Forzia Baidoo, a dietician at the Meridian Medical Centre, has advised Ghanaians not to consume putrefied fish, often referred to as momoni, kako, or koobi in Akan.
According to the Oxford Reference Dictionary, momoni is any fish that has been allowed to start fermenting in tropical heat for 6–10 hours, then salted for 1–2 days, and then sun-dried. Momoni is literary translated as “stinking fish.” Traditional salted fish from shark and tilapia, respectively, are called kako and koobi in Ghana.
According to Baidoo, there is a direct link between eating meals high in salt and renal disorders.
“There are certain foods that we do eat in Ghana here like the putrefied fishes, the ones we call momoni, kako, and koobi. They are all high in salt, so when you are consuming them, try to consume them in minimal amounts. They add flavour to the food but they do not add any nutrition to the food. They are dangerous flavors and cause a lot of harm to the kidney,” she explained.
Filtering waste from the human body into the blood is the responsibility of the kidney, an essential organ of the body. Moreover, it supports the body’s electrolyte balance and aids in the elimination of extra water.
Considering the kidney’s importance to the body, renal illness is the 10th most common cause of mortality worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, renal disease claimed more than 4,000 lives in Ghana in 2020.
“Kidney disease does not present symptoms at the beginning unless you’ve lost up to 90% of your kidney function before you begin to see signs,” she disclosed.
To keep healthy, Madam Baidoo advised Ghanaians to form the habit of eating a balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, legumes, foods high in both animal and plant protein, and lots of water.
