Bahamas News
“Boosterize” naturally and visit your favourite produce department
Build your internal arsenal as we try to beat back COVID-19 and Non-Communicable Diseases
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, January 19, 2022 – Imagine, your home is being attacked by a hundred thousand invaders but you have a hundred million soldiers; easy win right? Maybe not. Imagine your soldiers are too weak to pick up their swords, the fight becomes significantly harder, in fact it may become a losing battle and your quality of life or life itself is the prize.
Every day, our immune systems are engaged in these unseen battles. However, there are too many of our systems are losing to invaders like Covid-19 because they are simply not strong enough.
How do you build up your fighters to turn around a losing battle, to give your body the victory? Magnetic Media has searched out eight superfoods to help your effort.
They are easy to find and very affordable at your local grocer.
Our natural boosters list includes: Spinach, Beets, Garlic, Dasheen, Callaloo, Ginger, Onions and Celery are eight superfoods that are readily available to Islanders and are known to inject our immune systems with a serious boost.
Spinach
There’s a reason Popeye the Sailor popped open a can of this leafy green when he was in trouble. A single cup of
spinach contains .86 grams of protein, 30 milligrams (mg) of calcium, .81 g of iron, 24 mg of magnesium, 167 mg of potassium, 2,813 international units of Vitamin A and 58 micrograms of folate says the United States Department of Agriculture.
So yes, it does make you super strong!
Spinach, delicious raw cooked or blended into smoothies helps to “improve blood glucose control in people with diabetes, lowering the risk of cancer, and improving bone health, as well as supplying minerals and vitamins that can provide a range of different benefits,” says Medical News Today.
Spinach also helps with asthma prevention and bone health, however please avoid spinach if you are using blood thinners, say medical experts.
Beets
This richly colored root vegetable has a bad reputation for not being the tastiest morsel on the plate but there are several ways to consume beets that you just might try after hearing the mounds of benefits associated with the red vegetable.
“Beetroot provides a wide range of possible health benefits, such as reducing blood pressure, improving digestion, and lowering the risk of diabetes. A 2019 review of studies Trusted Source found that certain compounds in beets can disrupt the cancerous mutations of cells. Such compounds include betalains, which are pigments that give beets their red and yellow color,” Medical News Today explains.
Highly recommend is making beetroot juice by peeling beetroot and blending it with a combination of fresh orange, mint, pineapple or apples, lemon, and ginger. Beets can also be roasted, steamed, boiled or pickled.
Garlic
Since the Middle Ages Europeans have used garlic for all sorts of reasons, but you would be better served popping it
in your mouth than using it to ward off Count Dracula, you know the vampire guy. Mainly because garlic is widely used for several conditions linked to the blood system and the heart, including atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), high cholesterol, heart attack, coronary heart disease, and hypertension.
Medical News Today says researchers recommend raw garlic as the most effective. Cooked garlic also retained much of its properties.
Dasheen
This root vegetable also called Taro root in certain countries is Asian in origin and is similar to yams or potatoes.
Dasheens contain a wealth of nutrients including Fiber, Manganese, Vitamin B6, Vitamin E, Potassium, Copper, Vitamin C, Phosphorus and Magnesium says Healthline.
It is rich in fiber and may reduce risk of heart disease and may even assist in weight loss journeys. Dasheen can be mashed or fried as well as added to soups and stews.
Callaloo
A breakfast staple in countries like Jamaica this green leafy vegetable can be added to soups or steamed with fish.
Callaloo is a good source of vitamin C. According to the Food Composition Tables for the Caribbean the vegetable provides iron, potassium, calcium, fiber, sodium, vitamin C and protein. The vegetable can reduce blood pressure and regulate heart health.
Like spinach, persons with kidney disease should avoid this vegetable as it is rich in potassium.
Ginger
Every Caribbean child has been treated with ‘a little ginger tea’ for some ailment or the other at some point in time so it’s no surprise that the spice has made the elite list.
Medical News Today says antioxidants and other nutrients in ginger may help prevent or treat arthritis, inflammation, and various types of infection. Researchers have also studied its potential to reduce the risk of diabetes, cancer, and other health problems.
Ginger has been proven to reduce gas and improve digestion as well reduce nausea and ease colds and the flu so grandma’s faith in the remedy was well placed! Ginger even helps in reducing belly fat, as it has a thermogenic effect to activate the metabolism and help in burning fat.
Ginger can be blended, drawn as a tea or incorporated into meals like stir fry.
Onions
The quintessential Caribbean spice. Whether they’re red, white or yellow, if it’s a Caribbean dish you can bet your conch shell it’s going to have onions somewhere in the mix.
However, there is more to this layered cooking staple than just its taste. Research proves onions also provide potential health benefits. These include reducing the risk of several types of cancer, improving mood, and maintaining skin and hair health. The spice also contains high levels of vitamin C B-6 and Manganese.
LifeHack.com shares that onions stops colds in their tracks, can help rid your skin of blemishes, eases the pain of bee stings, helps with detoxifying the body, lowers bad cholesterol and nourishes the brain for improved mental health.
Onions can be roasted, grilled, sautéed, caramelized or eaten raw.
Celery
One of the greatest enemy of toddlers’ dinner plates and even some adults, this crunchy veggie is another food which carries the reputation for not being the tastiest.
But whether it’s juiced, added to lunch boxes as a side or blended into smoothies this vegetable helps to prevent inflammation and lowers blood pressure.
Celery is also extremely hydrating and a good source of fiber according to Medical News Today.
It is important to note that an occasional munch on these foods will not provide serious immune support, but its seeds do offer a one two punch to germs, and a juice proves to be an excellent diuretic, supporting detox and weight loss.
Celery cleans up the liver and for the skin, it helps in reducing the appearance of wrinkles.
PM: Project delivers on promise and invests in youth, sports and national development
GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas — Calling it the fulfillment of a major commitment to the island, Prime Minister Philip Davis led the official groundbreaking for the Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre, a facility the government says will transform sports development and create new opportunities for young athletes.
Speaking at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex on February 12, the Prime Minister said the project represents more than bricks and mortar
— it is an investment in people, national pride and long-term economic activity. The planned complex will feature a modern 50-metre competition pool, designed to meet international standards for training and regional and global swim meets. Davis said the facility will give Bahamian swimmers a home capable of producing world-class performance while also providing a space for community recreation, learn-to-swim programmes and water safety training.
He noted that Grand Bahama has long produced outstanding athletes despite limited infrastructure and said the new centre is intended to correct that imbalance, positioning the island as a hub for aquatic sports and sports tourism.
The Prime Minister also linked the development to the broader national recovery and revitalisation of Grand Bahama, describing the project as part of a strategy to expand opportunities for young people, create jobs during construction and stimulate activity for small businesses once operational.
The Aquatic Centre, he said, stands as proof that promises made to Grand Bahama are being delivered.
The project is expected to support athlete development, attract competitions, and provide a safe, modern environment for residents to access swimming and water-based programmes for generations to come.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
The Bahamas, February 15, 2026 – For the better part of three years, Bahamians have been told that major Afreximbank financing would help transform access to capital, rebuild infrastructure and unlock economic growth across the islands. The headline figures are large. The signing ceremonies are high profile. The language is ambitious. What remains far harder to see is the measurable impact in the daily lives of the people those announcements are meant to serve.
The Government’s push to secure up to $100 million from Afreximbank for roughly 200 miles of Family Island roads dates back to 2025. In
its February 11 disclosure, the bank outlined a receivables-discounting facility — a structure that allows a contractor to be paid early once work is completed, certified and invoiced, with the Government settling the bill later. It is not cash placed into the economy upfront. It does not, by itself, build a single mile of road. Every dollar depends on work first being delivered and approved.
The wider framework has been described as support for “climate-resilient and trade-enhancing infrastructure,” a phrase that, in practical terms, should mean projects that lower the cost of doing business, move people and goods faster, and keep the economy functioning. But for communities, that promise becomes real only when the projects are named, the standards are defined and a clear timeline is given for when work will begin — and when it will be finished.
Bahamians have seen this moment before.
In 2023, a $30 million Afreximbank facility for the Bahamas Development Bank was hailed as a breakthrough that would expand access to financing for local enterprise. It worked in one immediate and measurable way: it encouraged businesses to apply. Established, revenue-generating Bahamian companies responded to the call, prepared plans, and entered a process they believed had been capitalised to support growth. The unanswered question is how much of that capital has reached the private sector in a form that allowed those businesses to expand, hire and generate new economic activity.
Because development is not measured in the size of announcements.
It is measured in loans disbursed, projects completed and businesses expanded.
The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. In June 2024, when Afreximbank held its inaugural Caribbean Annual Meetings in Nassau,
Grand Bahama was presented as the future home of an Afro-Caribbean marketplace said to carry tens of millions of dollars in investment. What was confirmed at that stage was a $1.86 million project-preparation facility — funding for studies and planning to make the development bankable, not construction financing. The larger build-out remains dependent on additional approvals, land acquisition and further capital.
This distinction — between financing announced and financing that produces visible, measurable outcomes — is now at the centre of the national conversation.
Because while the numbers grow larger on paper, entrepreneurs still describe access to capital as out of reach, and communities across the Family Islands are still waiting to see where the work will start.
And in an economy where stalled growth translates into lost opportunity, rising frustration and real social consequences, the gap between promise and delivery is no longer a communications issue.
It is an inability to convert announcements into outcomes.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
A hardline strategy that reduced murders, gunfire, and collateral deaths
The Bahamas, February 8, 2026 – What happens when police stop routinely granting bail to high-risk suspects and aggressively execute outstanding warrants? In The Bahamas, the answer in 2025 was fewer murders, fewer gunshots, and safer communities.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested 4,337 individuals on outstanding warrants last year, ensuring suspects were brought directly before the courts instead of being released back onto the streets. At the same time, police significantly curtailed the use of police bail for high-risk and repeat offenders, particularly those already entangled in violent disputes.
Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles said the shift was informed by hard lessons from previous years. Intelligence reviews showed that
many homicide victims were not random targets, but men already wanted by law enforcement and — critically — by other criminals. When released on bail, those individuals often became targets themselves, triggering retaliatory shootings that spilled into neighbourhoods, roadways and public spaces.
By keeping high-risk suspects in custody pending court appearances, police say they disrupted that cycle — removing both potential offenders and potential victims from the streets.
The impact was stark. Murders declined by 31 percent in 2025, falling from 120 in 2024 to 83, the largest percentage decrease in homicides since national tracking began in 1963 and the lowest murder count in nearly two decades.
Police leaders say the strategy also reduced the collateral damage that had increasingly alarmed communities. Innocent residents had been caught in “sprays of gunfire” as targeted attacks unfolded in residential areas, at traffic stops, and in public settings.
Gun-violence indicators reflected the change. Gunshot reports fell by 35 percent, while incidents detected by ShotSpotter technology declined by 29 percent, confirming that fewer shots were being fired across the country.
“Gunshots ringing out and cutting through our peaceful paradise were down remarkably,” Commissioner Knowles said, attributing the improvement to decisive enforcement, tighter bail practices, and sustained pressure on offenders.
Police also intensified enforcement against breach of bail conditions, charging and detaining more suspects than in any previous reporting period. Officers say the approach removed the opportunity for repeat offending while matters were before the courts.
Police leadership said the results go beyond statistics. By limiting bail for high-risk suspects and executing warrants at scale, the strategy saved lives, protected bystanders, and restored confidence in public safety.
In 2025, fewer people were hunted, fewer bullets were fired, and fewer families were left grieving — a shift police say was no accident, but the result of deliberate, hardline choices.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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