Promoting Leadership in health for African Nova Scotians (PLANS) Presents a new section of our social medial plan, bringing to you the faces of Black health professions!  This post highlights the profession of Nutrition and Dietetics!

We had the opportunity of connecting with Ruth Boachie whose background is in nutrition and food science having studied at the University of Ghana (BSc. Nutrition and Food Science), and then later obtaining her Masters of Applied Human Nutrition from Mount Saint Vincent University.

So Ruth, what you do you currently do in your work?

I am currently a Quality and Research and Development coordinator at Nova Scotia Organics. We make whole food based dietary supplements that are certified organic.

Can you describe your role in nutrition?

As per my job, I ensure that whatever finished products we send out to the consumer meets Quality standards and [that] it is safe for consumption. I also work to develop new products that have beneficial effects on health.

Can you explain your experiences of and the ability to access healthy food choices, and other food services?

This might be easier for me considering that I studied nutrition in school. I studied how food and its components affect the body when it’s eaten, and the role it plays on the overall health outcome of an individual.

So, I am able to make my meals with affordable food items that I know will provide health benefits. I find that it requires much intentional efforts to look out for these products since it is easier to access food with low nutrient content.

However, the challenge I see with respect to this is that, most people think healthy food is ‘expensive’. This might be true to some extent but not always.

This will go a long to improve our food choices and overall health.

How have you found or are you finding community in your profession?

I have had much connection with the general community, and other professionals in different Health sectors. I have had several nutrition education activities with different groups and I found that interesting because I got to share very practical ways of making healthy food choices.

There is always room for improvement, so the Black Health professionals can be a driving force in reducing risk factors for chronic diseases in the Black population. Considering that Blacks have high risk in developing diet related chronic diseases, it is only expedient that we come together to share knowledge.

For more information on this and other African Nova Scotian initiatives please visit the PLANS section of our website.