Border closures, lockdowns, social distancing, first wave, second wave, face masks, COVID-19, covid treatments, covid vaccine, and all the debates surrounding each theme have made 2020 a roller coaster year for all of us. The novel coronavirus has truly changed our world! Out of the babel, however, the importance of a well-regulated immune system came to the fore. It was the only factor that stood a chance to dampen the ubiquitous germ’s rage. Geography and social status didn’t count for much. Previously apathetic authorities eventually realized that healthcare is local!

It has been a long road to that realization. An influential man in Lagos once took umbrage at his doctor’s attempt to administer a local anesthetic agent on him prior to getting stitched. He demanded, “don’t you have foreign anesthetic? Why do you want to use a local anesthetic on me?” He was willing to pay a premium for the foreign version of the anesthetic agent. The treating doctor patiently explained the context in which the taboo word, “local” was used, a reference to the anesthetic agent acting only around the site where it’s infiltrated. He hoped he had assuaged his client’s big ego.

Similar stories frequently play out in our communities, betraying subliminal biases. There is a preference for foreign foods, foreign fabrics, foreign shoes, foreign bags, foreign furniture, foreign accents, and the list goes on. Let me concede that a foreign tag on an item does not render it bad. But being foreign doesn’t confer superiority either. If covid taught us one thing, it’s that a good immune system is not necessarily imported. A case in point is in our food sources.

Some of the best food sources are those that grow in our backyards. Whether fruits or vegetables, we are surrounded by an abundance of nutritious foods to keep us healthy. It would surprise you that gram for gram, an orange has relatively more nutritional value than an apple especially when it relates to boosting immunity. Yet, an apple sells for about five times the cost of an orange on the streets of Accra. The same applies to vegetables. Fluted pumpkin (ugu), melon seeds (egusi), and potato leaves are rich in many essential nutrients. They are by far more nutritious than fast foods that many crave in Lagos and Freetown.

The winner will be consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables because they all have some nutritional value. However, if choices have to be made, then consume local. The pandemic has also put a strain on supply chains driving the cost of imported products and sometimes, making them unavailable even. So we implore you to boost your immunity by consuming local fresh produce and stay healthy. Stay covid-safe!

The CMTGGI team
cmtggi.org