FRUIT and vegetables were on the menu when Gwen Ramokgopa, deputy minister of health, visited people suffering from chronic conditions in the Mthatha area yesterday.
Handing out baskets of fruit and vegetables to mark World Health Day, Ramokgopa and her provincial counterpart health MEC Sicelo Gqobana, campaigned for healthier diets with less fat and salt to curb the rampant growth of illnesses like high blood pressure.
About 60% of the salt consumed by South Africans reportedly comes from processed food but Ramokgopa said people were encouraged to reduce their daily sodium consumption to around 5g a day.
She also urged people not to wait until they were sick to check their health status.
“Hypertension can be prevented in many cases. As we eat good food, let us use less salt. Teach your taste buds to get used to the natural salt in vegetables such as spinach.
“Don’t overcook your food and eat less fatty foods. Fat weakens the heart’s ability to pump blood to the whole body.
“Let us fill our plates with lots of vegetables, eat lots of fruit so we can be a healthy and happier nation,” Ramokgopa said.
The day began with a 5km walk with a handful of elderly chronic disease patients and officials donning running shoes .
Later, Gqobana and senior management of the Nelson Mandela Academic hospital conducted door-to-door visits to the homes of chronic disease patients in Southridge Park where they handed gifts of baskets filled with fruits and vegetables.
Gladys “Khuluza” Mbenenge, a 74-year-old retired teacher, said daily exercises and a healthy diet helped her to manage her high blood pressure.
She even amused her guests by skipping a rope.
Speaking to about 50 students of basic first aid at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital later, Ramokgopa said the government had plans to reduce smoking and drinking, especially among young people. —
Ramokgopa says we must eat our veggies
Handing out baskets of fruit and vegetables to mark World Health Day, Ramokgopa and her provincial counterpart health MEC Sicelo Gqobana, campaigned for healthier diets with less fat and salt to curb the rampant growth of illnesses like high blood pressure.
About 60% of the salt consumed by South Africans reportedly comes from processed food but Ramokgopa said people were encouraged to reduce their daily sodium consumption to around 5g a day.
She also urged people not to wait until they were sick to check their health status.
“Hypertension can be prevented in many cases. As we eat good food, let us use less salt. Teach your taste buds to get used to the natural salt in vegetables such as spinach.
“Don’t overcook your food and eat less fatty foods. Fat weakens the heart’s ability to pump blood to the whole body.
“Let us fill our plates with lots of vegetables, eat lots of fruit so we can be a healthy and happier nation,” Ramokgopa said.
The day began with a 5km walk with a handful of elderly chronic disease patients and officials donning running shoes .
Later, Gqobana and senior management of the Nelson Mandela Academic hospital conducted door-to-door visits to the homes of chronic disease patients in Southridge Park where they handed gifts of baskets filled with fruits and vegetables.
Gladys “Khuluza” Mbenenge, a 74-year-old retired teacher, said daily exercises and a healthy diet helped her to manage her high blood pressure.
She even amused her guests by skipping a rope.
Speaking to about 50 students of basic first aid at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital later, Ramokgopa said the government had plans to reduce smoking and drinking, especially among young people. —
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