A dietician based in the United Kingdom, Mr. Douglas Twenefour, has advised Ghanaians to eat healthy more fruits, fish, vegetable, whole grains, beans and nuts to prevent themselves against cardiovascular diseases .
Mr. Twenefour said cardiovascular diseases could be prevented if people eat healthy local dishes that were hygienically prepared.
Mr. Twenefour gave the advice at a lecture organised by the Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics Public lecture on the topic “Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular Diseases: the role of Diet and Lifestyle”.
According to Mr. Twenefour, cardiovascular diseases affect the heart, blood vessels and some vital organs of the body. He revealed that the disease was among the leading cause of death around the globe indicating that "In Ghana, for instance, cardiovascular diseases are responsible for 43 % cause of death". In view of this, he emphasised on the need to eat healthy diet so as to increase the lifespan of people. “Prevention is possible and also necessary”, he added.
Mr. Twenefour explained that the major problem in Ghana was that people with cardiovascular diseases, especially diabetes had not been diagnosed. He recommended 150 minutes of exercise in a week to reduce ones risk of getting cardiovascular diseases. He called for the development of a national base food guideline, media education campaign, enforcing food labelling regulations in the country . He further proposed that nutrition and physical education should be introduced in the basic school level and encouraged research and economic modelling for specific policy intervention in the Ghanaian context.