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Good foods make us healthy, keeping our body in full function because of the energy and nutrients they provide. However, in some cases, foods cause illnesses. Aside from the fact that foods with too much sugar, fats and sodium make us at risk in developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs), foods that are not properly handled and prepared also make our body unwell which lead us to foodborne illnesses like diarrhea.
Foodborne illness is caused by ingestion of foods or beverages contaminated by physical objects, (e.g. hair, fingernails, and pest) chemical substances, (e.g. pesticides and kitchen cleaning agents) and microorganisms (e.g. bacteria, viruses and parasites). Ingestion of these contaminants is detrimental to the health of an individual. According to World Health Organization, unsafe food has a global health threats to everyone particularly to the vulnerable groups: infants, young children, pregnant women elderly and those with underlying illness. Every year, there are 220 million children acquire diarrheal diseases and 96, 000 die. Unsafe foods create a vicious cycle of diarrhea and malnutrition, threatening the nutritional status of the most vulnerable.
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Water, also known as H2O, is made up of two (2) hydrogen (H) molecules and one (1) oxygen molecule. As defined by the Merriam-Webster, it is a major constituent of all living matter and that when pure is an odorless, tasteless, very slightly compressible liquid oxide of hydrogen which appears bluish in thick layers, freezes at 0° C and boils at 100° C, has a maximum density at 4° C, has a high heat capacity, is a poor conductor of electricity and a universal solvent.
Water looks very simple yet contributes a lot to the human body. Continue reading as I discuss to you the functions of water in the body. Specifically, a) it is the way of transportation of nutrients and wastes to move between cells, tissues and organs, b) it carries waste materials out of the body through the urine, c) it has heating capability which regulates the internal temperature of the body in response to the external temperature d) it has cooling ability which produces sweat that cools down the body through evaporation, e) it dissolves most of the biologically important molecules in the body such as glucose, vitamins, minerals and amino acids, f) it maintains the pH (acid-base) balance to keep our body as its optimal state, and lastly g) it is part of mostly all the body fluids which are essential for shock absorption, lubrication, cleansing and protection.
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The National Nutrition Council MIMAROPA commends the initiative of various Local Government Units in the region - Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro, Odiongan, Romblon, Aborlan, Palawan and the province of Marinduque for including fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and fish to their food packs being distributed to households including frontline workers in their communities. With these initiatives of the Local Chief Executives (LCEs), each household will be assured of nutritious food packs for the whole family. This will also help local farmers to vend their produced fruits and vegetables.
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Carbohydrate is an essential macronutrient alongside with protein and fats. These macronutrients provide us calories to fuel up our body. From the three, carbohydrates are our body’s main energy source. Our digestive system breaks down the carbohydrates into simple sugars and converted into energy which will be used by our cells, tissues and organs to do their functions. In short, carbohydrates are used up by our body in order to perform our daily routines.
Carbohydrates can be found in many foods and drinks thus these give you a lot of choices to eat. The quality of carbohydrates you are consuming must be observed since there are healthy and unhealthy sources of them which in turn, affect your nutrition and health status. The candies, sodas, syrups, table sugar, pastries, white bread, white flour and other refined foods belong to unhealthy choices of carbohydrates because they lack nutrients and give you an amount of calories. On the other hand, the fruits, vegetables, legumes, unprocessed or minimally processed whole grains (oats, rice, wheat etc.) are your healthy sources of carbohydrates which promote good health because of its vitamins, minerals and fiber content.
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The world is now facing a pandemic situation with the Corona Virus or COVID-19, which started in Wuhan, China and has spread out worldwide. According to World Health Organization (WHO) Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).
COVID-19 is a new strain that was discovered in 2019 and has not been previously identified in humans. This virus infected more than 400,000 people globally and more than 18,000 have died as of March 25, 2020 (World Health Organization data).
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According to the Department of Health (DOH), six (6) out of ten (10) leading causes of mortality in the Philippines are due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) specifically cardiovascular diseases, pneumonia, cancers, all forms of tuberculosis, diabetes mellitus and nephritis. Non-communicable diseases are developed due to the poor eating habits and inactive lifestyle of a person. The brighter side is that these diseases are modifiable, meaning, it can be managed if proper nutrition and healthy lifestyle are observed.
