‘Over 50% diseases due to unhealthy diets’ – The New Indian Express
The guidelines focus on eating a balanced diet; vegetables and legumes; nutrition for pregnant and lactating mothers; food for infants, children, and adolescents; including nutrient-rich foods for the elderly; eating safe, clean food; and drinking adequate amounts of water. The guidelines recommended sourcing macronutrients and micronutrients from a minimum of eight food groups for ‘my plate of the day’, with vegetables, fruits, green leafy vegetables, roots, and tubers forming essentially half the plate of the recommended foods per day. It said the other major portion is occupied by cereals and millets, followed by pulses, flesh foods, eggs, nuts, oil seeds, and milk or curd.
Intake of cereals should be limited to 45% of the total energy, while for pulses, eggs, and flesh foods, the total energy percentage should be around 14 to 15%; total fat intake should be less than or equal to 30% energy, while nuts, oil seeds, milk, and milk products should contribute to 8-10% of total energy per day, respectively. It also called for avoiding protein supplements for building body mass, restricting salt intake, moderating intake of oil and fats, adopting a healthy lifestyle to prevent obesity, maintaining proper exercise, minimizing ultra-processed foods, and reading information on food labels to make informed and healthy food choices.
