New Delhi, Nov. 13: A medical and nutritional panel has released new guidelines for Indians to tweak their diets and lower the risk of chronic diseases.
They suggest reducing carbohydrates, adjusting fat quality, taking less salt and drinking more water — and a little alcohol, but only by those who are already in the habit.
The dietary guidelines developed through consultations involving nearly 100 experts from across India are designed to match the revised cut-off waistline and weight values for overweight and obese Indians finalised by a similar panel last year.
The new rules are also intended to replace guidelines produced by the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, in 1998. They prescribe lower carbohydrate intake, lower sugar, lower salt, higher protein and more water than had been recommended by the institute. The guidelines also specify upper limits for harmful fats such as trans fats (less than 1 per cent) and saturated fatty acids (less than 10 per cent).
“These guidelines apply to anyone who is otherwise healthy,” said Anoop Misra, director of diabetes and metabolism at the Diabetes Foundation, India, a non-government agency in New Delhi campaigning against obesity and diabetes.
A detailed version of the guidelines now under review by a medical journal will contain special diet charts from northern, southern, western and eastern regions of India, taking into account local food habits and preferences, Misra said.
The adoption of these guidelines by the public is expected to reduce prevalence of obesity, diabetes and heart disease as well as other conditions associated with poor diet, said Seema Gulati, project officer for nutrition at the foundation.
“A bad diet can influence body physiology in many ways and increase the risk of gout, fatty liver disease, polycystic ovarian disease and some types of cancer,” she said.
The reduction in carbohydrate intake is really important for Indians who tend to develop high triglycerides which is a risk factor for heart disease, said Misra. This could be achieved by slightly reducing rice and wheat intake.
Under the revisions, people who consume small quantities of alcohol (not more than 30ml twice a week) will not be discouraged — a shift from earlier guidelines that had asserted that alcohol intake should not be encouraged at all.
“This applies only to people already consuming alcohol — we do not want non-consumers to start alcohol,” Gulati said. Several medical studies have indicated that moderate alcohol consumption has a protective effect on the heart.
Nutrition experts have long been concerned about ignorance among the public about the quality of fats. The new guidelines specify that alpha-linolenic acid, a fat present in walnuts, flaxseeds and canola oil should make up 1 to 2 per cent of total energy.
“These guidelines appear mainly intended to focus on a diet aimed at preventing disease,” said Boindala Sesikeran, director of the institute.
“When we release guidelines, we also take into account issued such as under-nutrition in segments of society,” he said.
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