The Mediterranean and The Ghanaian Diet
A diet refers to a meal that can provide the human body with all vital nutrients without providing toxic substances (Roderuck, 1981). A diet is considered balanced or unbalanced depending on the amount of needed nutrients contained in it. Comparisons can be made between the diet of various areas, towns, cities, countries and to larger extents, continents. In this paper, I am going to discuss the French diet being equivalent to the Ghanaian diet in terms of nutritional value but the Ghana diet outweighing the French diet in the areas of affordability and accessibility.
The Mediterranean consists of several countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, some of which are Egypt, Syria, France and Greece. France is a country located at the southern corner of the Mediterranean. It holds a population size of about 66 million people. It is a country noted for gross production of cheese and pastries such as donuts, cakes and the like. The country grows cereals like wheat, barley, corn, peaches and cherries. As a result of the high production of bread in France, it now serves as a basic requirement before most meals. The most preferred meals by the French are roasted beef, vegetables, snails, frog legs and pilau rice and some form of sauce. The pyramid below gives an idea of the Mediterranean diet.
(Google diet)
Looking at the Ghanaian diet, they are foods most dominant with starch or have a higher starchy level. They are usually eaten with an accompaniment which serves as the source of protein which may be in the form of a sauce or a soup. Such foods include; banku and okro, fufu and soup which could either be chicken, groundnut or kontomire soup, kenkey and grounded pepper, ‘yo-ko gari’ and beans stew, kpoikpoi (maize mix), yam, cassava, boiled or fried plantain, gari f)t), tatale, omutuo (rice balls) and waakye.
Comparing the Ghanaian diet and the French diet, which is a Mediterranean one in terms of their nutritional value, they are equivalent. The Ghanaian culture is an integration of different ethnic groups and as such has introduced different diets by most of the various ethnic groups. The nutritional value of most Ghanaian dishes is mostly starchy and made of corn. Meat as well also sums up to our diet and in turn serve as a source of proteins, iron, phosphorus, zinc and a complete range of vitamins B (McAtee, 2013). Comparative to the French diet, which is a constitution of roasted beef which they consume in large amounts, snails, frog legs and pilau rice and which are also foods they eat which are of the same vital nutrients, the Ghanaian diet does not stray from that of the French, nutrition wise. The roasted beef provides an essential food nutrient which is protein which ensures the healthy growth of the human body. Though it has a large amount of cholesterol, it has rather a positive effect that is, ensuring a more effective functioning of the immune system. Also, bread consumed in France by most...