National dietary guidelines to be revised: MoPH

KABUL (Pajhwok): Health experts say unbalanced diet causes some diseases and ask the Ministry of Public Health to review its dietary guidelines prepared about eight years ago.

According to a report, MoPH unveiled the National Dietary Guidelines for Afghans in 1394 solar year.

Experts say MoPH should increase awareness among people about the importance and how to adopt a suitable diet.

However, the ministry says awareness programs are already in place and the dietary guidelines are being reviewed to make them richer.

Experts: Proper diet guarantees health

Dr. Mujtaba Sufi, a specialist in internal medicine, told Pajhwok Afghan News that a proper diet included all useful nutrients.

Quoting scientists, he said a plate of food (meal) should be like a rainbow consisting various foods with various colors.

Dr. Sufi says healthy and good diet has a direct relationship with physical and mental health and it is better to choose a diet with more natural sources, less oil, protein in the right amount and fat in the required amount.

While improper diet causes heart diseases, overweight, blood fat, sugar, high blood pressure, obesity, depression, he added: “A healthy diet should be guided by nutritionists, and it should be about a proper diet.”

He went on to say: “A number of people who suffer from various diseases are because they don’t calculate their energy intake and they take more energy and consume less.”

He said fried foods, ready-made foods and foods consisting several types of fat were harmful diets that caused fat storage in the body and thus caused blockage of heart vessels and stroke.

While emphasizing preparation of dietary guidelines, he added: “It is appropriate to decorate 75 percent of the plate with natural resources such as pepper, green leaves of coriander and mint.”

Dr. Sufi says the division of diet times for each person differs according to age, weight, physical activity and gender, but in general, for a proper and healthy diet, it is necessary for the body to follow the famous saying of Abu Ali Sina: Eat in the morning like a king, do lunch like minister and eat at night like a beggar”.

In addition to having a proper diet, he advised that every person should have physical activity and exercise.

Dr. Wasimullah Shaker, a MoPH official said: “Our diet should be balanced and varied, we should avoid excesses in eating and drinking.”

According to him, an unbalanced and unvaried diet causes heart diseases, blood fat, liver fat, high blood pressure, etc.

He said in order to have a proper diet, daily caloric needs of a person’s body should be established and necessary amount of daily food should be determined and excesses in nutrition should be avoided.

Both the physicians emphasized having suitable dietary guidelines and called awareness programs in this regard essential.

Dr. Sharaf Zaman, MoPH spokesperson, said every day clinics educated people about having a proper diet. But he said they were revising the diettary guideline to make them more valid.

sa/ma