Heritage Ghanaian SDA Church in Toronto

...Organizes Health Seminar on Good Lifestyle for the Community
“Your Health is your Wealth!” That was the key reason for the organization of a health seminar on good lifestyle for Ghanaians and other Black communities living in Toronto, Canada by the Temperance and Health Department of the Heritage Ghanaian Seventh-day Adventist Church in Toronto. The function which took place at the Christian Centre, 4545 Jane Street on July 26, 2008 was well attended by a cross-section of the African communities living in Toronto.

Speakers at the seminar included Beverly Edwards-Miller –a registered dietician, Dr. Kwame Sarpong-a physician with specialization in men and women health and the veteran community doctor and columnist on lifestyle of the Ghanaian News-Dr. David Yaw Twum-Barimah.

Beverly who spoke on diet as very important to our health used the Bible to trace the original source of food that God gave to man-the grains, nuts and herbs. She stressed the importance of balanced diet and drew the attention of all to the need to eat good breakfast everyday. Beverly said that eating good breakfast every morning is good for the body and our health. Some of the benefits of eating good breakfast include nourishing the brains. Here, she emphasized that students who eat good breakfast before going to school perform well academically. She concluded her talk by advising all to ‘eat in the morning (breakfast) as a king, in the afternoon (lunch) as a queen, and in the evening (supper) as a pauper!’

Dr. Twum-Barimah on his part entreated Ghanaians to visit their doctors for periodic medically check-ups. He lamented the lifestyle of most Africans living in the western world. Many have too much sugar in their blood-diabetics. Regular check-ups would help identify such diseases at the early stages for treatment.

Cancer is a common disease killing many men and women (especially, Ghanaians) living in North America nowadays. Dr. Kwame Sarpong therefore dwelt on how to prevent/cure cancer in men and women. Using statistics and graph presentations, Dr. Sarpong explained the occurrences of prostrate cancer among men and breast cancer in women. He advised men of 40 years and above to annually check with their doctors for the enlargement of the prostrate. And women of 30 years and above to regularly check for any unusual gland in the breast. Women can do this on their own by using their fingers to feel their breasts from time to time. There is also the use of mammogram at the hospitals. Dr. Sarpong emphatically stressed the need for all to stay away from eating fatty foods (meat, processed oil and chunk food) to prevent diseases in our bodies. He cautioned against our APPETITE quoting Exodus 15:26 and 1 Peter 2:9-10 from the Bible to support his caution.

During question time, the 2 Ghanaian doctors and the guest dietician took turns to answer many general and personal questions on the topics treated. The seminar was very successful and well attended. Glory be to God!