116 Where There Is No Doctor 2011
Better Foods at Low Cost
Many of the world’s people eat a lot of bulky, starchy foods, without adding enough
helper foods to provide the extra energy, body building, and protection they need. This
is partly because many helper foods are expensive—especially those that come from
animals, like milk and meat.
Most people cannot afford much food from animals. Animals require more land for
the amount of food they provide. A poor family can usually be better nourished if they
grow or buy plant foods like beans, peas, lentils, and groundnuts together with
a main food such as maize or rice, rather than buy costly animal foods like meat
and fish.
People can be strong and healthy
when most of their proteins and other helper foods come from plants.
However, where family finances and local customs permit, it is wise to eat, when
possible, some food that comes from animals. This is because even plants high in
protein (body-building helpers) often do not have all of the different proteins the body
needs.
Try to eat a variety of plant foods. Different plants supply the body with different
proteins, vitamins, and minerals. For example, beans and maize together meet the
body’s needs much better than either beans or maize alone. And if other vegetables
and fruits are added, this is even better.
Here are some suggestions for getting more vitamins,
minerals, and proteins at low cost.
1. Breast milk. This is the cheapest, healthiest, and most
complete food for a baby. The mother can eat plenty of plant
foods and turn them into the perfect baby food—breast milk.
Breastfeeding is not only best for the baby, it saves money and
prevents diseases!
2. Eggs and chicken. In many places eggs are one of the
cheapest and best forms of animal protein. They can be cooked
and mixed with foods given to babies who cannot get breast
milk. Or they can be given along with breast milk as the baby
grows older.
Eggshells that are boiled, finely ground, and mixed with food
can provide needed calcium for pregnant women who develop
sore, loose teeth or muscle cramps.
Chicken is a good, often fairly cheap form of animal
protein—especially if the family raises its own chickens.
3. Liver, heart, kidney, and blood. These are especially high
in protein, vitamins, and iron (for anemia) and are often cheaper
than other meat. Also fish is often cheaper than other meat, and
is just as nutritious.