Indians take very little fruits and vegetables as per WHO norms

India is one of the highest fruit and vegetable producing countries, but, unfortunately, Indians appear to have a dislike for these wonders of nature. The intake of these horticultural produces is terribly low. The figures reveal the true picture - in spite of the fact that India is a largely vegetarian country, fruits and vegetables account for only 9% of the total calorie intake. This could be because of the dietary choice of individuals which is skewed towards cereals.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 5 February 2016.

Incidentally, people from cities in South India consume more fruits and vegetables when compared to those in the north. These findings are a part of the India's Phytonutrient Report brought out by the Delhi-based think-tank Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).
The findings are based on a survey done across five cities — National Capital Region (Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida), Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. The study covered 1,001 individuals drawn from upper and middle income groups. The findings show Chennai on top of the list with the highest number of servings of fruits and vegetables, while Kolkata is at the bottom of the list.
A probable explanation for this could be that there are more number of vegetarians and relatively higher income people in Chennai and Hyderabad which could be a reason for high levels of intake of fruits and vegetables.
As per recommendations of WHO, a daily intake of at least 400 grams (or five daily servings with an average size of 80 grams) of fruits and vegetables, excluding potatoes, cassava and other starchy tubers are necessary to "prevent diet-related chronic diseases and micro-nutrient deficiencies". Unfortunately, Indians consume quite less than WHO norms.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Abhi Shake for industries to boost Bengal’s image (satire)

Rum Mudda reminds Moody about temples (satire)

Didi is allergic to anything red (satire)


Odisha offers windsurfing, snorkeling and other water sports on the Mahanadi River

Goat farming brings joy to people of Nag Tibba in Tehri

Foods that help to lower cholesterol levels and control heart disease


“The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar” - Disney’s upcoming television movie

'Avatar 2', sequel to 'Avatar' of 2009 expected to release in December 2017

Aamir Khan no longer the face of Incredible India


Bomb attack kills 9 persons in Cairo near road leading to Egyptian pyramids

Woman with fake passport in a British Airways flight from Ibiza leads to panic

Tourists to Morocco told by Foreign Office to be vigilant about possible terror attacks

Enjoy long life – go in for high fiber diet to stay healthy

#HighFiberDiet #chronicdiseases #heartdisease Chinese researchers have concluded that people who eat a high fiber diet live longer and are less prone to die from any disease – the study was carried out on nearly one million people.
This is because the fiber has the potential to lower the risk of chronic diseases including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and several types of cancer, hence people should be encouraged to increase their dietary fiber intake 'to potentially decrease the risk of premature death.'
The interesting study was conducted by Yang Yang, of the Shanghai Cancer Institute in China and published in in the American Journal of Epidemiology. He and his colleagues correlated data from 17 previous studies that tracked 982,411 men and women – most of them were from Europe and the U.S. The team also examined about 67,000 deaths.
Yang's team divided the participants into five groups based on their daily fiber intake and observed that those in the top fifth consumed the greatest amount of fiber daily and were 16 percent less likely to die than those in the bottom fifth, who consumed the least fiber products.
Incidentally, the norms laid down by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is that adults should consume 14 grams of fiber in every 1,000 calories they take in which, in turn, works out to nearly 25 grams every day for women and 38 grams for men.
Food with high fiber content are fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes, seeds and nuts.