National Institute of Nutrition advocates dairy products in Vietnamese diet

Le Bach Mai, deputy director of the National Institute of Nutrition, presented at the seminar

At the “Dairy Recommendations for Vietnamese” seminar held today, the institute officially introduced the diary recommendations for Vietnamese of varying ages and physical conditions.

Participants to the event, which included representatives of the ministries and government agencies, hospitals, universities, preventive health centres and many schools in Hanoi, also discussed the current status of nutrition and impacts of calcium deficiency to the health of people in Vietnam.

According to NIN’s studies covering 35 years (1985-2010) the calcium intake of Vietnamese has changed little, essentially because Vietnamese are not consuming enough milk, dairy products and seafood. At present, calcium is only meeting 50 per cent of daily recommendations.

Researchers have shown that, calcium from milk and dairy products will help bones grow stronger than medicinal calcium supplements. Results from some studies have proven that milk and dairy product usage will help reduce the risk of Osteoporosis and bone fracture in pre-menopausal women

The official dairy recommendations aim to contribute to the deployment of objectives of the National Strategy on Nutrition in 2011 – 2020 and the general programme to develop the Vietnamese people in 2011-2030 in terms of stature, physical strength and intelligence (Programme 641).

Many countries around the world including France, the US, Japan, and Australia have built and issued “Recommendation for usage of dairy products” reports to guide their citizens on the importance of dairy products, milk, cheese, yogurt to provide calcium and nutrients for daily intake.