Healthy diets for adults

A healthy diet contains fruits, vegetables, legumes (e.g lentils, beans), nuts and whole grains (unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, brown rice).

At least 400g of fruits and vegetables a day (not including potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots).

Less than 10 percent of total energy intake from free sugars, about 50g for a healthy body weight consuming 2000Kcal per day (ideally below 5 percent of total energy intake).

Less than 30 percent of total energy intake from fats (unsaturated fats such as found in fish, avocado, nuts, sunflower, canola and olive oils are preferable to saturated fats such as found in fatty meat, butter, palm and coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee and lard).

Less than 5g of salt per day, ideally iodized salt.

Industrial trans fats (found in processed food, fast food, snack food, fried food, frozen pizza, pies, cookies, margarines and spreads) are not part of a healthy diet.

Source: WHO Healthy Diet Fact Sheet, September 2015.

FOOD SOVEREIGNITY AND FOOD SECURITY IN NEPAL

One way or the other, Nepal is facing a grave problem of food insecurity despite over 70 per cent of population is engaged in agriculture accounting for more than 38 per cent contribution to GDP. Many factors are responsible behind such pitiable condition that has made over 50 per cent of country’s total population undernourished, and nearly half of all children below five are chronically malnourished.

With this alarming situation of food insecurity, there comes the new-age concept to tackle it –food sovereignty.The Concept was first formalized in the World Food Summit in Rome, 1996.Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate foods produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.

Food sovereignty emphasizes setting the goal while the latter is defining the way to realize it. Food security means that all people have physical and economic access to basic food at all times, as defined by the United Nations. The main determinant of food insecurity is the vulnerability of people, which in turn is induced by poverty which makes people unable to feed themselves leading to insufficient and inadequate food. Poverty eradication is, thus, a key factor for ending the abject situation of food insecurity, be it in Nepal or in any parts of the world.

Common sense, moderation are key on food safety issue

 There is often debate over whether or not certain household and food-related products are safe for consumer use or consumption. The controversy often causes media hype that can scare consumers into avoiding common and useful items.

According to Dr. Joseph Drabick, an oncologist with Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, many of these claims, cause needless worry.

Drabick said there is no known proof to support the assertion that using any plastic container in the microwave is unsafe. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires laboratory testing for plastic containers to make sure the chemicals do not leak into food to be deemed microwave safe.

“I would just use common sense and use FDA-approved containers,” he said.

FOOD SAFETY NEWS : Pepsi and frooti Contaminated with AIDS / HIV+ Blood?

Example #1:
As posted on Facebook, Sep. 16, 2013:

There’s news from the police. Its an urgent message for all. For next few days don’t drink any product from pepsi company’s like pepsi, tropicana juice, slice, 7up etc. A worker from the company has added his blood contaminated with AIDS.. Watch MDTV. please forward this to everyone on your list.

Example #2:
As posted on Facebook, Nov. 29, 2011:

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM DELHI POLICE…. 4 next NEXT FEW DAY DNT DRINK ANY PRODUCT FROM PEPSI, TROPICANA JUICE SLICE, 7UP, COCA COLA, ETC , AS A WORKER FROM D COMPANY HAS ADDED HIS BLOOD CONTAMINATED WIT AIDS. Watch ND TV. Plez Forward dis mesge to every 1 u care 4 plz

Example #3:
As posted on Facebook, Nov. 29, 2011:

Fyi,
This is the news from delhi Police……….
urgent and imp msgs for all please fwd this to all of them for whom you care, Msg: For next few days dont drink any product from pepsi company like pepsi.slice,Tropicana juice,7 up etc as a worker from the companys production dept has added his blood contiminated with Aids (HIV +ve) Watch Ndtv for more news

Example #4:
As posted on Facebook, July 23, 2011:

URGENT!!!!!! ALERT!!! Please DO NOT DRINK any PEPSI SODA, a worker from the company has put blood CONTAMINATED with AIDS inside the BOTTELS!!! Please forward this!! No jokes NOT taking any chances…. Check the news

Example #5:
As posted on Facebook, July 17, 2011:

News flash: A Pepsi worker put his HIV-infested blood in the mixer. So, please DO NOT drink any pepsi soda. Forward to everyone immediately!

Example #6:
As posted via Twitter, July 16, 2011:

I received a text saying please don’t drink Pepsi a worker put his blood (HIV +) into some bottles. Be careful.

Analysis: Sound familiar? Different versions of the same rumor have made the rounds before, in 2004 and 2007-08. In those previous cases the food products allegedly contaminated with HIV-positive blood were ketchup and tomato sauce, but the status of the rumor was the same: false.

It’s not that it’s absolutely impossible for HIV-tainted blood or other bodily fluids to find their way, accidentally or on purpose, into foods and beverages; it’s that according to the best scientific evidence available, the AIDS virus simply can’t be transmitted that way.

Here’s what the CDC says:

HIV does not live long outside the body. Even if small amounts of HIV-infected blood or semen was consumed, exposure to the air, heat from cooking, and stomach acid would destroy the virus. Therefore, there is no risk of contracting HIV from eating food.

According to a Centers for Disease Control fact sheet last updated in 2010, no incidents of food products being contaminated with HIV-infected blood or semen, and no incidents of HIV infection transmitted via food products, have ever been reported to the agency