Ginsberg gets doctor’s visit
Mdangayi preaches healthy lifestyle gospel on Women’s Day
AN OFF-duty doctor sacrificed her Women’s Day holiday to serve the community of Ginsberg and spread a healthy lifestyle message.
Dr Ntombizodidi Mdangayi works at Bhisho Hospital but when she got the day off on the public holiday she decided to put her skills and expertise to good use by educating the Happy Rest community about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
“My main mission today is to tell people that the pills that they get at our state hospitals and clinics will not be effective if they are living unhealthy lives.
“A lot of people have diabetes and high blood pressure and I want them to know that exercising and eating healthy can go a long way to alleviating their ailments,” she said.
Mdangayi said in most cases black people did not exercise because they think it is for white people and that they are “too old to be at gyms exercising”.
“My message today is that just 30 minutes of walking everyday is enough. Exercising does not mean one needs to wear shorts and takkies and go to the gym.
“Eating well includes avoiding too much starch in one’s diet therefore having rice and potatoes in the same plate is wrong. Our portion sizes also need to reduce,” she said.
Mdangayi then encouraged people to drink water saying the health benefits of doing that cannot be over-emphasised.
“For every 30kg you weigh, you should drink one litre of water per day. This helps flush out toxins,” Mdangayi added.
She examined patients for free and even though she was not dispensing any med- ication, she wrote information about their health statuses on their clinic cards.
Residents gathered at God Is Able Apostolic Ministries to have the consultations.
Nontsikelelo Bovana said she was happy about Mdangayi’s visit because many of them had to go to King William’s Town for medical care.
“I am very happy that she is here. It is a pity that my husband could not be here with me because he cannot walk,” she said.
Olga Mraqisa said she knew that Mdangayi’s visit was going to benefit her and did not want to miss it. Ntombenkulu Ketani said she dropped everything she had planned for the day just to go for the free consultation.
Nomboniso Poni said some of the residents had arthritis and struggled to walk to the clinic. — siyat@dispatch.co.za