HERE in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we are lucky to have many ground provision options that are excellent for our health. However, they often lose a lot of their health benefits when they are fried or when salt is added. Once we keep such in mind, eating local ground provisions whenever the opportunity arises is the way to go. Below are some reasons to eat more local ground provisions:

• Our ground provisions provide one of the best sources of fiber that you can access any part of the world.

• Local ground provisions provide a healthier source of carbohydrates than rice, pasta, English/ Irish potatoes, and bread. They are the go-to carbohydrates for diabetics.

• SVG’s ground provisions are gluten free. Cassava, arrowroot, sweet potato and breadfruit can be dried and ground into flour. This can be not only substituted for wheat flour (which contains gluten) but can also be substituted for corn flour.

• You are less much likely to be allergic to local ground provisions than foods with added colorings, additives or flavorings. This fact makes them quite safe to introduce to infants over 6 months.

• They are an excellent source of energy. A 3-ounce serving provides up to 90 kilocalories. Equivalent to the number of calories that can be found in half cup of rice or half cup of pasta/ macaroni.

• When you buy local you help the local economy by supporting our farmers and you save our country foreign exchange by cutting the food importation bill.