Nutrition
Overcoming insomnia with diet
Insomnia
Some people with insomnia may fall asleep easily enough but wake up too soon. Otherssimply can’t fall asleep, or they have trouble both falling asleep and staying asleep.
The result is low-quality sleep that doesn’t make you feel refreshed when you wake up. Often, insomnia is a symptom or a side effect of some other problems like:
• Illness, such as heart or lung disease
• Pain, anxiety, or depression
• Drugs that delay or disrupt sleep
• Caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, and other substances that affect sleep
• A poor sleep environment or a change in sleep routine
If the cause of the insomnia is known, then the insomnia should improve once the underlying cause is treated. However, there is a type of insomnia (primary insomnia) which is not as a result of any underlying disease and usually last at least one month.
Nutrition and lifestyle changes go a long way in the battle against insomnia.
Below are some of the foods that may help:
• Melatonin rich foods such as oats, nuts, fish and berries.
• Tryptophan rich foods such as spinach, eggs, and crabs.
• Niacin rich foods such asmushrooms, tuna, turkey, and anchovies.
• Vitamin B6 rich foods such as avocados, carrots, bananas, and organ meat.
Lifestyle changes
• Avoid late night watching of movies, TV shows, social media, etc.
• Have a separate bedroom away from all sorts of destruction
• Change uncomfortable beds, pillows, and sheets
• Avoid late night eating and drinking of water
• Take warm baths in the evening
• Add some forms of exercise to your lifestyle routine
It can be very unsettling dealing with insomnia, especially when we don’t know the cause. But applying the dietary and lifestyle changes mentioned above can not only treat insomnia, but also improve our quality of life in general.
Going to sleep should be a breeze in no time, with sweet dreams just around the corner.
By Dr Bernice Korkor Asare
Kind courtesy of:
Holistic Health Consult
“Your diet your health, your health your wealth”
E-mail: info@holistichealthconsult.org
Nutrition
Nourishing Ghana Starts with Us: The role of citizens
The success of Ghana’s fight against malnutrition does not rest solely in the hands of the government or donors. It depends on us, the citizens. Nutrition is not just a technical issue. It is a societal one, and every Ghanaian has a role to play in ensuring that no child goes hungry, no mother is left unsupported, and no community is forgotten.
As citizens, we must shift how we see nutrition: not as a private family concern, but as a collective national responsibility. Here’s how we can act:
1. Demand accountability
Every citizen has the right and responsibility to ask how public funds are being used to support nutrition. Are local clinics stocked with supplements? Are school feeding programmes working in your district? Are maternal health services adequately funded? Ask questions. Engage assembly members. Attend town hall meetings. Make your voice count.
2. Speak up, Speak out
Silence has a cost. When we fail to speak out against malnutrition, we normalise it. Use your platform, whether it is WhatsApp group, a radio show, a church gathering, or social media, to raise awareness. Normalise conversations about child feeding, food quality, and maternal health. Silence keeps systems broken. Voices drive change.
3. Support local solutions
Support or join community nutrition initiatives. Volunteer. Share what you know. Help spread accurate information about breastfeeding, healthy diets, and hygiene. If you are a farmer, teacher, trader, or youth leader, your knowledge and effort can make a difference. Change starts in our homes and neighbourhoods.
4. Protect the first 1,000 days
Whether you are a father, grandmother, neighbor, or employer, support pregnant women and caregivers during this crucial period. Encourage antenatal care. Help with child care. Prioritise nutritious foods. The first 1,000 days of a child’s life lay the foundation for everything that follows.
When citizens care, ask questions, take action, and show solidarity, we create the conditions for lasting change. Malnutrition is not inevitable. It is a symptom of neglect, and neglect ends when citizens choose to act.
Feature article by Women, Media and Change under its Nourish Ghana: Advocating for Increased Leadership to Combat Malnutrition Project
Nutrition
Ga Kenkey
Ga kenkey, a staple in Ghanaian cuisine, is prepared with fermenting corn dough, then cooking a portion of it to create ‘aflata’ or ‘banku’. It is a popular food in the southern part of Ghana.
Ingredients:
-8 cups of dried corn
-Dried corn leaves (for wrapping)
-2 tablespoonful of stew
Preparation
-Soak corn in water overnight
-Grind corn into a powder form
-Mix the ground corn with water (dough)
-Mix part of the dough with water and put it on fire to cook
-Take the pot off the fire and mix in the remaining dough .
– When ready shape mixture into balls and set every prepared ball on a corn leaf.
– Cover each ball by wrapping the corn leaf around it
– Put water on fire. Add wrapped kenkey to boil for 45 minutes.
– When ready take them out carefully and serve them along with shito, ground pepper and fish.
