Hidden hunger raises alarm, multivitamins supplement nutrition

Do your eating habits tend to be more like a "carnivore" or a "sweet tooth", but you often ignore the intake of vitamins and minerals? Be careful about long-term unbalanced diet, excessive intake of empty calorie foods such as lipids and sugars, and a general lack of vitamins and minerals. You may be in a "hidden hunger" crisis and your health is on alert!

Health crisis! 99% of adults may be at high risk of hidden hunger

What is "hidden hunger"? The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) define insufficient intake of vitamins and minerals in the daily diet as "hidden hunger." According to global surveys, about 2.5 billion people are at risk of hidden hunger. A recent "Dietary Awareness/Behavior Survey" found that 70% of Taiwanese adults believe that their nutritional intake is balanced, but as many as 99% of adults' weekly food intake does not meet the six major dietary guidelines recommended by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, making them a high-risk group for hidden hunger.

Huang Shuhui, a senior nutritionist at the Postal Hospital, said that people ignore the importance of minerals, vitamins and micronutrients, and if they do not consume enough of them for a long time, their bodies will be at risk of hidden hunger, their health will easily become unbalanced, and they will have minor problems from time to time, such as poor mental health and decreased body protection, etc. According to the 2008 National Nutrition Survey, nearly 80% of the population is deficient in potassium, calcium and zinc, and more than half are deficient in vitamin E and magnesium, making them all a high-risk group for "hidden hunger".

In particular, many nutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin B1, B2, B6, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, etc., cannot be synthesized by the human body and must be obtained from the diet. Therefore, it is extremely important to moderately supplement comprehensive nutrients.

Intake of six major food groups did not meet the target, especially fruits and vegetables

The Ministry of Health and Welfare recommends that the daily dietary guidelines for Chinese people should include a balanced, diverse and sufficient intake of six major food groups. However, a survey found that the proportion of Chinese people whose dietary intake meets the standards is ranked as follows: beans, eggs, fish and meat (59%), whole grains and roots (38%), oils (32%), vegetables (21%), dairy products (14%) and fruits (12%). It is worth noting that among the vegetables and fruits that are at the bottom of the list, nearly 50% of adults do not even meet half of the standard vegetable intake, and less than 20% of adults consume seven kinds of vegetables per week. As many as 60% of people do not even meet half of the recommended intake of fruit, and less than 30% eat fruit every day, indicating a serious deficiency.

Fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients such as carotenoids, vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, and fiber. The Ministry of Health and Welfare's daily dietary guidelines recommend eating 3 to 5 plates of vegetables and 2 to 4 servings of fruit every day. If even the minimum standard is not met, you may lack a variety of vitamins and minerals that the human body cannot synthesize on its own in the long term.

Take a moderate amount of multivitamins to get complete nutrients

In the face of the crisis of hidden hunger in adults, timely supplementation with multivitamins rich in minerals and vitamins can avoid health loopholes! To stay healthy, people need to pay attention to a balanced daily diet and ensure complete nutritional intake, including consuming a variety of sufficient amounts of six major food groups: vegetables, fruits, whole grains and roots, beans, fish, meat, eggs, dairy products, nuts and oils, to supplement the various nutrients needed by the body. In addition, they can supplement and consume multivitamins containing complete vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients for the human body to supplement the nutrients that are lacking in the diet, thereby achieving the purpose of strengthening daily health care and maintaining health.