Editorial: Pinggang Pinoy

WITH the numerous choices of food in the market today, we fail to check if what we are putting in our bodies are nutritious or not.

Many lifestyle diseases nowadays are also a result of the food we eat. Whether it is diabetes, hypertension, or even cancer, we can trace that some of the diseases we have are a result of the food we eat.

Hence, it is important that we not only take care of the nutrition of our children but also ourselves.

The Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) released its Pinggang Pinoy in a bid to help improve the nutrition of children in the country.

However, Josefina T. Gonzalez, science research specialist II, from the Food and Nutrition Training Unit of DOST-FNRI, said during a recent round table that they have also made versions for different age groups.

"Pinggang Pinoy is a new, easy to understand food guide that uses a familiar food plate model to convey the right food group proportions on a per-meal basis, to meet the body’s energy and nutrient needs of Filipino adults. Pinggang Pinoy serves as visual tool to help Filipinos adopt healthy eating habits at meal times by delivering effective dietary and healthy lifestyle messages," said the Department of Health on their website.

The Pinggang Pinoy is divided into four quadrants for Go, Grow, and Glow food. Glow food takes up two quadrants, one each for vegetables and fruits; Go food, which are rice and alternatives, takes up one quadrant; and Grow food, fish and alternatives, takes up the last quadrant. Beside the plate is a glass of water.

In the brochure of Pinggang Pinoy, DOST-FNRI has also made a portion on how to fill up your or your kid's plate. It also has descriptions on the Go, Grow, and Glow food. The food listed or recommended in the brochure are also those that can be found in your local market.

Cliche as it is, prevention is really better than cure. By keeping track or regulating what we eat on a daily basis, we are helping our bodies, and even wallets, stay fit in the coming years.

Let us start learning and discussing about nutrition as regularly as we can and not only during the nutrition month. A healthy Dabawenyo, is a happy Dabawenyo.

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