Health and Nutrition
Creating a healthy diet from local foods
Where do Zambian traditional foods fit?
The Classic “Food Pyramid”
Suggests we base our diet on grains, but
also get veggies, protein and some fats
A “Zambian” food pyramid!
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Health and Nutrition
Creating a healthy diet from local foods
What MAKES a balanced meal?
All 3 foods: starch, protein, vegetable!!
• More than just starch! Nshima
alone is NOT a balanced meal!
• Daily sources of protein and
vegetable
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Beans, ground nuts, egg, milk
Meat, chicken, kapenta, mopane
worms
WHY eat a balanced meal?
• Kids need protein to grow healthy brains,
internal organs and muscles
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Pumpkin leaf, tomatoes, onions,
squash, mangos, papaya, banana
Kids need fruit and vegetables which have
vitamins and minerals needed for:
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Daily sources of fruit or vegetable
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Fruit and vegetables
that are dark colored
are more nutritious than
pale ones!
Vegetable fats (like
those in beans and corn)
are more healthy than
fats found in meats (like
the fat on t-bone!)
Good eyesight (Vit A – in pumpkin, squash
and sweet potatoes, carrots)
Healthy teeth (Vit C, in tomatoes)
Strong bones (Calcium, in dark green leaves)
Men AND Women need these too!
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Healthy Tips!
There’s 4 TIMES as much protein in beans
as there is in nshima! Roasted ground nuts
have 12 times the protein of nshima!
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Folic acid, found in dark green leafy
vegetables, prevents spinal birth defects
EXTRA calcium, protein and fats are
needed to make healthy breast milk for
growing babies
Iodine, found in fish and iodine-treated
salt, helps reduce mental retardation of
babies and gives adults healthy thyroids
glands – the gland that controls our energy
levels!
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Health and Nutrition
Creating a healthy diet from local foods
Group
MEN
WOMEN
Nutritional Needs
Two mixed meals every day and some
snacks. They can get enough energy
from a few large meals and from bulky
foods. Heavy work like farming and
cutting wood may increase needs.
At least two mixed meals every day and
some snacks. They can get enough energy
from a few large meals and from bulky
foods. Women doing heavy field work will
need extra protein with extra starch.
If they are pregnant or nursing, women
need as much food as men - especially
if they are also doing hard physical work
like farming. Women need much more
iron, calcium, protein and folate when
they are pregnant or nursing.
NURSING
PREGNANT
ELDERLY
Group
At least two and maybe more meals
each day as they may not eat much at
each meal. They need less starch than
young people but about the same
amount of protein and vegetables. Old
people may need soft food because of
mouth pain and lost teeth.
Teens
Nutritional Needs
At least two large mixed meals and
some snacks each day. Boys need a lot
of energy. Girls need plenty of iron and
calcium. Pregnant teen girls are still
growing so they need more food than
pregnant adult women.
School-age children need at least two
to three mixed meals WITH
PROTEIN and some snacks each day.
Fruit and vegetable is essential!
School Kids
Children one to five years old need
breast milk until they are at least two
years old. They need at least three
mixed meals and two snacks each day.
They cannot eat large bulky meals.
They MUST have protein to prevent
liver damage, and a mixed diet for
Kids 1-5 yrs essential vitamins and minerals!
Babies
Babies six to 12 months old need
breast milk at least 8-10 times per
day. They need small meals, three to
five times a day. Babies under six
months of age need only breast milk
at least ten times each day.
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Health and Nutrition
Creating a healthy diet from local foods
Food habits that are BAD for you!
HEALTHY TIPS!
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Boiling takes vitamins out of food and puts
them into the water! If you boil veggies, use
the water for soup or porridge, or drink it for
a healthy boost after it cools! Rather than
boiling food in lots of water, try putting on the
lid, and steaming foods in just a little water.
Roller meal is healthier than breakfast meal
because it has more fiber and protein! Brown
rice is healthier than white rice for the same
reasons!
Eat fruit and vegetables raw to get the full
food value, but be sure that you’ve washed the
dirt off with pure water.
Ground nuts are best for you if roasted as
soon as they are dry after harvest.
Make healthy tea out of many herbs such as
lemon grass, mint or wild basil! These are easy
to grow and will last a long time.
Honey is healthier than cane sugar!
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Too much salt causes heart disease and high
blood pressure. If the food tastes salty –
IT’S TOO MUCH!!
Too much fat or oil not only makes you fat, it
increases your risk of heart attack. Chose
vegetable fats, like corn oil, & don’t eat the
fat from meats like T-bone or chicken skin.
Fried foods are high in fat and less healthy
than foods which are roasted or boiled. Use
the smallest amount of oil possible for good
health!! You’re a better host if you serve
healthy food! If you can see the oil on the
plate, you’ve used TOO MUCH!
Too much sugar is also bad, as it causes tooth
decay and weight gain without healthy
nutrients! Save it as a rare treat!
Never eat meat raw – it can have
bacteria and worm eggs!
Do NOT give honey to babies under age 6
months – it can have tiny amounts of botulism
toxin that won’t hurt the rest of us, but can
hurt the baby!
Eating a balanced diet of healthy foods is
especially important for people living with HIV!!
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