There are three primary macronutrients, defined and differentiated by their chemical structure, that living organisms consume for energy: fat, carbohydrate, and protein.
I estimate that an average Ghanaian's total caloric intake is 20-25% fat calories, 65-70% carbohydrate calories, and 10% protein calories.** Here, breakfast, lunch, and dinner follow the same formula: a large lump of carbohydrate (fufu, rice balls, banku, TZ, or ampesie), some oily soup or stew, and a small portoin of meat, fish, or a hard boilded egg. Let us consider an average meal prepared here in Menji... A mound of fufu (one or two softball-sized servings of straight starch), abenkwan (a bright red soup prepared from palm nuts, which have a high oil content), and a chewy chuck of goat meat (usually two to three ounces including the skin, bone, fat, and connective tissue). Approx 20:70:10. Another example, let us consider a normal Ghanaian “snack.” Meat pies are scone-sized and shaped peices of pasty stuffed with a meaty-oniony filling. These devils are sold on the street at around $0.33 USD. 25:65:10.
**NOTE: I will use macronutrient ratios throughout this post. So be ready for X:Y:Z, where X is the percent of total caloric intake obtained from fat, Y is the percent obtained from carbohydrates, and Z is the percent obtained from protein. Also, as different as a Ghanaian's diet is from that of an American, the relative macronutrient content is surprisingly similar... very interesting!
As you all are probably aware, I might have a slight obsession with the world of human “health.” I'm an avid runner and athlete, I'm fascinated by the study of nutrition, the Body Worlds exhibit was the single coolest thing I have ever seen in a museum, and I love to cook and eat “healthy” foods. Last winter when I was living in Indiana, I changed my diet drastically by starting something like the “Zone Diet.” Essentially I was trying get a macronutrient-balanced diet / approximatelyequal calories from each of the macronutrients / 30:40:30. I ate alot of lean proteins (fish, egg whites, poultry, dairy), vegetables, fruits, olive oil, whole grains, and almonds. I really liked the way I felt and looked. Then later in spring, with a little persuasion from Caleb (OK well alot of persuasion), I started including more fat, specifically fattier proteins (more nuts, fatty meats, whole eggs) while also cutting dairy and gluten. Hello bacon and almond milk. My macronutritent ratio was around 40:30:30. And I have to tell you guys, I felt even better. I had great energy, my skin was clear, I didn't get hungry, I ran faster and longer, and the tendonitis in my right knee had all but disappeared. As much as I wanted to punch Caleb every time he threw out the obnoxious buzzwords “zone-paleo,” there truly was tangible basis (feeling and looking f'ing fantastic) to eating that way.
Furthermore, most mornings I was eating fruit, bacon, and eggs over easy, which had been fried in the bacon fat... HELLO best breakfast EVER.
So you see, there is a conflict in the type of meal I was preparing in the states and type of meal that is prepared here in Ghana. In one day, my macronutrient ratio went from 40:30:30 to 20:70:10. How has my body reacted to this abrupt and rather extreme swing in macronutrient intake? Well, let's start with the negatives.** 1) I've noticed a loss of lean muscle mass. My clothes are looser but my triceps suck. 2) I don't stay full. 2.5) I get incredibly hungry and fussy if I don't eat every 4 hours. 3) My overall energy level is slightly lower.... which probably isn't a bad thing for all the people who have to deal with me :).
**NOTE: I cannot attribute all of these reactions soley to the change in diet. I have not lifted weights since May. Which, is a seriously confounding factor. The changes listed above probably have as much to do with the diet change as with the lack of strength training.
Let's move to the positives. 1) I'm generally in a happier mood. I read an article once about carbohydrate consumption and the subsequent release of endorphins. I don't know neuroscience though, so I'll stop there. 2) I'm learning to appreciate and enjoy the foods produced by the land around me. All that hubbub about “locally grown” foods... In America, hipsters (not environmentally friendly people or hippies, but hipsters) like to talk about locally grown foods to be cool and trendy. It used to really annoy me. However, now that I live in Ghana, I've realized that there is something truly fulfilling about eating the foods your neighbor grew on his farm or slaughtered with his machete. 3) I LOVE RICE. Rice makes me happy. I think this will be a life-long love affair. [Dad, you've always been right on target with your obsession with “rice-based meals”] Rice to me is like fufu to a Ghanaian. It's like pizza to a college dude. It's like pasta to an Italian. It's like a cheesesteak to a Philadelphian. It's like a croissant to a Frenchman. I think you get the point.
So you see, I'm beginning to understand the diet that makes my body and mind happiest... From what I can tell, it is meat/fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts /seeds, rice, oils, and a healthy dose of salt. Between living on the equator and running or playing volleyball daily, I sweat alot. Plus, as Auby would tell you, I straight up like salt. Nom!
Realistically, if I do my own cooking using the foods available in the market, I think I can get my ratio to around 40:35:25. I don't think I can get my protein number much higher. Why? Well A) I can't really afford it and B) I can't cut fat in lieu of protein like you can in the States. I can't just pick up a bag of Tyson skinless bonesless chicken breast. And also, I won't throw away egg yolks or cut the skin/fat off meat. I live in Africa... you don't throw away anything, let alone good food! I think it is a practice that I will take back to America with me. It reminds me of the Native Americans... Use everything. It's satisfying. Waste not, want not.
You might have noticed that bread didn't make the cut. I think I was onto a good thing cutting gluten. The more I read about it, the more I wish those damn ancient Mesopotamians or Egyptians or whoever hadn't figured out how turn wheat into food. I will write an entire post on that one day. For now, let's just leave it that I will be avoiding wheat. Since I live in Ghana, I don't have to worry about the dairy/lactose issue, as milk products do not exist in this country. I guess besides the crappy canned and powdered milks. Another food group I won't bother debating is legumes. I've maybe had three legume-containing meals since coming to Ghana in early June. For all you Ghana-knowledgable folk, I NEVER eat red-red or waakye. And it's not because I don't like them. Because I do like them. I just never eat them. I don't know. ....I really miss hummus, somebody send me some dried garbanzos.
Before ending, I want to tell you about three really neat parts of my Ghanaian diet.
Everything is completely natural. My diet contains ZERO manmade crap... pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones, preservatives, shelf-life stabilizers, genetically-altered anything, corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, artificial flavors, emulsifiers, or any other chemical. Furthermore, virtually everything is grown/ raised locally, probably within a few kilometers of my house. It's like what the Trader Joe's people wish they could say about their diet.
AND...
My diet includes some really healthy, delicious, and interesting fats!
Palm oil is made from milled palm nuts, which are little bright red-orange “nuts” that grow in clusters on palm trees. The oil is the same bright red-orange color as the berries, has a rich but mildly fruity/nutty flavor, and is LOADED with micro-nutrients, particularly vitamin A. I like to fry eggs in palm oil for breakfast. It adds a full, rich flavor to the eggs, much the way bacon grease does.
Coconuts contain a healthy dose of lauric acid, making them a new craze in the health community. This medium chain fatty acid increases HDLs while lowering LDLs. Yay for healthy blood chemistry! More importantly that that though, I can buy a fresh coconut on the street for 30 cents, drink the milk, then eat the flesh, and it is so yummy!
Avocados are incredible. They are nutritious beyond compare. I won't get into why, it would take too long. Go look it up. And yes, avocados are widely available in the US, and yes, I have always been an avocado-lover. But here... they are larger, more delicious, and are grown just down the road. I eat avocado at almost every meal now. As a matter of fact, sometimes I'll eat an avocado (with a little salt, of course) as the meal. It is fun experimenting with new ways of incorporating avocados into my cooking.
I consume close to zero sucrose (refined white sugar). I take my tea unsweetened, I prefer eggs to pancakes in the morning, and desserts are few and far between in Ghana. The only sweets I ever consume here are bolfulut (deep-fried, baseball-sized, unglazed doughnut things) and Fan Ice (a sweet icecream-like product). However, neither of the aforementioned items are available in Menji, so byebye sucrose! I'll take monosaccharides from pineapple, papaya, and honey thank you very much.
I will close now by telling you this: I'm about to go to Nsawkaw to buy some aponkyenam (goat meat) to BBQ, then make some guacamole and homemade hot sauce.
LIFE AND FOOD IN GHANA, YES!
-Ama Fati
