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Eating too much processed foods could promote cancer
We process food into other form for many reasons to look good, taste better, smell good to consume, but importantly for the product to stay longer without getting rotten (preserve them) so we can make them available to people who either do not have access to that kind of food or have no food at all.
The processing (crushing, milling, drying, addition of preservatives or chemicals for taste and look) usually makes the foods lose some natural nutritional value.
Also, the additives, such as sugars, artificial sugars and amino acids, salts etc. may be detrimental to the human body when eaten often.
Numerous diseases including diabetes, obesity, heart diseases have been linked to some additives.
Dr Peter Lemaire, a Research Doctor, in an interview with The Spectator disclosed that eating too much processed foods could promote cancer.
According to him, cancer process happened in our bodies every minute, but it did not break out for many people because their immune system eliminated them, and added that, there had been a discovery in recent times that cancer could be prevented by a healthy immune system.
He noted that, the best form of treatment for cancer right now “are drugs that boost the immune system to enable them fight cancer, called the immune-oncology drugs including Yervoy, Opdivo and Keytruda”.
The Medical Researcher underscored that, any process that took away the nutrients needed to boost the immune system or weaken the immune system, may promote cancer.
Dr Lemaire indicated that there were three impacts of processing that were linked to cancer and mentioned loss of nutritional value as one of them, adding that fruits and vegetables contained vitamins and antioxidants that were also very unstable when exposed to air.
According to him, vitamins were destroyed over time, and even faster when heat was applied, and said that Vitamin C that was very necessary for building a strong immune system which could be destroyed in minutes when fruits were exposed to air, light, chemicals at high pH and heat.
Another impact he highlighted was harmful additives included sugars, salt and some chemicals which were added to enhance taste.
Sugar (glucose), he said, was a direct fuel to cancers as cancer cells used about 200 times more energy than normal cells, stressing that, too much artificial sweeteners such as saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame, and natural sweetener such as Stevia had been linked to mutagenesis and cancer.
He reiterated that some additives such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium benzoate, sodium nitrites, potassium bromate have been linked to cancer when eaten too much or often.
The research doctor explained that some artificial colours used in fruit juices, salad dressing, ice creams including blue 1&2-E133, green 3, red 3, red 40, yellow 6-E110, yellow tartrazine – E102 among others were also linked to cancer.
The third impact was, packaging, indicating that, heavy metals such as iron, copper, and nickel in trace amounts may trigger free radical reaction on unsaturated fats or cause reactive oxygen species that caused DNA damage and could lead to cancer.
He said that, metals used in packaging such as aluminum was linked to breast cancer.
“Cans are Tin-coated steel (iron + carbon alloy) or aluminum and their impact on free radical formation are minimal, when cutting the cans metals are filed into the food, potentially significant enough to trigger free radical formation”, he stated.
Dr Lemaire said processing made the foods lose their nutritional value and, value of protecting cells against cancer.
According to the Medical Doctor, some Ghanaians had the wrong notion that living rich meant eating processed or polished foods, instead, eating fresh foods like raw ground pepper, tomatoes, onions among others was rather rich and healthier than canned fish and canned vegetables.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, signed five bills including three amendment bills passed by Parliament into law.
They are: Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025; University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025; Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In a brief remark after assenting to the bills, President Mahama explained that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, scraps the Office of Minister of National Security and frees the President’s to appoint any Minister to supervise the security agencies.
He said it also reverses the name of the office of National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to the original name, Bureau of National Intelligence, (BNI).
This the President said, addresses the confusion between that security agency and a well-known Ghanaian financial institution, the National Investment Bank.
President Mahama also noted that the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes another University in the Eastern Region, at Bonsu, with three campuses – the main campus at Bonsu in the Eastern Region, with the second campus to be cited at Ohawu in the Oti Region.
The third, the Presdient assed will be located at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Touching on the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President said, “As you’re aware, the act was amended to increase it from 1% to 3%, and so this act reduces it again. That is the levy on mining companies. It reduces it again to 1%, because of the introduction of the sliding scale of royalties.”
He also spoke to the passage of the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act, emphasising that amends Act 1023 to grant greater flexibility to private tertiary institutions and the option to Charter.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act, the President concluded, is an amendment to an original act that was supposed to guarantee deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
It basically expands protection to include mobile money wallets and other digital platforms, ensuring a wider scope of digital financial assets are secured.
The signing ceremony, was witnessed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and a Special Aide to the President, Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
