Doctors told me to cut down on catfish intake to help reduce iodine in my system - Kofi Jumah

The Managing Director of GIHOC Distilleries Limited, Maxwell Kofi Jumah has said when he recently got sick and was examined by doctors in the United States of America (USA), it was revealed that he had excess iodine in his system.

This, according to him, was attributed to too much eating of catfish, which he said the doctors said contained iodine.

He said that was one of the diagnosis he was given when he felt sick recently and went for a routine medical examination in the United States.

Speaking on Okay FM's morning show, Ade Akye Abia with Kwame Nkrumah Tikese on Monday morning [Sept 30, 2024], Mr Jumah said the doctors have advised him to cut down on his consumption of catfish.

But he has personally decided to stop eating it.

He was speaking to the radio station on political issues and when he was about ending the conversation, he informed the host about his love for catfish and why he was now staying away from it.

Mr Jumah said he was regaining his strength after the illness and has also become vociferous again on political issues as the Kofi Jumah of old, the former Member of Parliament for Asokwa and former Kumasi mayor said.

Health issue cannot be solely attributed to catfish consumption

However, speaking to Graphic Online, a Nutritionist from the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Ghana, Professor Matilda Steiner-Asiedu explained that while seafood is generally rich in iodine, a person's health condition or Mr Jumah's health issue cannot be solely attributed to catfish consumption.

"We can say that, he should reduce the amount of seafood that he is eating. We can't say that, it is a particular fish. He has to reduce the intake of seafood", she stated.

The professor added that catfish, often found in freshwater, may contain small levels of iodine due to accumulation in the pond environment where the fish live.

"He has to reduce foods that are high in iodine and not necessarily catfish. Because sometimes when somebody picks up one thing, they blow it. But it is seafood that is rich in iodine. That is why we have iodine deficiency disorders in the mountainous region and the North, where they do not have access to seafood easily", Prof Steiner-Asiedu added.