Manymak Ŋatha (Good Food) Choices for All
Good food habits can have a huge flow-on effect for general health and wellbeing. At Miwatj Health, our dietitians work hard to educate Yolŋu about the best ways to fuel their bodies. Throughout the year, the team travel between our 7 clinic locations to:
- Run in-community education sessions
- Develop visual resources for staff and clinics
- Support related initiatives with other Miwatj teams (e.g. Renal and TIS)
- Provide specific news and information in conjunction with other NT Health organisations
(e.g. Feeding Babies Workshops in partnership with MECSH)
Alongside these things, they also take the time to educate and support staff in making manymak ŋatha choices—after all, well fuelled staff can better support their clients!
Initiatives During Miwatj Health Dietitian Week
To mark Dietitians Week, Miwatj Health dietitians developed a range of initiatives to encourage more people to make manymak ŋatha (good food) choices. These included:
- Office and clinic displays
- New resources for clinics
- Nutrition sample boxes delivered to all Miwatj sites.
The nutrition boxes, in particular, were very well received—in remote communities, healthy options are not always easily accessible, nor affordable. The team also produced a range of interactive social media posts. By using the Quiz function on Instagram, Followers were encouraged to test their knowledge on manymak ŋatha. The questions posed “Which of these options has the least amount of sugar?” and “Choose which food is higher in protein”, with options ranging from bush foods, to junk food, and items that are readily available at most community stores.
Note: Unsurprisingly, bush foods were named the manymak ŋatha option in most instances!
Why Good Food Matters
Manymak ŋatha is so important, for a range of reasons. Not only does it set you up well for your daily activities, the right fuel for your body can also:
- Reduce the risk of chronic disease (diabetes, heart, and kidney disease)
- Support good mental health
- Increase your ability to maintain and develop strength and fitness
- Ensure you age grow and age well
Thank you to our clinical dietitians and public health nutritionists for highlighting this for us, especially during Dietitians Week.
Want to Learn More?
To see what our dietitians get up to throughout the year, or learn more about all the teams that work to empower our East Arnhem communities through health, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
