Wondering about a healthy and balanced diet, and how to proceed with it? You may want to go to a dietitian or a nutritionist. The government’s top nutrition research institute will help guide scientific evidence. The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has developed a guide that helps the general public understand the nutritional value of food, including packaged foods, cereals, dairy products, fruits and vegetables.Also read – Tips and exercises to stay stress free during pregnancy
Says NIN director R Hemlata TOI, “ The idea is to have simple dietary guidelines that ordinary people – not just dietitians and nutritionists – can understand and apply to their eating habits. Our scientists have developed a set of approximately 16 guidelines covering age-specific dietary recommendations for the elderly, women, pregnant and lactating mothers and adolescents. It will also guide people to understand the package labels. ” Also read – Yogurt from Quinoa: 5 Things Vegetarians Should Add to Their Diet
The first draft, submitted to the director this week, will be presented for stakeholder consultation in the next few months. An official source told TOI that once it is finalized, guidelines will be issued by PM Narendra Modi by the end of 2022 to celebrate Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav. Also read – Severe heatwave in India: The best way to protect yourself from it during the summer
“This will be a game changer,” said Uday Kumar, senior scientist and coordinator at NIN Group. For the first time we are going to simply tell people what are the food guidelines for living a healthy life. The draft guidelines have been developed keeping in view the diversity of diets as well as the dietary targets of the Indian population.
ICMR has tested more than 560 food samples commonly used by different departments of the country against about 140 nutrient parameters to develop a database on different nutritional values. The researchers said the food composition database, along with the estimated average nutritional needs and physiology of individuals of different ages, formed the basis of the new dietary guidelines.
According to reports, the new guidelines will include packaged labeling, age-based dietary suggestions and specific information on how to read and understand food recipes and other tips for babies over 6 months old.
