World Health Day: NACAMA advocates for eating of healthy foods direct from nature----appeals that junk food be jettisoned

www.odogwublog.com reports that the National Complementary and Alternative

Medical Association (NACAMA), yesterday, advocated that Nigerians should eat food from natural sources for safe food consumption.

NACAMA enjoined Nigerians to eat healthy foods direct from farms (nature) in order to maintain a highly disease immune bodies.

The National President of NACAMA, Prof. Peter Katchy, who announced this in Onitsha, Anambra while speaking on World Health Day with theme: ``From Farm to Plate, Make Food Safe’’, encouraged Nigerians to return to the farm.

Katchy said that the greatest undoing of Nigerians health is the canned and junk foods, which is readily available, consumed by millions of Nigerians daily.

He noted that these foods are most times laden with high starch; fatty meats and poor cooking oils with high cholesterol; chemicals from seasoning preservatives and additives; low in vitamins, minerals and fibre.

``Food is the best preventive medicine; (which) put the state of our health in our bare hands that is the state of our health is in our hand, because we are part of our health as we are also part of pour diseases.

``Foundation for Better Nutrition and Rehabilitation advocates that we modify our diets in the best interest of good health as eating good food is the cornerstone of all efforts in promoting health.

``It is true that (most of) our diseases have their root in food which means that the food we eat has the capacity of nourishing us as well as planting a seed of illness and this is determined by the (type of) food we eat.

``This emphasizes that it is our individual responsibility to stay healthy because no two persons owns a body,’’ he said.

Katchy, who is a distinguished Professor of Indian Board of Alternative Medicine, however, noted that a balance food contains the necessary nutritional chains of life in their right proportion and quantity usual found in farm produce.

He lauded the Federal and Anambra governments for tackling malnutrition and wrong dieting in rural areas; which had brought about illnesses, poverty and illiteracy, through massive investment and robust agricultural programmes.

Katchy, who is a member of Ministerial Technical Committee on the Development of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Nigeria, noted that governments had guaranteed food security of households especially those in rural areas by making them participants in these agricultural programmes.

``However, the Federal Government of Nigeria agricultural production has started growing well in this present administration and it is expected that with time, it will provide every Nigeria with required protein needs and household food security.

``Also in Anambra State, the state government has been educating, activating and energizing the communities with empowerment which have been the focus of action oriented team towards agriculture and availability of required safe food and food security.

``I want to let you know that sequel to the above; you are therefore urged to move From Farm to Plate, Make Food Safe.

``Food, the best preventive medicine is food all over the World,’’ Katchy, who is also the vice chairman of Nigerian Red Cross Society, Anambra State Chapter, said.

He advised food managers in homes, especially mothers, to ensure that foods are kept clean; separate raw and cooked food; cook food thoroughly; keep food at safe temperatures and use safe water and raw materials for preparation and preservation of food.

The World Health Organization (WHO) had penciled down April 7 as World Health Day, meant to bring to the front-burner topical issues affecting the health of people globally.