Replace meat with plant based foods to reduce diseases

“No meat on Mondays,” is the call on Ghanaians by health experts, following a renewed drive to practically reduce the high spate of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.

The call is to encourage a gradual adoption of healthy eating habits among the populace to avert the increasing high blood pressure (hypertension) and type 2 diabetes cases among the populace.

These conditions usually build up fatty deposits in the body and decrease organ function.

It is in view of this that the ‘Meatless Monday’ project, a public health initiative to rally as many Ghanaians as possible to reduce meat consumption at least one day in a week for their health and that of the environment, has been rekindled.

Coinciding with World Heart Day and beyond on the theme; ‘Use Heart for Action,’ the campaign is urging Ghanaians to take out meats like beef, pork, mutton, goat as well as fish and poultry from their meals on Mondays and replace them with plant-based foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains and plant-based proteins.

According to the Executive Director of the John Hopkins Centre for Communications, Mr Emmanuel Fiagbey, at the re-launch, stated that simply choosing not to eat meat one day in a week but plant-based food was a deliberate effort to begin making small changes in one’s dietary habits and reduce risks for illnesses like heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, among others.

Mondays, he explained, was strategic to enable people start off the week on a healthy note after possibly indulging in all sorts of unhealthy eating in previous days, particularly weekends where people often let down their guard.

The NCDs Programme Manager of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Efua Commeh, advised Ghanaians to make it a habit to exercise regularly, screen and check their blood pressure often, eat healthy and continue with medication when diagnosed of any NCD in order to promote longevity.

“By virtue of lifestyle changes due to global dynamics, eating of products like meat which used to be part of the family only during festive seasons have now become a norm in households because people are earning more and now able to buy beef, mutton, chicken and fatty foods and drinks on more regular basis.

The consumption of these products, however, comes with increased risk and people should be aware and start eating better, exercise and be more responsible for their health.”

Studies have shown that there is a strong link between eating red meat and heart-related diseases and deaths.

Diets high in red and processed meat have been associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, cancers particularly colorectal cancer, among other related ailments.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that a total of 41 million deaths occur annually due to NCDs.

In Ghana, about 95,000 deaths, almost 50 per cent of all mortalities each year results from NCDs such as heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, cancer and respiratory disease which are also common conditions reported in health facilities.

By Abigail Annoh