BAGUIO CITY – Good nutrition and healthy lifestyle advocates issued pertinent guidelines to be strictly followed by the people in the preparation of their regular meals to ensure that they will be able to eat the right kind of food.
After issuing the 10 Nutritional Guidelines for Filipinos (NGF), the National Nutrition Council (NNC) subsequently issued the ten kumainments to serve as a daily diets guide in order to ensure that people will be able to take in the right nutrients to keep them healthy.
The first kumainment as per NNC states that people should eat a variety of food everyday to get the nutrients needed bot ye body in its growth.
The second kumainment requires lactating mothers to breastfeed infants exclusively from birth up to six months, then given appropriate complimentary foods while continuing breastfeeding for two years and beyond for optimum growth and development. Nutrition and health experts reminded lactating mothers not to introduce complimentary feeding to the infants within the 6-month exclusive breastfeeding period.
The third kumainment requires people to eat more vegetables and fruits everyday to get the essential vitamins, minerals and fiber for regulation of body processes.
The fourth kumainment states that the people should consume fish, lean meat, poultry, egg, dried beans and nuts daily for growth and the immediate repair of body tissues.
The fifth kumainment mandates the people to consume milk, milk products and other calcium-rich foods, such as small fishes and shellfishes everyday for health bones and teeth.
The sixth kumainments require the public to consume safe foods and water to prevent diarrhea and other food and water-borne diseases.
The seventh kumainment states that people should always use iodized salt to prevent iodine deficiency disorders.
The eight kumainment cited people should limit intake of salty, fried, fatty and sugar-rich foods to prevent cardiovascular diseases among other dreaded illnesses that might compromise their health.
The ninth kumainment requires the people to attain normal body weight through proper diet and moderate physical activity to maintain good health and help prevent obesity.
The tenth kumainment provides that people should be physically active, by taking in healthy food choices, manage stress, avoid alcoholic beverages and do not smoke to help prevent lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases.
The NNC developed the ten kumainments to popularize the 10 nutritional guidelines for Filipinos which was developed by an inter-agency technical working group (TWG) led by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and approved by the NNC Governing Board on October 2012.
Rita Papey, NNC-CAR regional nutrition program coordinator, said the ten kumainments are simple and easy to remember guidelines to help improve the nutritional status of Filipinos to be able to live healthier and more productive lives.
The ten kumainments aim to improve the eating habits and behaviors of Filipinos to prevent malnutrition and diet-related non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. By Dexter A. See
