How much salt, sugar? New diet rules coming

How much salt, sugar, chilli, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste or garam masala is good for an average Indian if India is to be a healthy nation?

The center has taken up a massive exercise to revise dietary guidelines for Indians after a 10 year gap. People can decide what type and what quantity of food and desirable. Suggestions and comments have been invited, based on which a panel of health and nutrition experts will finalise the new guidelines.

The Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition has taken up the task of revision of the national dietary guidelines, framed back in 1998.

Fresh guidelines are needed in view of lifestyle changes, leading to a spurt in lifestyle related non-infectious diseases.

“Nutrition plays a very important role in the development of human resource, which is one of the strengths of any nation. A healthy population can lead better on all frontiers: education, economics, agriculture, defence, medicine and other sciences.. These dietary guidelines will enable the population to lead a healthy life,” Dr D Raghunatha Rao, convener of the dietary guidelines revision committee, told this. This existing guidelines stipulate that an average Indian should taken ten grams of salt every day. This might go up or down depending on the suggestions people send to the committee.

There will however, be no increase in the recommended calorie intake, said the new guidelines.

The new guidelines will be circulated to policy makers, United Nations agencies, academics, medical professionals and nutrition experts.

Dr Kamala Krishnaswamy, a former National Institute of Nutrition director, heads the dietary panel.

A recent survey, NFHS-3, showed there was no significant improvement in the nutritional status of the population, compared to the findings of NFHS-2.

Surveys carried out by the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau provided more insight on issues relating to double burden of malnutrition: under-nutrition on one hand and over-nutrition, leading to obesity and other degenerative diseases on the other,.

Some important issues covered by nutrition guidelines include exclusive breastfeeding for up to six months, continuing up to two hours, introduction of food supplements for infants after six months, use of green leafy vegetables and restricted use of cooking oils and animal foods.

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