Accra (Greater Accra) 19 March '99

Nana Paddy Acheampong, a Deputy Minister of Health, said a lot of diseases can be minimised through vegetarianism. He said excessive and unbalanced intakes of meat and other unwholesome food items are often associated with heart diseases, cancers, diabetes, hypertension and dental caries which are among the main causes of morbidity and mortality in both developed and developing countries. Nana Paddy Acheampong said this when he opened the Asase Pa Vegetarian Restaurant in Accra on the theme "improving the diet of Ghana towards the new millennium". It is the second exclusively vegetarian restaurant to be set up in Ghana by the Bold Spiritual Initiative (BSI) Limited, an African Hebrew Israelite company based in Jerusalem. Nana Acheampong said vegetarianism is spreading fast throughout the world with a growing number in Ghana which ranges from vegans who depend only on plant food from pulses, cereals and vegetables to those on Zen Macrobiotic diet which consist of only cereals, brown rice and herb tea with limited fluid intake. He said the vision and achievements of BSI reflect the aims and aspirations of the Ministry of Health which recognises nutritional wellbeing as a major requisite to reduce the incidence of diseases and achieve a full social, mental and physical potential of Ghanaians.