What is NutriPoa?
NutriPoa is a digital platform dedicated to inspiring, educating and equipping Africans to adopt a Whole-Food, Plant-Based diet for healing our bodies and our planet.
The platform houses a variety of resources including educational materials and recommendations for adopting a WFPB diet.
The name “NutriPoa” comes from combining the short form of Nutrition with the word “poa” which means “good” in Swahili, equating to “good nutrition”.
Background
NutriPoa was established by Gitau Mbure, a sustainability advocate and social entrepreneur from Kenya, as a way to share his story and inspire fellow Africans to adopt a WFPB diet. Like most Africans, Gitau grew up on a traditional African diet made up of mostly starchy foods like maize, rice, tubers; a little bit of meat here and there; and a narrow selection of fruits and vegetables. That was then. Today, diets in Africa are vastly different from what was consumed two or three decades ago.
As Africa develops, we are seeing increased urbanization and lifestyle changes driven by globalization and changes in income. As incomes rise, diets diversify to include more animal products, increased consumption of processed foods which tend to be high in refined sugars and fats and higher consumption of convinience foods such as fast-food and quick-to-prepare foods.
Increased consumption of processed foods high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats is driving up cases of Obesity, Type 2 diabetes, Cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer. This is especially alarming in urban and middle-income populations.
Westernization of diets is leading to a loss of traditional food knowledge, recipes, and practices. Traditional diets rich in iron, fiber, and vitamins are being replaced with less nutritious staples, increasing risks of micronutrient deficiency and hidden hunger conditions such as Iron-deficiency anemia and Vitamin A deficiency.
Beyond health concerns, shifts in dietary patterns are also having serious implications for our environment. In one hand, shifting toward animal-based and processed food production increases demand for land, water, and energy, often unsustainably. Declining consumption of indigenous crops reduces incentives to grow them, endangering agrobiodiversity.
In addition, over-reliance on imported wheat, rice, and processed foods increases vulnerability to global price shocks and supply chain disruptions.
A Personal Journey
I had always considered myself relatively fit and healthy and did not worry much about my diet until my doctor prescribed meds for me because my cholesterol was high.
I never liked being on meds, preferring instead to seek natural remedies. I had to reduce my intake of red meat to try and control the cholesterol. It was painful to have to settle for less nyama choma but I made up for it by eating more white meat.
The cholesterol reduced marginally but was still high. That’s when I started investigating what else could be going on and after watching several documentaries and reading a few books, I discovered how a shift towards conventional western diet is leading to deterioration of our health and the health of our planet.
As an agriculturalist, I was shocked to learn how industrial farming harms not just our soils but also the quality of the food we eat. From this epiphany, I made the decision to adopt a WFPB diet as a way to stay healthy but also positively contribute to fighting climate change and environmental degradation.
The transition was challenging at first because I had to figure out healthier alternatives to things I had gotten accustomed to eating. I also had to deal with a lot of questioning and skepticism from people around me who were surprised by the sudden change. But as time went by, I got better at figuring out healthy meal options and at handling conversations about my diet.
A year down the road after switching to a WFPB diet, I noticed a few changes:
- I had lost some weight and felt fitter when I exercised.
- I use to get colds like everyone else but I had not gotten a cold despite people around me getting sick from time to time. I had also avoided stomach issues.
- My energy levels seemed more elevated and I didn’t feel tired as often as I used to.
- My mood regulation and ability to withstand stress was better
- I felt and looked more youthful.
Also during this period, I got more interested in holistic living and I stopped drinking alcohol. My cholesterol has improved and so far, I have had no regrets about switching to a WFPB diet. I have had to make some adjustments and have learned some lessons along the way.
As they say, “when you discover a good thing, you can’t keep it to yourself”. Having learned so much from leading figures in the sustainable food systems space (most of whom are westerners), I felt challenged and inspired to educate and encourage my fellow Africans to adopt a WFPB and to also care more about how the food we eat affects our health and the health of our planet. That’s how NutriPoa started.
