, about 10 minutes
-Wash cut carrot, green pepper and spring onions and add to the rice on fire
-Serve with stew or shito
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