ETX Daily Up
MANILA, Philippines — Amid the holiday festivities, the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) urges Filipinos to focus on healthy eating, highlighting the importance of nutritious choices during the Christmas and New Year season.
“Related to these, the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute reminds everyone to choose, prepare, and eat safe, healthy, and nutritious food especially this coming Christmas, as it has also been advising for the rest of the year,” it said in a release on December 23.
The institute said that households should serve healthy food and limit sweet, salty, and fatty foods.
“They should limit eating foods that are too sweet, salty, and fatty to avoid health-related emergencies that surge during holidays and festivities. According to Message No. 8 of the Nutritional Guidelines for Filipinos of the DOST-FNRI, everyone must limit intake of salty, fried, fatty, and sugar-rich foods to prevent cardiovascular diseases,” the agency said.
It also provided tips for healthy cooking and eating for the celebrations.
“For example, households must consider buying the lean part of meat as it contains less fat, or opt for fish, while taking caution with high-protein and high-cholesterol seafood, like shrimps, crabs, and other crustaceans,” it said.
“Add vegetables, fruits, and herbs to the recipes and reduce the amounts of sugar, salt, processed flavoring, cooking oil, and other forms of fat, especially in desserts and appetizers. Instead of buying and drinking soft drinks and ready-to-drink beverages that contain high amounts of sugar, households can try drinking water or juices from fresh fruit extracts,” the DOST-FNRI continued.
The DOST-FNRI emphasized the importance of preparing safe and nutritious food to avoid any untoward incidents.
“It is important to prepare safe, nutritious, and healthy food that everyone will enjoy without untoward incidents,” it added.
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