Too few greens on our plate

Most Malaysians are still not eating enough fruits and vegetables – and it’s an increasing trend over the years. The Health Ministry is conducting a comprehensive study on why this is happening.

FOR a society that loves food, Malaysians are not eating enough – greens, that is.

Almost all adult Malaysians nationwide (95%) do not eat enough fruits and vegetables, or the recommended five servings a day.

And this percentage keeps growing as the years go by, based on the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019.

“It is a rise from 92.5% in 2011 and 94% in 2015,” according to the survey conducted by the Institute for Public Health.

States like Kelantan and Terengganu had among the highest percentage of people (over 95%) who were not eating enough fruits and vegetables.

Other states only varied slightly, with healthier consumption in places like Sabah and Perak (about 93%).

Noting this trend, the Health Ministry says it will continue advocating to the public to eat sufficient vegetables and fruits.

“This issue becomes all the more relevant during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“A healthy diet is not only important for managing weight and nutrition, but also in maintaining our immunity against infections,” says Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

There have been small-scale studies on the reasons why Malaysians do not take enough fruits and vegetables.

Several factors include the price of fruits and vegetables, household income levels, availability of such food, and the lack of time to cook.

“The ministry is now conducting a more comprehensive study to further explore specific barriers and their causes,” Dr Noor Hisham tells Sunday Star.

But with many factors influencing a person’s choice to eat fruits and vegetables, it can be challenging for the ministry to tackle this matter.

“For instance, the habit and appeal of eating greens are developed throughout a person’s lifetime.

“This highlights a need to instil a culture of eating fruits and vegetables from childhood,” Dr Noor Hisham says, adding that the ministry has worked with the Education Ministry to improve the diet of schoolchildren in hopes they will continue such good habits as grownups.

He says Malaysians are recommended to have two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables daily, based on the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines 2010.

This is equivalent to the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of at least 400g of fruit and vegetables a day to gain the benefits for the prevention of chronic diseases.

Calling the low consumption “worrying”, Nutrition Society of Malaysia president Dr Tee E. Siong says the Health and Morbidity Survey should be a wake up call for Malaysians to pay attention to their diet.

“With the current pandemic, these types of food are important in boosting the immune system.

“We may even have to live with Covid-19 if no vaccine is found.

“On top of that, we still have to fight other viruses like the common cough and cold, especially children and the elderly,” he says.

Dr Tee explains that if we continue this trend of not consuming enough veggies, our bodies will have “hidden hunger”, referring to the body being starved of vitamins and minerals.

“In the worst case scenario, more will be anaemic or calcium deficient.

“Vegetables are rich in antioxidants which help fight free radicals responsible for diseases like heart problems and cancer,” he says.

While people can take supplements, not all nutrients can be extracted from vegetables and put into tablets.

“You can use supplements but not to replace meals,” Dr Tee adds.

Many Malaysians are also eating bigger portions of food, with carbo hydrates, fat and oil dominating their plates, he observes.

“People still don’t know how to control portion sizes.

“For example, you can still eat ice cream cream, but not the whole tub at the time,” he says.

Advising parents to inculcate a habit of eating greens among the children, Dr Tee urges them not to give up too easily if the kids reject the vegetables.

“Try again, but don’t serve the same thing. Cook different vegeta bles and in different styles,” he su gests.

Aside from the Health Ministry Dr. Tee hopes that other ministries will play their part.

“Fruits are more expensive now As such, they should be made more affordable and accessible by the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry,” he says.

Malaysian Medical Association president Dr N. Ganabaskaran says is not surprising that many don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables.

“The typical Malaysian diet does not place much emphasis to fibre intake.

“Many Malaysians eat out and most of our local meals are high in carbohydrates with little or no vegetables.

“These poor dietary habmajor its are a contributing factor to

the reported increase in cases of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol,” he says.

Consultant dietitian Mary Easaw says some Malaysians don’t eat enough roughage because they have no time to cook.

“Youths are also fond of fast food. “With food being delivered to the doorstep with a tap of the phone nowadays, eating the right amount of nutritious food is often neglected,” she says.

As such, many youths have issues related to their bowels and digestive system.

“Fruits and vegetables are like brooms and vacuum cleaners which clean and detoxify your body.

“If you don’t clean your ‘house’, you will face problems in future,” Easaw says.

The important goal is to reduce inflammation in our body, and fruits and vegetables are champions in doing this, she explains.

Inflammation refers to our body’s process of fighting things that harm it, like infections, injuries and toxins, in an attempt to heal itself.

“As tempting as it may be, refrain from highly processed food, refined sugars and foods with low fibre,” Easaw advises.