Food connects people, tells stories, unites communities, and even heals. It carries deep cultural significance, especially in Africa, where certain foods hold special meaning.
There are foods believed to offer particular health benefits for women. Health For Mzansi explores those foods that are culturally significant while highlighting those that support women’s health and well-being.
Shihaam Domingo, also known as the Food Witch and based in Retreat, Cape Town, believes that food has always been intentional; not just for nourishment, but for connecting people.
She says certain foods hold special value for women.
“When women gather together, they share this wisdom and care for each other, and in that way, we all stay healthy together.”
Shihaam Domingo
Domingo notes that women have passed down this knowledge from generation to generation. “It’s amazing how we know to eat liver after childbirth to restore iron. Cabbage helps with milk production.”
Food activist and book author Nonhlanhla Moroenyane, based in Kensington, Johannesburg, highlights several foods that support women’s health. Among them is impepho, used as a tea for headaches, and valued for its anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. Its ashes can also be applied to bites, boils, and other topical infections.
Other foods she recommends include:
- Yoni steams (steaming): Supports womb health.
- Sourfig: Helps with septic conditions in the mouth, gut, and throat.
- Okra: Reduces excess sugar and mucus in the gut, aids womb healing during and after pregnancy, and can help open the birthing canal.
- Hibiscus: Helps control blood pressure, cleanse the womb, and improve hair and skin. The flowers can be used in both savoury and sweet dishes and may assist with weight management.
- Baobab: A superfood rich in minerals to support women’s busy bodies, packed with antioxidants that may help fight cancer.
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Women’s nutrition and wellness
Food for women carries deep cultural value and crosses borders, says Linda Nanyondo from central Uganda, who speaks from her Baganda heritage in the Ente clan.
She explains that food is chosen with intention for women’s health, especially during menstruation, childbirth, recovery, and lactation.
“Eggs are very important, as they are believed to support fertility,” she says.
At the same time, foods like pineapple, papaya, and ginger are avoided in pregnancy because their acidity is thought to harm both mother and baby.
To keep nutrients intact, food is prepared simply by boiling, grilling, or steaming. Nanyondo highlights pumpkin, cocoyam, millet, fish, and okra as essential foods for women, the latter believed to make natural childbirth easier.
“In our culture, after giving birth, we boil banana leaves and place them hot on the belly to cleanse the uterus. It is painful, but it removes blood clots and helps a woman heal faster.”
Linda Nanyondo
Postpartum wellness, the African way
Acholi Opoka from Northern Uganda explains that some cultural practices are followed without clear reasons, simply because they have been passed down through generations.
She shares with Food For Mzansi that after childbirth, women turn to traditional herbs to help restore their figures and speed up recovery. “Some herbs help to lubricate the vagina, especially during menopause, but they work best when combined with others,” she says.
Meanwhile, Onamiyoluwa Adewole from the Yoruba community in Western Nigeria highlights the benefits of unripe plantain after childbirth.
“It lowers sugar levels and is safe even for diabetics,” she says.
“The plantain is peeled, sliced, dried in the sun, ground into powder, and sieved. You just boil it with water, stir it into the hot water, lower the flame, and continue stirring until well-cooked. You can eat it with any stew or soup.”
Nature for every stage
Dr Sharon Maphaha, a phytotherapist from Tshwane, explains how herbs and whole foods can support women’s health from menstruation to menopause.
Each stage has unique nutritional needs, and nature offers minerals, phytoestrogens, and healing herbs to meet them, she says.
During menstruation, blood loss lowers iron while hormonal shifts bring cramps, bloating, and fatigue.
She explains, “Iron-rich foods like spinach, beetroot, lentils, and pumpkin seeds restore lost iron and reduce fatigue.”
Maphaha notes that magnesium-rich foods such as avocados and dark chocolate relax muscles, while ginger and cinnamon ease inflammation and pain. Chamomile tea calms the nervous system, and cruciferous vegetables aid estrogen balance.
In the reproductive years, fruits, vegetables, flaxseeds, and sesame seeds supply phytoestrogens that regulate cycles and boost fertility, according to Maphaha. Folate-rich foods protect against birth defects in pregnancy, she says, as well ginger tea helps with nausea, and fenugreek seeds support breastmilk production.
Menopause brings hot flashes, bone loss, and mood shifts as estrogen levels fall.
“Cruciferous vegetables support hormone balance and protect against hormone-related cancers.”
Maphaha explains that soy, chickpeas, red clover, and sage tea help relieve symptoms, while omega-3 foods like salmon and walnuts safeguard heart and brain health.
Natural foods and herbs give women a way to nourish their bodies and maintain wellness through every stage of life.
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