Dear Readers,

Sherece is a 20-year-old lady from St Andrew who writes Lifeline with enquiries about the nutritional and health value of eating native "Jamaican" foods rather than buying "imported" foods.

This is never an easy topic as not enough information is readily available on the nutritional and caloric content of Jamaican foods versus the imported equivalents.

This is certainly an area for some local scientist to research! Certainly, one big limiting factor when considering healthy purchases will be the available weekly budget for food. The new byword is "organic", but these naturally grown foods from all categories come at a premium price! When taking the "pocket stretch" into consideration, options are often significantly limited.

What this means is that the discerning shopper has to start with a basic list of lean meat, fibre, grains, vegetables and fruits while avoiding processed foods and refined sugars.

The basic components of a healthy diet include the proper amounts of:

Protein (such as fish, beef, poultry, dairy, nuts, beans)

Fats (found in animal meat, dairy products, nuts and oil)

Carbohydrates (found in rice, grains, pasta, beans, vegetables and fruits)

Vitamins (Vitamin A, B, C, D, E, K are most important)

Minerals (calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, etc)

Water.

After purchasing the components of a healthy diet, the next important step would be the food preparation. Baking, steaming and boiling are the healthiest ways to prepare foods. Jamaican "jerk" preparations also rank very highly as a healthy way to prepare meats as it preserves flavour while avoiding added calories from oils or added high-calorie foods. Smoke and spices add flavour without adding calories.

Our local Jamaican fruits also compare very well against imported fruits. The Jamaican guava is reported to contain more potassium, four times more fibre and 19 times more vitamin C than the popular American apple, while it contains 25 times more vitamin C and four times more fibre than imported grapes. Again, one Jamaican cherry contains the vitamin C content of 15 American apples! Jamaican limes, pawpaw and passion fruit are also rich in vitamin C content.

Eating green banana, breadfruit or sweet potatoes also provides more dietary fibre than Irish potatoes, rice (even brown rice) or corn kernels while preserving a low-calorie profile. The local foods are a better choice for sure!

Another very popular Jamaican food choice are red peas (red kidney beans), black beans and black-eye beans, which are used to cook the traditional rice and peas and stew peas. Beans are high in protein, low in calories, provide dietary fibre and help lower blood cholesterol. They are a good and inexpensive food choice, and can be prepared with veggie chunks rather than beef.

Another healthy Jamaican food is callaloo (somewhat similar to American spinach), which contains iron, vitamin C, phytochemicals, calcium, vitamin A and more ingredients. Callaloo has four times the calcium, twice the iron and twice the vitamin A contained in imported broccoli.

The Jamaican avocado pear contains mono-unsaturated fats and 60 per cent more potassium than bananas! It has significant fibre content and contains vitamins B, E and K. The avocado pear is also thought to help decrease bad cholesterol in the body, fight cancer, prevent eye cataracts and promote smooth skin!

The fat contained in the Jamaican ackee is mono-unsaturated and is, therefore, healthier than the fat in most meat products.

Cassava is another local food considered to be a starch that contains vitamin C and magnesium and assists with iron absorption. This is a good alternative to Irish potatoes.

Coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, which increases good cholesterol in the blood. This helps lower heart disease and is considered to be anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-viral. Plantains, another popular Jamaican starch, contain more potassium than bananas. Plantains are also thought to help reduce constipation and promote a healthy heart.

This list of local food information provides a concise introduction to some healthy Jamaican foods which are also inexpensive to purchase. This can certainly provide a start for Sherece, who Lifeline hopes will continue the research into healthy eating "Jamaican style"!

Write to:

Lifeline,

PO Box 1731,

KGN8

AJM