SCIENCE is on the side of the good guys with research increasingly showing that healthy food really is happy food. The South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association (SAMFA) is delighted to power up the positives of living this October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, by helping more, giving more and supporting more by buying and adding fresh mushrooms to more of our meals.
SAMFA’s Power Of Pink campaign has been running for more than 10 years with a simple objective: to donate to NGO Reach for Recovery in support of its Ditto Project. Do your bit by simply popping into any Pick n Pay store nationally where you’ll find pink punnets of fresh mushrooms. R1 from each punnet purchased goes to the Ditto Project, which provides breast prostheses to cancer survivors who can’t afford them.
A study conducted at the University of Kent and the University of Reading indicates that it’s not the sneaky chips and chocolates that bring us happiness; it found that uplifting your own health by eating good-for-you mushrooms, fresh vegetables and fruit, and taking part in regular exercise, can indeed make you a happier (and healthier) person. The research says an overall balanced and healthy lifestyle is the best defence against developing diseases like breast cancer.
Findings around the globe indicate that when you are kind, giving, generous and supportive towards other people, it’s good for your own health and mood. And that’s what the Power Of Pink campaign offers all of us every year – a chance to reevaluate, a chance to take care of ourselves physically and a chance to do good to others.
“Reach for Recovery’s overall mission is to provide emotional and practical support to every breast cancer patient who needs it,” says national management board chairperson, Stephné Jacobs. “We relished the support we received from the Power Of Pink campaign so that we can provide the personal treasure of a breast form to all who need one. We are extremely proud of the work we can do as the Ditto Project, particularly the fact each silicone breast prosthesis given out is specifically fitted and colour matched to the individual receiving it, down to comparable firmness with their remaining breast if needed. This is process offers real dignity and a return of quality of life for our recipients.”
“You are always surprised and elated by the good vibes you feel when you know that you are directly supporting an unknown sister, mother, aunt or daughter,” says SAMFA’s chairperson, Ross Richardson. “Every woman deserves to feel whole, to feel well and to feel cared for. Fresh mushrooms powered up in pink punnets are the ultimate win-win recipe for well lived and uplifted lives. They are symbols of healthy, delicious food and a do-good opportunity that has a proven record of changing lives.”
The Power Of Pink campaign runs for the whole of October.
