NIN shows the way to healthy lifestyle

In fact, it goes a step further by advising people to also focus on other vital factors such as exercise, personal hygiene, environmental sanitation, food safety, healthcare and safe water.

Hyderabad:  The updated dietary guidelines, framed by the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) for Indians, do not restrict themselves to just recommending the ideal proportions of various food groups that have to be included in our daily diet.

In fact, it goes a step further by advising people to also focus on other vital factors such as exercise, personal hygiene, environmental sanitation, food safety, healthcare and safe water.

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In addition to framing dietary guidelines, the recommendations focus on adopting appropriate pre-cooking and cooking methods, how to safely use cookware, and how to read information on food labels to make informed and healthy food choices.

It even highlights the right amount of physical exercise that one must pursue to lead a healthy life. Unique recommendations Interestingly, the dietary guidelines seek to guide individuals on what they should do to adopt appropriate pre-cooking and cooking methods, as healthy cooking practices are also important for good health.

The recommendations highlighted the importance of pre-cooking processes such as washing, and cutting vegetables and the chances of loss of nutrients if repeated multiple times.

The report said that cut vegetables, leafy vegetables and fruits should not be soaked in water as water-soluble minerals and vitamins tend to get lost.

The NIN dietary guidelines go into detail on the need to control the consumption of HFSS (high fat, sugar and salt) and Ultra-processed Food (UPFs). The HFSS foods are defined as food or diet that contains more than 15 per cent of energy from any cooking vegetable oils or ghee, or butter.

If the food is UPF or high in fat/ sugar/salt, then enriching it with nutrients or fortifying cannot make them wholesome/ healthy