Ms Esi Foriwa Amoaful, a Ghanaian public health specialist, has advised parents to replace artificial snacks with fruits and vegetables for their children. She expressed worry at the rate children consume processed foods with preservatives and additives that are deleterious to their health.
She stated: "Nowadays children go to school with snack boxes and the content of such packs include soft drinks or fruit juices and other sugary stuff with preservatives and pastries made with refined flours. … Prepare food at home with more vegetables, less fat blend, blend your own fruit and vegetables or cut your fruits. You can wash banana and put in your child's snack pack, no need to put these soft drinks or sweets in their boxes, so as much as possible feed them locally available foods which are rich in nutrients."
Ms Amoaful said fruits and vegetables are a great source of vitamins and minerals which help develop the general wellbeing of children. Eating fruits and vegetables, she said was the surest way to improve one's health and the ability to save money which would have been used in treating sickness.
Source: allafrica.com