OCTOBER, 2019 | The HEALTH Plus
09
p09
All good in
moderation
Addressing the Malaysian unhealthy eating habit
L
BY SYED ZAID
IVING in Malaysia, we are
constantly surrounded by food
haven after food haven. We are
never short on local food options
to indulge in. Needless to say, this
leads to a plethora of food-related
diseases such as hypertension and obesity
among other chronic ailments.
According to Zalma Abdul Razak, the
Director of Nutrition Division for the Ministry
of Health; “We are in a crisis. We bare the
double burden of malnutrition – meaning
that some of us are over-eating which leads to
obesity and diet-related non communicable
diseases such as diabetes and hypertension,
some of us are not eating enough nutritious
foods causing us to be malnourished – for
example, stunted growth in our children.”
When we were young, our parents were
the most active advocate in eating vegetables.
However, we seem to lose the habit as we
grow older. The director says that less than 10
percent of our population consume suffi cient
amount of fruits and vegetable in their daily
intake. “This can be caused by many factors.
Maybe fruits and vegetables are expensive to
some of us or maybe it’s not as accessible as we
made it seem to be,” she says.
In addition, some malnutrition comes
from our bad eating habit. While some have
the fear of cholesterols, some have love that
goes as deep as the deep fryer – consuming
deep fried food on a daily basis. In fact, a lot of
our foods are deep-fried, despite the Malaysian
Dietary Guidelines (MDGs) recommend that
Zalma urges the general
public to include more
fruits and vegetables in
their diet.
Malaysian Dietary
Guidelines recommend
that the fat intake should
be between 25 to 30 per
cent of our daily calorie
requirement.
“Red palm oil is high
in antioxidants,
carotenes and Vitamin
E tocotrienols”
– Zalma Abdul Razak
we redue fat intake in our daily diet.
For deep frying
Up until now, palm oil is considered the best
oil to use for deep frying. “If we’re preparing
something that is deep fried, we should always
use palm oil. It is the most stable oil at high
temperature and it doesn’t oxidise as easily as
other types of oil.”
She continues: “In comparison, we should
always increase the intake of our vegetable
and fruits but we shouldn’t forget fat in our
daily intake. Fat is a source of fat soluble
vitamins – A,D,E,K. In addition, fat provides
us the energy to go through our day. We
should defi nitely reduce our fat intake as
recommended by the MDGs.”
The red one is even better
“Red palm oil is high in antioxidants, carotenes
and Vitamin E tocotrienols. Red palm oil can be
used in cooking for example for stir-frying or
added to salad or porridge. It can increase our
vitamin A intake,” she says.
A message from the heart
The director says that diabetes and obesity
are the driving factors to heart diseases. The
Ministry of Health launched the ‘Suku, suku,
separuh’ campaign last year. This was part of
their initiative to help the nation control their
portion. The aim is to instil a healthier eating
habit on a plate – the quarters are allocated for
carbohydrate and protein whereas the other
half is to be fi lled with fruits and various types
of vegetable. “All is good in moderation,” says
Zalma in fi nality. — The Health Plus
Campaigning for health
MOH is committed to make healthy eating
awareness campaign in March an annual success
A
CCORDING to the Deputy Director
of the Allied Health Science
Department of the Ministry of
Health L Mageswary Lapchman, they
have planned to organise a number
of health awareness campaigns every
year. These campaigns will not be solely
focused on oil consumption but will also
include anything that can harm a person’s
health such as sugar, salt and other
ingredients.
“We are not just focusing on one type of
food for these campaigns. The campaigns
will also include the awareness of eating
excessive sugar, salt, and other ingredients
that are contributing to health hazard.
The campaigns are thematic – focusing on
children, old folks and other categories
with the concept of healthy eating,” she
says.
Fat is part of health
Palm oil has been proven time and
time again to be healthy and benefi cial.
However, recent controversy has created
myths and accusations towards the
consumption of palm oil. In addition, there
is a misconception where fat is bad for the
body – and the consumption is avoided by
some.
“Healthy eating means to have a
balanced diet. The food that we eat must
contain vitamins, carbohydrates, protein,
fat, minerals and water. Fat is an essential
part of body. Fat in fact, is not bad for our
body,” says Lapchman.
“If we look at our daily calorie
requirements, an average of 30 percent
from the calories we consume is fat. It
contains the essential fatty acids that
our body requires a healthy skin, muscle
buildings among other things. However,
everything must be consumed in
moderation. Too much of fat intake will lead
to chronic diseases and are not good for our
body. In addition to taking an unsuitable
type of oil for your body,” she explains.
Good oil
Palm oil contains three diff erent types
of fatty acids – poly-saturated fatty acids,
mono-saturated and saturated fatty acids.
Lapchman is determined
to improve the
Malaysian’s eating habit
by spreading awareness.
“There is a misconception where palm
oil contains saturated oil which makes it
harmful to our body. However, palm oil
contains balanced composition of fatty
acids. Therefore, consuming palm oil in
moderation, will be benefi cial to our body,”
says Lapchman.
According to her, palm oil contains
Vitamins A, D, E and K. Red palm oil has a
high count of carotenoids, which can help
protect the eyes and improve our vision. In
addition, palm oil has a high smoking point
and is stable at a high temperature, making
it suitable for all types of frying including
deep frying. — The Health Plus